Talk:Ethiopian cuisine/Archive 1

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Oh come on, an entire article on ethiopian cuisine and not one joke? I say we add a joke section, or atleast acknoledge in some way that jokes exist. &mdash;the preceding comment is by 71.106.115.131 - 23:43, 8 April 2006: Please sign your posts!
 * I have a pretty good idea about the sort of "jokes" you have in mind. They are unencyclopedic, at best, and I suggest you not post them. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 00:46, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

Even though I would like to thank the creator and contributors of this page for there time and energy in putting this together. I am very disappointed at the knowledge level displayed here, even in the most trivial issues. It is better to ask those that know before attempting to put a page like this together. My advise is to go speak to at least 5 or 6 people that have lived in different parts of the country or even better find some older people that have grown up and lived in Ethiopia and get their input before putting such a page up. Buy attempting to put a page like this together without the benefit of experience or deep knowledge on the subject you are at the very least going to confuse and at the extrem going to spread and validate disinformation. IT MIGHT BE BETTER NOT TO HAVE THIS PAGE THAN HAVE IT FULL OF HALF TRUTH AND CONFUSION. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.80.65.234 (talk) 00:39, 18 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The problem with asking people is that it runs counter to our original research policy. We must use reliable sources.  Can you be more specific about what you feel is incorrect or inaccurate? Thanks, -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 15:15, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Reliable sources: Having just looked at the reliable source policy of wikipedia, I find nothing that prohibits you from interviewing people as to the content of the page. On the other hand I have looked at the entries here and find no source for them. If you do need to get published material on the subject, there are several cook books that are dedicated to Ethiopian cooking. By the way, having worked (in an editorial capacity) and written scholarly papers, I can tell you that using interviews of knowledgeable persons (informants) is a legitimate and often a very integral part of many papers.

Just a cursory search for "ethiopian cook books on Google.com reviels" 596,000 enteries. While, scholar.google.com shows 11,000.

Incorrect or inaccurate: Nothing is completely inaccurate on its face. The problem is more of inaccurate and miss informed. One thread that runs through the entry is that over arching names are used and given a definition that is only partially true because it describes only one version of the dish; this would be fine if you say for example "tibs" and tell the reader that tibs is a general name that is used for a meat that has been sautayed (as in fish, goat, chicken, etc.) then add that the most common forms will include derik (dry), or geda (with sause), key/berbera (spicy) or nech (without), that it can be made using vegetables such as garlic, onions, and peppers, and may include tomatoes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.147.85.94 (talk) 23:28, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

"IT MIGHT BE BETTER NOT TO HAVE THIS PAGE THAN HAVE IT FULL OF HALF TRUTH AND CONFUSION. " I agree. Also, the common spelling for the word for stew, in the Latin alphabet, is "w'et". 174.112.173.27 (talk) 03:08, 4 December 2012 (UTC)

"Wot" or "Wat"
ወጥ: "Wot" is the sauce that is poured on the injera that is eaten with the injera or flatbread or sour bread. The sauce is cooked and prepared so that it can be eaten with the injera. There are different types of Wot which include Doro wot, Shiro wot, Alecha wot, and so on. All of these are made with different kinds of spices and some include meat, that is poured onto the injera for serving. Without wot, injera cannot be eaten alone marking the great significance of wot. Furthermore, Wot is also described as a stew that might consist of other poultry seasoned with Ethiopia's very own seasonings. It is known that both Ethiopians and Eritreans use this stew mixing as a daily food with injera. Depending on the cooking and ingredients, wot can be eaten by both vegetarians and also meat lovers. Often wot is prepared with ingredients that make it suitable for vegans to eat and free from any dairy or meat product. However, it is most commonly known that wot is made of meat, especially their signature dish "Doro wot", that is composed of chicken meat, butter, and many kinds of spices. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mekworku (talk • contribs) 19:41, 30 October 2020 (UTC) In the very first sentence of this article it is written "wot" but everywhere else "wat". Is this a mistake? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.213.232.6 (talk • contribs) 05:29, 20 November 2008

Looks weird to me too. "hard 't' noise"?! --Farzaneh (talk) 22:08, 4 February 2009 (UTC)


 * I've changed this to read "...in the form of wat (or wot)...". I took out "hard 't' noise" pending a better explanation (I think there's more than one 't' consonant). For anglophones, the word sounds, and is effectively pronounced, like "watt". (Clarifying this any further might go something like this: "It's pronounced wat." "Right, that's what I said, 'watt'." "No, it's wat."  "That's what I said! 'Watt'!" etc.) -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 22:48, 4 February 2009 (UTC)


