The Journey of Food Crossing: Ethiopian Dietary Tradition

East Africa is generally regarded as the origin of human beings, so what is the local food tradition of Ethiopia, the oldest ancient civilization in East Africa?

Most of Ethiopia is located on the plateau, and the long Rift Valley runs through it, which divides the country into two parts along the diagonal. Rivers, large and small, originate in the plateau and flow into the Blue Nile along the northwest, making Ethiopia enjoy the nicknames of "African Water Tower" and "African Roof" at the same time.

Although located in the tropics, the climate in most parts of Ethiopia is not hot because of its high altitude. The suitable climate and abundant water resources make it one of the few areas in Africa suitable for irrigated agriculture. Thousands of years ago, local people began to engage in agriculture, which also promoted the formation of ancient African civilization Ethiopia.

Soviet botanist vavilov believed that the Horn of Africa (Ethiopian, Eritrean, Somali and Djibouti) was one of the origin centers of several crops. About six or seven thousand years ago, people in western Eritrea and Sudan began agricultural production, and since then, agriculture has gradually spread to the Ethiopian plateau. It is generally believed that the Horn of Africa is the origin of coffee, moss bran, Abyssinia elephant leg banana, small oil chrysanthemum, Arabic tea and other crops, and may also be the domestication center of sorghum. The ups and downs of the plateau and the changeable climate have enriched the variety of crops in Ethiopia, so many fruits are also produced here. (Ethiopian juice is also a must)

About 5,000 years ago, immigrants from the West brought Sudanese crops such as yam, cowpea, okra and arugula to Ethiopia. Through contact with Nubians and Egyptians, barley, wheat, chickpeas, onions and fennel also took root here. According to the records of medieval travelers, Ethiopia mainly planted barley, wheat, moss bran, sorghum, alfalfa, chickpeas, lentils and so on. In the hundreds of years before the arrival of Italian colonists, the crops and eating habits here have not changed significantly.

*. Italian cuisine has a great influence on Ethiopian cuisine today, but this is not the focus of this article.

Eragrostis is the most representative grain in Ethiopia. This is a very small grain, which is very easy to sow. It can be planted in dry land or wetland, which is very suitable for semi-nomadic groups in the Horn of Africa. About 5000 years ago, the ancestors of the Horn of Africa domesticated moss bran. Today, 90% of the world's moss bran is grown in Ethiopia.

Moss bran contains no gluten and is rich in mineral elements such as amino acids, fiber and iron. It tastes a bit like millet and quinoa, but it is easier to cook, so it saves firewood. Moss bran can be used to bake cakes, cook porridge, make wine, feed babies and raise livestock. As long as you eat one or two pieces of Ingra made of moss bran, you can meet the daily intake of amino acids and protein for Ethiopians.

Ensete ventricosum in Abyssinia, as its name implies, is a banana produced in Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Unlike the bananas we usually eat, Abyssinia bananas have bad taste and many hard stones. Locals mainly use its root fermentation as their staple food. Wild Abyssinia bananas are widely distributed in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Uganda and other places in the East African Plateau. But Ethiopia is the only country that domesticates this plant and feeds on it. Elephant-legged bananas in Abyssinia are important food crops for more than 20 million people in southern and southwestern Ethiopia, with high yield and drought tolerance, but the harvest cycle is very long.

Abyssinia is native to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi and other places. Thousands of years ago, people in the highlands of Eritrea and Ethiopia domesticated this plant to extract oil, make spices, treat leather and feed livestock. Through trade exchange, chamomile spread to India and became a spice in South India. Chrysanthemum seed is a kind of fruit, which is rich in oil, protein and soluble sugar. It is the favorite of finches, so it is also an important bird food. During the fasting period when people can only eat vegetarian food, vegetable oil from chamomile is the main source of fat for Ethiopians.

Of all the crops in Ethiopia, coffee is undoubtedly the most famous. Legend has it that in the middle of the 9th century, there was a shepherd named Caldi (or Khalid) in Kafa, southwest Ethiopia. One day, he found all his sheep very excited. Caldi observed that all these sheep ate some kind of red berries. Curious, Caldi also tasted this berry and was really excited. So he excitedly took berries to the dervish in the nearby Sufi Daotang. Monks thought this berry was not halal, so they threw it into the fire, but it gave off an attractive aroma, so people had the custom of drinking coffee.

