Ethiopian cuisine
Ethiopian cuisine is the culinary tradition of Ethiopia, known for injera, richly seasoned stews called wats, and communal meals eaten by hand.
Injera: A sour, spongy flatbread made from fermented teff batter and cooked on a griddle. It serves as both the staple bread and the edible base for many Ethiopian meals.
Doro wat: A slow-cooked Ethiopian chicken stew seasoned with berbere and often served with a hard-boiled egg. This celebrated wat combines spice, long cooking, and festive serving.
Gursha: A gesture of feeding another person a mouthful of food by hand in Ethiopian and Eritrean cultures. Offering a gursha turns a shared meal into a visible act of affection or respect.
Oromo cuisine: The culinary traditions of the Oromo people, including foods shaped by pastoralism and regional crops. Oromo foodways form one strand within Ethiopia’s varied regional cuisines.
Teff: A tiny-grained cereal native to the Horn of Africa, used to make flour and fermented foods. Its flour gives injera its characteristic flavor and texture.
Misir wat: A spicy Ethiopian stew made with red lentils, commonly seasoned with berbere. It is a hearty plant-based option, especially suited to fasting meals.
Ethiopian coffee ceremony: A social ritual in which coffee is roasted, brewed, and served in successive rounds. It extends hospitality from the meal into a distinct communal gathering.
Amhara cuisine: The culinary traditions associated with the Amhara people and regions of Ethiopia. Amhara foodways include dishes and practices central to national cuisine.
Berbere: A hot Ethiopian spice blend commonly made with chili peppers and other spices. It supplies the deep heat and aroma of many wats.
Shiro: An Ethiopian stew made from ground chickpeas or broad beans, often blended with spices. Its smooth texture and plant-based ingredients make it a familiar everyday and fasting dish.