 * Trying to explain the pronunciation of of ወጥ by writing in English is not easy. First of all, the vowel is not the vowel in watt, but closer to the vowel in what, adjusted a bit toward wet. (Native speakers of Amharic may give different values to vowels in English, so they could reject this explanation.) Because the preceding consonant is w, which rounds the lips, some spell it with o. In Amharic, there is an additional kind of t sound, the ejective consonant t. The final consonant in this word is the ejective, what some may call a hard t. Enough of the explanation, go find an Ethiopan restaurant and both hear and taste it. Pete unseth (talk) 20:49, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

Eritrean cuisine
I'm wondering if Eritrean cuisine could be included here (and if so, should the article be renamed)? Eritrean cuisine employs more pasta (and, I think, pastries), but otherwise consists of injera, wat, etc. In fact, the picture in the article was first used in the Eritrea article but since the food was the same I included it here, as well. But not being as familiar with Eritrea as I am with Ethiopia, I don't know if there are indeed more differences.

Also, there is no mention of the coffee ceremony! (Could also be added to the Coffee article). I think I have a couple of photos I could use.

I could also add a picture (and description) of a mesob (sp?). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 17:33, 4 May 2005 (UTC)


 * That could be done, but then the question of whether to include Somali food in here would arise, too, since they also eat injera (injelo in Somali) be wet. I believe that mesob is the correct spelling (AFAIK).


 * Yom 00:52, 25 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Well so much for my pictures. "Someday." -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:49, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Chechebsa?
The article says chechebsa is a pancake served with honey and spices. I think it's better to say it resembles a pancake, lest readers confuse it with the typical Western pancake (though I guess technically, it's correct). Also, I've heard chechebsa called "kita firfir" (or is that "kita fitfit"?), I think the food and the name "Chechebsa' are both of Oromo origin. But is it really served with honey? I've had it with coffee and it was covered with kibbeh mixed with berbere. I asked about the honey, and the response was "you must be kidding." But perhaps this is a regional variation, so I left it in. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:49, 26 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I've never heard of chechebsa, but "fitfit" is just basically injera with some sort of wet where the injera is broken up into small pieces and mixed in with the wet. I've only seen this done with beg (alicha, meaning not spicy) or "lamb" wet though, i.e. one without any significant sauce so that the injera maintains its consistency and doesn't break apart. It's very messy.


 * Yom 04:09, 27 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Yes, different fitit. (I'd never heard chechebsa called anything else until the other day.) What you've described, I've heard called beg fitfit, but I've also had timatim fitfit (or is it salat fitfit?), i.e. cold salad with injera pieces. I've had chechebsa a couple of times with coffee, and thought it was extremely rich (I couldn't eat much). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 03:14, 29 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Oh! I think I know what you're talking about (based on kita fitfit). Kita is a flat bread (not injera - it's not sour at all) that is usually eaten with butter (qibé) and spices (berberé). Kita fitfit (I don't remember what the name I know it by is) is just small pieces of kita in a bowl mixed with butter (not that much) and berberé. I had some not too long ago, actually. I've never heard of having it with honey though. You should probably remove it. As far as I know, it's not Oromo, but I could be wrong. Maybe the honey part is (the name definitely could be)?


 * Yom 03:24, 29 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Based on what I know, chechebsa and kita fitfit are the same, and chechebsa does not have honey. However, I have had chechebsa that was pretty heavily slathered with kibbeh. -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 23:06, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

I am confused and surprised by most of you that you do not know chechebsa / keta firfir (fitfit isdifferent from firfir in that fitfit uses wet while firfir uses a simple mixture of keba or zeite with berbera - another common differences is that fitfit is generally is saucier while firfir is drier). The name is used for snake or breakfast that is made of broken up keta. The most widely form of eating chechebsa is as a kita firfir using butter or zeite and berbera (very dry). This being said there are several regional versions which at times are also called chechebsa including in Tigeri where they use honey instead of the butter or zeite and berbere mixture. Another version which is mostly from Northern -Gonder and -Tigrie and some parts of wello which is the fhit chechebsa where either a honey or berbere chechebsa is topped with ergo. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.236.252.234 (talk) 00:23, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

==Shiro

Shiro is a type of wot in Ethiopia whose main ingredients include chickpea powder, oil, salt, and onions. Shiro is commonly eaten during fasting periods in Ethiopia as it is suitable and free from any meat or dairy products. Shiro cooking is not as complex as Doro wot, however, needs to be cooked well. The taste of Shiro is remarkable as it is not spicy and when combined with the injera great to eat. Shiro is a vegan dish and also considered to be gluten-free.