Whether the shepherd's legend is true or not, in short, the Oromo people in Ethiopia do have the practice of processing coffee beans as a supplement to wild energy. /kloc-In the 5th century, there were records of baking coffee beans and drinking coffee in Yemen across the sea. One or two hundred years later, coffee has spread all over the Middle East, and soon it was introduced to Europe. At first, people called for boycotting this "Muslim drink", and it was not recognized by people from all walks of life in Europe until Pope Clemente VIII recognized it as a "Christian drink". Mocha, a port on the Red Sea coast of Yemen, once monopolized the coffee trade for hundreds of years, hence the name of the famous Mocha coffee.

*. About the origin of coffee, there is a legend of Sheikh Omar, the chief of Yemen. In a word, coffee originated in Ethiopia, and it is generally no problem to grow it well in Arabia. As for the subsequent development, that is another story.

From the inscriptions on stone tablets in aksum in the 4th century, we learned about Ethiopian food at that time. At that time, people's food included wheat, bread, mutton, beef, butter, beer, honey and mead. Ingira, a common staple food, and Mitad pancake pan for baking pancakes may have appeared in the 5th and 6th centuries. For hundreds of years, the history of Ethiopia was shrouded in a fog until 1270, when Yekuno Amrak established the Solomon Dynasty. More and more written materials, as well as what foreigners have seen and heard, have restored the Ethiopian food fashion in this period for us.

The rulers of Solomon dynasty often held grand banquets to show off the power and wealth of the royal family. Serata gebr is a royal archives with residential notes, which records the royal life of Zara Jacob (Zara Yaqob, 1434- 1468, one of the gods at the beginning of Europa) and the subsequent monarchs, naturally including the banquet menu of the royal family, including:

A variety of flour cakes and breads, including Ingra, disk-shaped hard cakes and European bread;

All kinds of vegetables and Wot paste in containers, served with bread such as Ingra;

All kinds of meat, including chickens, pigeons, vultures and other poultry. Beef is very important, and civilians can only slaughter cattle with permission, and the tongue and chest of cattle are given priority to local lords;

Rations of beer and mead are sometimes put in gold and silver vessels.

According to records, royal banquets often last for two days. Only the highest-ranking officials and members of the royal family are allowed to use knives, while others eat with their hands. The food is placed on a round gebeta tray, and the royal gebeta is decorated with gold and silver. We know from royal archives that the custom of drinking mead with Wot and Ingrid appeared as early as15th century.

1887, to celebrate the inauguration of Entoto Maryam Church in Addis Ababa, the new capital. Sahle Miriam's wife held an unprecedented feast for the future emperor. It is said that in order to prepare for this banquet, people slaughtered more than 5,000 cattle and sheep and built a "canal" to store mead in the warehouse. The banquet lasted for five days, blending various dietary traditions from the Christian kingdom to the tribe. It can be called the Ethiopian version of the wine pool meat forest, which is of great significance in the country's diet history.

According to some old people attending the party. The palace guards were the first people to attend the banquet. They ate early and then went out to keep order. Then the clergy in the capital, followed by soldiers, businessmen, people in the capital and court servants. Sahle Miriam was always present, and his meals with the nobles included a lot of champagne, brandy, Ingila, doro dabo (chicken bread), alicha merek (broth), minchet abish (stewed beef), infellet (spicy mutton), fit-fit (Ingila dipped in sauce) and brundo (raw meat). The leftover food was left to the court staff, who could get nothing back except raw meat.

European records of the same period show a different picture.

According to Francisco Alvares, a Portuguese missionary in the15th century, the dishes at the palace banquet include many poultry with bones and fillings, which are quite different from those in royal archives. Perhaps the most surprising thing for European travelers is the Ethiopian custom of eating raw meat and eating it by hand. This will undoubtedly bring a strong cultural shock to travelers.

