Dorothy from Germany was kind enough to share a recipe with me that her daughter made right after she came home from Ethiopia at the age of 8. This is a very simple recipe that can be used on pasta, and may be just the thing to tempt the palates of newly arrived Ethiopian children. This recipe serves 3-4 persons.

Bethlehem's Berbere Sauce -5 medium sized onions, chopped very fine (or done in the food processor) -3 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and chopped -water, oil, berbere, salt Stir fry the onions in a pan (without oil), stirring frequently. If necessary add a little bit of water from time to time to keep the onions from... more

In my apparent quest to own every book in the universe :) I got this book The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa by Marcus Samuelsson from Amazon the other day. I was really excited about this cookbook because it was written by an Ethiopian adoptee. Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about the book.

Born Ethiopian, raised Swedish, and now one of New York City's top chefs, Samuelsson has written an exotic yet accessible book that... more

I'm so pleased to be sharing this shiro recipe from my friend Rita. She and I were in Ethiopia together in June 2005 getting our daughters. We stayed at the guesthouse together, watched our kids play soccer together and ate dinner at the Merry Fam restaurant. She learned this recipe from an Ethiopian friend of hers.

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Recipe for Shiro Note: This is a fasting shiro, which means it has no meat or Ethiopian butter in it. You can add small chunks of beef or lamb at... more

Brian found the best price for Ethiopian Berbere -$7.99/lb on Amazon, of all places. That's an excellent price, even with shipping. Brian, you're the winner of my contest. Email me your address and let me know if you'd rather have the DVD or the hair snaps. I'll be sponsoring another contest in the next week or two, so stay tuned. And if y'all end up buying this potent Ethiopian spice, believe me, a pound will last you a good long time!

I just got an email the other day from an internet business called Adriana's Caravan saying that they are having a sale: 25% off on a specific list of sale items between now and November 20th. I have ordered from this company before and was pleased with them.

The sale items unfortunately do not include Berbere, the staple of Ethiopian seasoning. However, they do have a couple of African spices on sale. And you can buy berbere on this page for its regular price-... more

As promised, here is a recipe for Shiro Wat, slightly modified from one that can be found at the website of http://fooddownunder.com. This is served on injera, usually along with several other 'wats' (stews).

Shiro Wat

1-1/2 cups shiro powder * (see below for source) 3 cups water 1 cup red or yellow onions, diced very fine. (I actually like to use my food precessor to puree them. My kids like them better that way.) 1/2 cup oil (the original recipe called for more, believe it or not, but 1/2 cup is PLENTY rich for 6-8 people, I think!) 1/2 tsp garlic salt... more

Making injera is an art. I have been trying to master this traditional Ethiopian flat bread for 2 years, with only moderate success. I can get mine to have a fairly appropriate sour taste, but I can almost never get it holey enough. In injera-making the 'eyes' have it. Proper injera, as you can see in this picture, is full of 'eyes', or holes. The sauce shown on the injera in this photo is called shiro. I'll share a recipe soon. It is yummy!!

I have found that my injera comes out best when I let the dough ferment on the counter for several days.... more

In Ethiopia, snacks are most commonly eaten as part of the Ethiopian coffee ceremony. Common offerings include roasted barley, peanuts, popcorn and a spicy crunchy little bread called Dabo Kolo.

In Ethiopia, dabo means bread, and kolo is the word for roasted barley-- so together the words mean something like "snack bread".

Dabo Kolo

2 cups wheat flour 2 tablespoons berbere 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water 4 tablespoons butter,... more

Niter Kibbeh Ethiopian spiced clarified butter is an essential ingredient in many Ethiopian recipes, including the stew below Source: Ethiopian Vegetarian Recipes

1 lb butter; unsalted ¼ c onions; chopped 2 cloves garlic; minced 2 t Ginger; grated, peeled, fresh ½ t Turmeric 4 Cardamom seeds; crushed 1 Cinnamon stick 2 Cloves; whole ⅛ t Nutmeg ¼ t Ground fenugreek seeds 1 T Basil; fresh OR (1 t dried)

In a small saucepan, gradually melt the butter and bring it to bubbling. When the top is covered... more

Although injera is a staple of life in Ethiopia, Ethiopian people do actually eat other kinds of bread as well. Here are recipes for two types of bread common in Ethiopia.

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Dabo-- A Special Sabbath Bread

Yield: 1 large loaf 1 t dry yeast 2 T Baking powder 3 c Water; lukewarm 2 Egg yolks 1 t. Salt 1 T. Sugar 1 T. vegetable oil 4 c Flour In mixing bowl, dissolve dry yeast and baking powder in the water. Mix in egg yolks, salt, sugar and oil. Add the flour and prepare a smooth dough by kneading... more