and Ambassa==

I just came back from five-weeks in Ethiopia, so now I'm an expert—kidding. None the less, we were served lots of shiro and ambassa, and it seems they ought to be added. Shiro has a section in Wikipedia, Shiro_(food), and is described as Ethiopian, but I'm not sure where to include it. Usually was ordered separately from the wats, but eaten like them. Ambassa is bread about the diameter of injera and about 40mm thick. We saw it baked in a clay oven like pizza. Assume mostly wheat flour, but don't know for sure. I'm only adding to the comments because my sources and knowledge are incomplete. Also as anyone on this page knows Anglo spellings vary. MtnBiker  —Preceding undated comment added 23:14, 19 December 2018 (UTC)

spicy green?
What is that green spicy sauce they serve with injera dishes?--Sonjaaa 03:37, 30 May 2006 (UTC)


 * I'm not sure what you mean. Alecha wat can be sort of greenish in color, but isn't spicy at all. Sometimes chopped jalapenos are provided but I wouldn't call this a sauce.  Gomen (chopped spinach or greens) could be made spicy, but this isn't really a sauce either. Was this at a restaurant? Do you remember what you ordered? -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 04:43, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

I'll take a pictuer next time! :)--Sonjaaa 06:34, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

I think you are referring to data which is a sidamo condiment made with either green or red (giving it the color) hot peppers which are crushed with garlic, ginger, and other spices. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.80.65.234 (talk • contribs) 00:26, 18 October 2011‎

What about Tibbs
Is it my eyes or is there no mention of Tibbs, like one of the most popular dishes. And also you should add "special food" as a new dish. I am getting hungry---Halaqah 22:49, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
 * It's only one sentence, but tebs (sp?) is mentioned: "Alternatively, rather than being prepared as a stew, meat or vegetables may be sautéed to make t.ebs." What is "special food?"  When I've seen "special" on a menu, it's always in the context of ketfo (e.g. "ketfo special" has gomen and ayb mixed together). -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 22:23, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Special food is served in a small metal container, it is egg, BirBiri, beans all together, it always comes with Dabo (bread). It is served hot. It is a strange dish because it is very popular if you know to ask for it, next time ask for "special food" and they will know what you mean. I think you can only get it in Ethiopia, especially outside of Addis (north and South). And then there is special Tebs (Tibbs)--Halaqah 08:28, 21 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Based on the description, it sounds similar to ful medames. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 23:04, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

special ful, has beens and egg and birbiri served with Kebe and is usually eaten at breakfast.--Contributions/196.207.35.246 (talk) 15:21, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

Tibbs also come in different forms. Actually the word 'tibbes' is a description to dishes that can be gropued in one. You may have noticed the varity. The following are some of the varities: derek (dry) tibbes; merek tibbes; key (red) or awaze tibbes; zilzel tibbes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.78.50.15 (talk) 18:28, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Ge'ez needed here
Can someone add the Amharic spelling here?--Halaqah 21:53, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

And like the Somali cusine page we should add images of key dishes, Wish i had one of t.ebs---Halaqah 01:33, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Re-named section
I have re-named the "Firfir" section to "Breakfast foods." Firfir was just one of four different foods mentioned in that paragraph. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 17:45, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

==

Gomen kitfo
I know gomen can refer to either spinach (or similar leafy greens, e.g. turnip greens, collard greens etc.), or to cabbage. But in the case of gomen kitfo, doesn't it specifically mean spinach? The article says gomen kitfo is made from cabbage, and doesn't mention anything about mixing this with the kitfo (meat) itself. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 14:53, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

Minchetabesh?
Last week we were at an Ethiopian restaurant and I ate something called Minchetabesh and really loved it. I saw that there is no mention of this dish in the article so I was wondering if this is considered a traditional dish and how popular it is? Thanks, --Kudret abi 20:53, 11 September 2007 (UTC)
 * From what I understand, it is a type of wat using ground prime rib. (Sounds tasty!) I think "minchetabesh" is a compound word, with "-abesh" referring to Habesha (not sure what "minchet" is). -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:41, 12 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Tasty would be an understatement actually :) Thanks for the linguistic information, as to minchet, I recall it said something on the menu about this being a King's Dish so I wonder if that's what it is. Well, perhaps someone from Ethiopia will come across this discussion and let us know one day... --Kudret abi 06:24, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Minchetabesh is not a form of wet, but is a side dish closer to a condiment. And the linguistics of the word do not include a reference to abesha. It is referring to Abish which is a root that is used mostly in traditional medical ointments and infant milk. It is included in a tsome combination so as to help in the ailments that are prevalent during the fasting season. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.236.252.234 (talk) 00:34, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Raw meat
(I know I asked this on a talk page somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment.) I've been reading Hormuzd Rassam's account of his embassy to Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, and encountered his description of watching inhabitants of Balwaha eat what he calls Brundo: this consists slicing meat off of a recently-slain cow & eating it raw. Now food customs do change (I'm sure I'd be just as surprised at the diet of my ancestral Amricans circa 1865 as would modern Ethiopians), but I've seen this dish described in various traveller's accounts back into the 17th century, & wonder if this is an older version of kitfo or gored gored -- or another dish entirely? -- llywrch (talk) 21:36, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Ah! I was expected to eat this once, but chose not to. I'm not sure how it is spelled, but it is pronounced like "court" (that's how it sounds to my ears). In my case, I was instructed to carve the shape of a cross into the raw side of beef, and then slice off a couple of pieces for eating.  Unlike kitfo or gored gored, it is not seasoned – it's simply a raw piece of steak. -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 22:55, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
 * You were probably better off passing on this, Gyrofrog. Otherwise, you might then be introduced to another Ethiopian custom -- taking kosso. -- llywrch (talk) 20:16, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