People eat a lot of raw beef at weddings and funerals. Cut the long meat into small pieces with a knife, dip it in seasoning, hot sauce and butter, and serve with mead or ingra. Although there are hidden dangers of parasites, raw meat is still a popular food in Ethiopia until today (although many people really eat bad stomachs).

Ethiopians like to get together and share food. Generally speaking, you should eat with your right hand. Be careful not to touch your mouth when eating, so it is not easy to pollute the food. They have a strange custom to outsiders, which is to share food with each other by hand. In Amharic, this is called "Gursha", which means bonuses, tips and bribes.

The common Gursha method is to wrap some food in Ingra and put it in other people's mouths. Those who get food will also give you thanks soon. Ethiopians believe that Gursha can show respect and enhance friendship. Therefore, at banquets, guests and the elderly often get Gursha first. If a person can get Gursha from the emperor, it will be regarded as the supreme honor. From the norms and order of Gursha, we can also see the traditional social order in Ethiopia.

There is a meaningful story about the origin of Gulsha. Legend has it that there was once a cruel king who was complacent about his power and took pleasure in teasing the people. One day, he gathered a large group of hungry people together and prepared food, but only allowed them to eat with long spoons. Ordinary people can't eat with this spoon at all, so some people think it's better for everyone to feed each other so that everyone can eat. Seeing hungry couples feeding each other, the angry king rushed out of the meeting. Inspired by this, the witness went home to imitate and replaced the long spoon in the story with his hand. Later, Gursha became a custom all over the country.

The religious distribution in Ethiopia, red is Ethiopian Orthodox Church, green is Islam, blue is Protestantism, and yellow is traditional belief.

The Ethiopian royal family claimed to be descended from Solomon. In the 4th century AD, the Aksum Empire converted to Christianity and became the second country in the world with Christianity as its state religion. Hundreds of years later, the new Islam was introduced into Ethiopia before leaving Arabia. The special geographical location, historical inheritance and different dietary taboos of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have deeply influenced Ethiopia's dietary tradition.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church (belonging to Christianity) has been the most influential religious sect in Ethiopia since the 5th century. In addition to the dietary taboos of Christianity itself, the Orthodox Church has very complicated fasting regulations. There are fasting periods of different lengths around Easter, Pentecost, Christmas, Epiphany and Adventist. It's been almost half a year, and all kinds of fasting must be observed. Some fasting requires vegetarianism, while others require dieting. In a word, because many times meat can't be eaten or even animal oil can't be used, Ethiopians have developed many uses of vegetables and rapeseed oil.

Megebachin, an Amharic diet book published in 1963, introduces the suggested recipes as shown in the above picture on the basis of orthodox fasting and the concept of balanced diet. From this book, we can learn about the eating habits of the upper and middle classes in Ethiopia at that time. According to this cookbook, we can find that Ingila will appear in almost every lunch and dinner, and the breakfast is mainly cereal porridge, milk and other cakes. Of course, you can also eat stewed Ingila (with spices and sauces). Wednesday and Friday are fasting days in the Orthodox Church. Although you can't eat meat, you can supplement your energy by stewing lentils, kale and potatoes. On other days, there are meat and dairy products almost every day to make up for the nutritional imbalance caused by fasting.

*. Orthodox countries also have many fasting days. Catholic fasting days are shorter and require less. Protestantism, depending on its denominations, generally does not have as many fasting regulations as Orthodox and Eastern churches.

In Ethiopia, Judaism is older than Christianity. Jews' eating habits are similar to those of ordinary Ethiopians, but they don't eat raw meat according to Jewish commandments. They like sesame seeds and bread sprinkled with sesame seeds. Before the rest day, Jews will make a big round cake called berekete, which contains cheese, tebugna bread, encotcha biscuits and so on. Because there is no fire on the Sabbath, Ethiopian Jews can't make coffee on this day no matter how much they like coffee (although it seems that they can drink instant coffee).

There used to be more than100000 dark-skinned Jews living in Ethiopia (also known as Farah Shafara Shah, Beth Israel Beta Israelis, most of whom have moved to Israel). It is because of these falasha's participation that many Ethiopian restaurants have appeared in Israel. Under the impact of modern civilization, the eating habits of these new residents are also changing rapidly.

