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As an adoptive mom, I am always on the lookout for ways to incorporate Ethiopian culture into our home. For me, cooking is a fun way to do that. But sometimes kids can be less than adventurous about food.
The other day on the way to the Ethiopian restaurant, one of my sons was less than pleased with the idea of Ethiopian food for lunch. He was afraid he would find nothing he liked to eat. Much to his delight (and mine) he liked everything that was served, including the injera. But he especially loved the milder dishes, including one with potatoes in it, and another featuring yellow split peas.
I decided to share a couple of these milder, kid-friendly recipes for other families whose children don’t enjoy extremely spicy food. These are my adaptations of recipes I found online. The potato recipe that was my son’s favorite is common to Ethiopian Jews, though many other Ethiopians eat it as well.
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Dinich Wat (Potato Stew)
3 large onions
3 large carrots
4 potatoes
1/4 of one white cabbage
1/4 cup oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
4 cups water
Peel onions and carrots and puree in food processor(or dice very fine). Chop cabbage into fine shreds. Peel and mash garlic. Chop potatoes into 1 inch cubes.
Heat oil in a large pan and add vegetables. Cover and saute 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, pepper and salt and mix well. Add the water. Stir and cook over very low heat for 30-40 minutes.
Serve hot over injera. Traditionally this would be served on injera with several other dishes.
Yield: 8 servings
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Another stew that we enjoyed at the Queen of Sheba was this split pea stew. Both these recipes are mild and create a nice balance in a dinner that also includes a spicier dish such as doro wat or a spicy lentil stew. Just a note: you will sometimes see wat (stew) spelled as wet or we’t. The Ethiopian alphabet is a little different than ours, and the closest pronunciation for the vowel in this word is something between short ‘a’ and short ‘e’.
Kik Alicha (Yellow Split Pea Stew)
3 cups water plus 2 tablespoons (divided)
1 cup dried yellow split peas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped fine (or pureed in food processor)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1-inch-long piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
Place 3 cups of water and the peas in large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until almost tender, about 30 minutes.
Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat; cook onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and turmeric; cook 1 minute.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons water; cover. Cook on low heat 3 minutes. Add mixture to cooked peas; stir in salt. Simmer until peas are very soft, about 30 minutes. Salt to taste.
Serve over injera.
Makes 6 servings
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We were so excited this weekend to discover a small Ethiopian restaurant in just 10 miles from us! Since we’re in the Midwest, we don’t have much of that! We have yet to venture out to it, but what a find!