I am Ethiopian. I can tell you brundo is increasingly rejected. In the cities of Addis around Piassa there are butchers that serve the traditional brundo from selected, usually soft, part of freshly arriving meet. remember kitfo also come raw- just like the french tarta.

Brundo is more commuly known as 'kurtt' or 'qurtt'-litterly it means 'cut out' to refer to the skill of butcher cutting the best meat artfully so that the eatable raw meet does not include any meat that cannotbe eaten raw in the tradition. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.78.50.15 (talk) 18:40, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

The "????" issue
There's quite a few instances of "????" currently in the article. Is this a phonetic thing (like "!" (Postalveolar click), though I don't think a question mark is used in phonetics), is it used to indicate that it's unknown if a word's linguistically well formed, or was the editor just unsure of the facts (and we need "citation needed" or "cleanup" instead)? I don't want to slap a cleanup template here if the "????" is correct usage. Durty Willy (talk) 04:22, 24 July 2008 (UTC)
 * The question marks indicate where Ge'ez alphabet characters were used. I was able to see these correctly as of a few days ago, now that you mention it they all show up as question marks, like you described (maybe a Firefox update had something to do with it) . -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 10:31, 24 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Well, now that I checked from my other computer, I can see the Ge'ez characters without problems. This one uses Firefox, too, so I doubt it was a Firefox update. -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 13:35, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Dulet
I grew up eating Dulet. But never for breakfast. It is basically a special type of Kitfo. Am I crazy or is it just misplaced from editing. I am going to move the sentence soon unless someone complains. አቤል ዳዊት (Janweh) (talk) 03:55, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

Ethiopian Cuisine
Could you please stop reverting the updates on the Ethiopian Cuisine page. If you think that they must be reverted please give a reason for doing so. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Raphael.adams (talk • contribs) 10:33, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Cut it out User:Hiyob346. Middayexpress (talk) 13:00, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

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Fasting and vegan dishes
The introduction has this section:

“The Ethiopian Orthodox Church prescribes a number of fasting (tsom, Ge'ez: ጾም ṣōm?) periods, including Wednesdays, Fridays, and the entire Lenten season, so Ethiopian cuisine contains many dishes that are vegan.[2]”

Can someone explain why the “so” is in there? What is it about fasting that makes it relevant for some dishes to be vegan?

If the fasting periods have some to do with vegan dishes, then it would help non-ethiopian readers like me to have some explanation of the connection. If there isn’t a connection, the clause about vegan dishes should be a different sentence or even a different section. Wecamehereto (talk) 00:37, 19 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Hi,
 * In most Orthodox churches including the Ethiopian one, "fasting" is understood as avoiding any kind of animal products (including dairy products and eggs) in food. I've added this information to the article. --DonCamillo (talk) 12:42, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Utensils are never optional.
The Ethiopian and Eritrean community is usually known for their non-use of utensils for eating food. Instead, they use their hands. After a thorough cleaning of one's hand, Ethiopians and Eritreans come together to feed on their food as a sign of unity and community bonding. Using hands to eat Ethiopian food is much more effective and easier as the spiece injera needs to be held and dipped in the wot then to create a role to feed. The role that is created in the hand is not just an ordinary role but the kind that engulfs the wot in the injera. If utensils are "never optional," it follows that they are "always required." Is that what was intended? The text and images of the article did not otherwise lead me to the conclusion that utensils are always required. I have no expertise in this subject matter, so I'm not going to edit the article. Just hoping to understand it.

Submersible (talk) 22:01, 23 April 2018 (UTC)


 * Thanks for noticing. This statement makes no sense. I think the person who added it meant that ustensils are never used. But as a matter of fact, nowadays a lot of Ethiopians use cutlery when eating. Statement removed. --DonCamillo (talk) 13:18, 26 April 2018 (UTC)

Buna kela
Is there a Wikipedia article about buna kela, an Ethiopian dish consisting of green coffee beans cooked in clarified butter and eaten as a snack? 173.88.246.138 (talk) 02:46, 22 November 2021 (UTC)