At first glance, the food in Ethiopia is somewhat similar to that in India: they all take bread as the staple food, eat with their right hands, love spices, are often vegetarian, and are used to making food into thick paste and eating it with bread. Even in skin color, South Indians look almost as black as Ethiopians. But after careful comparison, there are still great differences in the eating customs between the two places. For example, Ethiopians eat raw meat, but India doesn't. Indians are sweet and have all kinds of desserts, while Ethiopians prefer sour taste and traditionally have no habit of making desserts.

From macro to micro, look at the most representative Ethiopian cuisine!

Friends who have seen the above will remember the name Injera deeply. It is the most representative food in Ethiopia and an inseparable part of its eating habits. Three meals a day are essential. To make Ingra, you need to use moss bran unique to Ethiopia. Grinding moss bran into powder, adding water and Erguotou to assist fermentation, and after two or three days of fermentation, it becomes a slightly acidic thin batter. The batter can be directly poured on the Mittard pot of pancakes and baked. Ingira is soft, smooth and porous, and looks a bit like a rag or Appam rice cake in South India.

Because the yield of moss bran is not high, and it is only produced in the middle altitude area with abundant precipitation. So ordinary families usually mix sorghum flour, flour, corn flour and so on. Make black, white and red Ingira. Ingira tastes sour, and its porous structure makes it easy to get sauce. For Ethiopians, Ingila is both a tableware and a dinner plate. All kinds of stews are evenly placed on Ingra. When eating, tear off a piece of Ingra and wrap it with some side dishes. The taste is self-help and rich. In addition, Ingila is also the core of food culture in East African countries such as Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia.

Ingra must be accompanied by Wot (or Wat), which is to Ethiopia what curry is to India. To make Wot, you need to chop up the onion first, and then cook it slowly in the pot until it thickens. Then add saltpeter kibbeh sesame oil to taste and continue to stir fry. Next, add spices and food according to taste and preference, and cook until it is delicious. Wot tastes thick and full of flavor, and it is really a golden partner for the next meal.

Doro Wot made from chicken can be said to be the national dish of Ethiopia. In overseas Ethiopian restaurants, this dish is probably comparable to the chicken tikka masala in Indian restaurants. Regardless of the taste preferences of different places, Dorowot has roughly the same taste. For Ethiopian women, the skill of making Doro Wot is also one of the thresholds for courtship.

The standard version of Doro Wot is to peel and degrease chicken (usually drumsticks) and marinate it with lemon juice. At the same time, cook the onion until it is thick and brown, then add the saltpetre-based balm and appropriate amount of water, and continue to stir and cook. Then prepare a proper amount of sweet honey wine and mixed spice Berbere, and add a certain amount of water to prevent boiling. When the sauce base is ready, add chicken and water, stir constantly and cook for 45-60 minutes. When you are near the pot, add some seasoning according to your own taste and put some boiled eggs. It's best to cut the eggs first, which will help to improve the taste.

Shiro Wot made of chickpeas and broad bean sauce is a common side dish on the table of ordinary people in Ethiopia. During the fasting period of Orthodox Church and Ramadan of Islam, this dish provided enough protein to make up for the lack of meat.

During the fast on Wednesday and Friday, restaurants all over Ethiopia usually offer a platter called Beyainatu. Beyainatu means "every food has a little" and consists of Ingra and various vegetables Wot. Bright colors and rich flavor. It is a safe choice for ordinary people to taste Ethiopian food for the first time, which can probably be compared with the Tari of Indian food.

Almost all Ethiopian dishes use onions. When an Ethiopian talks about "onions", he usually says onions, not shallots that we use for cooking.

Eat the remaining Ingira (or unfermented cake kitcha) and chop it up. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, onion, etc. Cooking together. This is a common breakfast food, which Ethiopians call fit-fit or fir-fir.

