If you are one of those people who favors to eat spicy vegetables and meat dishes, Ethiopian cuisines is the best food for you. Half of the Ethiopia’s population mainly consists of Orthodox Christians or Muslims. Therefore they eat no pork; mostly lamb, beef, and vegetables.
A country’s specialty cuisine differs from the others not only by the way it’s prepared, but also on the way of how it is eaten. Asians use chop sticks while Indian foods has Naan bread. And for Ethiopians, bid farewell to the traditional knife and fork for their dishes is eaten with bare hands, using pieces of Injera to pick up bites of the course.
Most people decide not to eat on Ethiopian restaurants because they don’t know how to. They don’t want to enter a situation where they’re uncomfortable and unsure of how to proceed. In this article, you’ll be able to learn how to eat Ethiopian dishes the way it’s supposed to be eaten.
HOW TO EAT ETHIOPIAN DISHES
Ethiopian dishes were traditionally served through a Mesob. A Mesob is a tabletop that is usually woven from straw, and has a lid that is kept on it until it is time to eat.
Make sure your hands are clean before eating. Just before the food is ready, a basin of water and soap is brought out for washing one’s hands.
Ethiopian food is served on one big platter and you’ll be eating on a same plate along with the others at your table, so have a little dining manners.
Once the food is ready, the top is taken off the Mesob and the food is placed in the basin which forms the top of the Mesob.
Dishes are served family-style on a large round of Injera. Injera is Ethiopia’s spongy fermented bread made out of Tef grain. The server will then place a small basket of folded Injera next to the serving tray.
The food will be served on top of the Injera but you’ll also have extra on the side to pick up the food with. To start, tear off a piece of Injera – about a half the size of your palm is good enough. As long as you can scoop up enough food, you’re in a good shape.
If you’re on a date or dining with that special someone, scoop up some food and feed them. This is an Ethiopian tradition called “gursha.” It’s an act of kindness and respect towards the other person.
After you’ve finished most of the food, try eating the bottom of Injera. By then, all the juices from the different dishes are soaked up in it.
When the meal is finished, go wash your hands. The basin of water and soap is brought back out for the hands to be washed again.
Ethiopian dishes is simply too good to taste, it is actually a popular choice for vegetarians living in Western countries. Well if you want to plunge at restaurants serving Ethiopian cuisines, kindly see if there’s an Ethiopian flag on it (green, yellow and red), it probably got some Ethiopian food served in there.
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