Guide Note

Ethiopian food is known for its spiciness and the use of bread as a serving plate and eating implement as well as food. Traditional Ethiopian dishes include injera, the sour bread that is also used as a serving platter and eating utensil; wot, which is a kind of stew; kitfo, a raw, warmed meat dish; and tibs, which are sauteed meat or vegetables. Traditional beverages include tej, which is a honey wine or mead, and coffee. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians traditionally avoid meat on Wednesdays and Fridays, and also during Lent, in March and April. Both Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and Muslims eschew pork; therefore, pork is not a part of Ethiopian cuisine.

Fast Facts

1. Food shared from a common plate
2. No pork, due to religious traditions
3. Generally very spicy
4. Tej: alcoholic honey wine, very potent!
5. Diners eat with right hand only
6. Gursha: when diners feed close friends or loved ones

Traditionally, Ethiopian dining is done while seated on low stools. An attendant places a basin under each diner's right hand, and pours water over that hand from an ewer. The diner then wipes his or her hands off on a towel provided by the attendant. The food is presented on a dish lined with injera, the traditional bread and eating utensil. Diners tear small pieces of injera off with their right hand only, and use it to grasp the foods placed on top, eating the food and the bread. Feeding someone you like with choice morsels is encouraged; the tradition is called gursha. When the injera is gone, the meal is over.