Since the time of the Pharaoh, the coast of the Horn of Africa has been famous for its rich spices. In addition to locally produced spices, it is also a distribution center for spice transportation in South Asia and the Middle East. Ethiopia has had close trade relations with India since at least 1 century. Naturally, this has also made Ethiopians develop a habit of eating spices. In the17th century, peppers originated in America began to appear in Ethiopia, and people's tastes became spicy from then on.

Mixed spices Berbere and Mitmita are indispensable spices in Ethiopia's diet, and their status is roughly equivalent to various Masala in India. Berbere is usually made of pepper, garlic, coriander, ginger, basil, Ethiopian cardamom, rue, Ajwain, celery, alfalfa and fenugreek. Mitmita is usually made of pepper, Ethiopian cardamom, cloves and salt. It is a perfect match for Ethiopians to eat raw beef.

When it comes to raw beef, we have to mention the traditional Ethiopian dish Kitfo. Ethiopians like to eat lean meat. Kitfo is made of chopped raw beef and lean beef, mixed with Mitmita spice and Niter kibbeh sesame oil, and often eaten with cheese, spinach or Ingra. According to personal taste, you can also provide cooked Kitfo, but you will lose your soul. This dish is a traditional dish of Ethiopian Christians during the festival of finding the true cross in September.

Unlike the most common stew in Ethiopia, TiB made of sliced beef and mutton, vegetables and butter is also very popular. Ordinary Ethiopians can't afford meat. Tib people can have more or less vegetables, but they must have no meat. Therefore, only during festivals, or wealthy families can often eat this dish.

Ethiopians call all fermented pasta except Ingra Dabo. Dabo is made of wheat, sorghum, millet, Abyssinia elephant leg banana and so on, and there are many kinds. It can be used as staple food or processed into snacks. Although it is not as everyday as Ingila, Dabo is also an indispensable part of festivals and ceremonies.

The eating habits of Oromo people are quite different from those of other ethnic groups in the south, and Qocho made of Abyssinia elephant-legged bananas is their staple food. Take out the pulp from the thick trunk and rhizome of banana, mash it, wrap it in leaves and let it ferment for a few days. After fermentation, cut into strips or blocks and bake on a cake plate. The local Gulag people think that the longer the fermentation time, the better Qocho will be, but for foreigners, this sour and soft staple food may not be easy to accept.

Ethiopia has a history of drinking for thousands of years, and T'ej is the most famous wine it produces. Honey wine has a long history. In the past, because honey was more expensive, only a few people, such as the royal family, drank this wine. Nowadays, with the increase of honey production, ordinary people can also brew this traditional turbid wine at home. Mead is made of honey, water and gypsum. The taste is sweet and sour, and the alcohol content is generally between 7- 1 1%. It is a common wine in religious and social activities, also known as Ethiopia's national wine.

Tella, a kind of beer brewed with sorghum and moss bran, is a common drinking choice for ordinary people. Tara is often stored in smoked olive wood or Abyssinia rose wood containers, with a light smoke smell and an alcohol content of 2-4%. Today, many Ethiopians prefer home-brewed beer, and there are tens of thousands of traditional beer houses in Tigray area in the northeast.

Finally, back to the most famous Ethiopian drink-coffee.

In Ethiopia, social life is often centered on coffee. When people are free, they often get together and attend the traditional coffee ceremony. Coffee ceremony includes activities such as drinking coffee, eating snacks and chatting, which usually lasts for two or three hours. Coffee ceremony snacks include popcorn, peanuts, Ambassa cake and so on. Sugar, salt and nitrobeh sesame oil are common ingredients when drinking coffee. Participants usually drink three cups of coffee, and it is considered impolite for guests not to drink three cups of coffee.

Coffee ceremonies are generally performed by women in the family, which is considered to be their glory. By roasting coffee beans and making coffee in a ceramic Jebena coffee pot, women have established close ties. Making coffee in Jebena coffee pot is the most striking feature of Ethiopian coffee ceremony. No matter how the technology develops, this traditional pottery always plays an important role in the ceremony. For overseas Ethiopians, attending the coffee ceremony not only helps to connect feelings, but also helps to establish a sense of identity with the motherland through the traditions in the ceremony.

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