Ethiopian Comes Alive

In year 2008, Adrian and I were on an assignment to teach Yoga to this oligarch of Russia. It was quite a stint: everyday we were chauffeured around the city in a brand new Mercedes S-Class with two bodyguards at our dispense. One of whom Adrian strongly believed to be carrying gun under the jacket.

One night we decided to venture out to the slum to find this Ethiopian restaurant that Adrian read about in some local guide. Growing up in Seattle, where there's quite a community of Ethiopians, Adrian has had many Ethiopian foods, and loves them all. When Adrian took me to Seattle in 2008, I, too, had a taste of the Seattle Ethiopian foods that Adrian sometimes raves about.

After the new year holidays in up north, I asked Adrian what he would like to eat. Ethiopian, he said. I didn't think he meant it seriously because he mentioned about some rare ingredients that he has never found elsewhere but Ethiopia: teff flour. I did some research and found that this core ingredient of Ethiopian flat bread may be substitute by millet flour, stone-ground corn meal, or a mix of rye flour and spelt flour, with a touch of sourdough starter. Further research showed that Ethiopian foods are not impossible to make. Although it does require some pre-preparation of its signature spices but once made you are set to go.

If you haven't had Ethiopian foods before it is very much like Indian - spicy vegetables or meat in the form of wat (thick stew) served atop of large piece (about 20 inches) of sourdough flat bread called injera. The spices used are also similar: cardamom, cloves, turmeric, coriander, etc. You eat it with your hand, using pieces of injera to pick up the entree or side dishes. I made quite a few changes to the recipes that I found around the internet to suit what I can find and what's manageable.

I have only had two Ethiopian meals in my life - I'm not one to judge the dishes. Adrian commented that they were not the kind of Ethiopian foods that he knew of. However, they were extraordinary: not Indian nor Ethiopian; they deserved to be called one of themselves. I'm going to file for their rights under mine once I have a name for them.