Injera, Tej, and Giggles

In my last post, I told you a little about the traditional meal we enjoyed while in Addis Ababa.  Being a foodie, I thought it deserved a little more attention.

There are no tables in the restaurant; only small rattan tables the size of an end table back home.  The chairs are wooden, straight-backed, and low to the ground.  There are carpets spread everywhere on the wood floor, and the air is full of the scent of frankincense, used in the Ethiopian coffee ritual.  If you're Catholic, you know what that smells like, because it's the same incense used on high holy days. 

The middle of the restaurant is dominated by a semi-circular stage, and 4 musicians are playing traditional instruments.  I can't remember what they are called, but they sound like a guitar, violin, drums, and flute. 

It's fasting season, what we call Lent, so there is a fasting (vegetarian) and a non-fasting buffet.  We go to the buffet area, where an attendant squirts soap on our right hand, and pours water over our hand into a basin.  Remember, only the right hand is used for eating, so that's the only one that gets washed. 

The injera is rolled up, and there are different colors.  We take a plate, and unroll a couple of sheets of injera to cover the bottom of the plate.  This will serve as our serving platter.  A third roll will serve as our fork and spoon. Then we choose from several pots of what can only be called stew or pureed food, both vegetarian and non.  Some of the choices included spinach, green beans, lentils, chickpeas, lamb, and chicken.  Each choice is puddled onto the injera until you have 8 or 10 little circles of food on your plate. 

Once we returned to our eating area, we were served Tej, a honey wine which really packs a punch.  It tastes like a wine cooler on steroids.  It's served in a glass shaped like an old-fashioned lab beaker; round on the bottom, and a small opening on the top.  To drink, you hold it between your index and middle finger and try not to spill it all over you.  It doesn't help that the Ethiopian girls next to you giggle every time you take a drink.

Now onto the food.  Using only your right hand, a small piece of the injera (think pancake) is torn off the spare roll and is used to grab one or more chunks of the stews on the plate.  It's all put in your mouth in one bite and washed down by the Tej.  Needless to say, your right hand gets quite messy.  The napkin you're given is not used for the hand however, only to wipe your mouth when necessary.  In between bites, the right hand is kept cupped upwards in your lap.  The spinach was my favorite.

Ah, the dancing has started.  There is a story behind the dances, but they all seem to have something to do with boy meets girl, girl spurns boy, boy chases girl, happy ever after, etc.  Except for the one with the umbrellas - I'm not sure what that one meant. 

I can now understand the enthusiam people have when they talk of Ethiopian food.  I thought Ethiopian food meant tough, stringy, chicken and lamb, which is all I ever seem to eat there.  If you go, I recommend sticking to the fasting menu.