Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wat
The ubiquitous companion of
injera
,
wat
is Ethiopia's version of curry and can be very
spicy - fortunately the
injera
helps to temper the heat.
In the highlands,
beg
(sheep) is the most common constituent of
wat
.
Bere
(beef) is en-
countered in the large towns, and
fiyel
(goat) most often in the arid lowlands. Chicken is
the king of the
wat
and
doro wat
is practically the national dish. Ethiopian Christians as
well as Muslims avoid pork. On the fasting days (
Click here
)
of Wednesdays and Fri-
days, throughout Lent and prior to Christmas, as well as a further couple of occasions,
meat and dairy dishes are avoided and various vegetarian versions of
wat
are available.
Most foreigners become firm fans of fasting food.
Kai wat
is a stew of meat boiled in a spicy (thanks to oodles of
berbere
) red sauce.
Kai
sauce is also used for
minchet abesh,
which is a thick minced-meat stew topped with a
hard-boiled egg - it's one of our favourites, particularly with
aib
(like dry cottage cheese).
Most Ethiopians seem to be under the impression that all foreigners are terrified of
spicy food and so, unless you specifically ask for
kai wat
, you'll often be served the
yellow-coloured
alicha wat,
a much milder, and really rather dull-tasting
wat
.
Kitfo
Kitfo
is a big treat for the ordinary Ethiopian. The leanest meat is reserved for this dish,
which is then minced and warmed in a pan with a little butter,
mitmita
(a stronger version
of
berbere)
and sometimes
tosin
(thyme). It can be bland and disgusting, or tasty and di-
vine. If you're ravenous after a hard day's travelling, it's just the ticket, as it's very filling.
Traditionally, it's served just
leb leb
(warmed not cooked), though you can ask for
it to be
betam leb leb
(literally 'very warmed',
ie cooked!). A
kitfo
special is served with
aib
and
gomen
(minced spinach).
In the Gurage region (where it's something
of a speciality) it's often served with
kotcho
(
enset;
false-banana 'bread').
Kitfo bets
(restaurants specialising in
kitfo
) are found in the
larger towns.
Another favourite meat dish of ours is
siga tibs
, which consists of small strips of fried
meat served with onions, garlic and spices. It's most commonly served
derek
(dry), but
you can also find a
merek yalew
version, which comes in a liquid sauce.
If you become a massive fan of
kitfo
or
tere sega,
best get tested for tape worms (
Click here
)
when
you get home. Hopefully there'll be no pain to go
with your tasty gain.
