Story and Photography by: Lia Ryerson for One Green Planet
It’s no secret that we here at One Green Planet love African cuisine. For the uninitiated, African cuisine isn’t an all-encompassing term; different regions in Africa specialize in different kinds of cookery. In this article, we want to home in on an African country that is rich with history and boasts an incredibly fertile land to boot: Ethiopia!
We can’t discuss Ethiopian cuisine without first calling out its staple starch: Injera.
Ethiopia is the only African nation that was able to retain its independence since its birth, and even though it is home to the largest livestock population in Africa, its cuisine is also incredibly vegan-friendly — in fact, every Wednesday and Friday, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church practices “fasting days.” Rather than refrain from eating food altogether, those who follow the church simply abstain from animal products twice a week. If you are someone who worries that omitting animal byproducts from your diet is synonymous with depriving yourself of flavor, Ethiopian cuisine’s liberal use of seasoning and spices demonstrates that’s not at all the case. Read on to learn more about Ethiopian cuisine and how to enjoy it on a plant-based diet.
Quick Beginner Tips
Here are a few easy tips to help you order successfully at an Ethiopian restaurant:
- Ethiopian food is typically eaten with your hands, so if you don’t find any utensils at your station, don’t despair — that’s normal!
- You can expect many Ethiopian dishes to feature the following spices: cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, cumin, ginger, cloves, and maybe even some nutmeg.
- To ensure your meal is plant-based, make sure to request that none of your food is prepared with nitter kibbeh, a clarified butter that is occasionally used in Ethiopian cookery.
- Cheese and eggs almost never make an appearance in Ethiopian food, although sometimes meat does. To be on the safe side, however, you can ask if your particular restaurant garnishes its injera with sour cream. To make your injera plant-based, request they leave the cream off!
Alright, you’re ready to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant. Here’s how to order!
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