Lamb Tibs, Awaze and Injera Image UsedUnder Creative Commons License From vice.com
Citizens – few cuisines have made such a lasting impression upon the molded clay that is My palate as that from the distant country of Ethiopia! The tantalizing complexities of heat, spicing and layered flavors have fired that clay into a perfected gustatory porcelain of the finest quality and today I wish to share with you what is unquestionably My favorite meal in this culinary canon. I speak of nothing less than the carnivorous delight that ALONE shines supreme in this African firmament – I speak of nothing less than lamb tibs with its mandatory accompaniments of the spongy crepe known as injera and spicy awaze sauce! Join with Me as I invoke My God-given right to lead TFD Nation on this newest and most holy gustatoty crusade!
Before diving into this Holy Trinity of Ethiopian goodness, I wish to first share some historical background on Ethiopian cuisine to place these culinary artifacts into their proper “in situ” context. The Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia) started in 1270 and did not end until 1974. The rulers focused on making themselves larger than history, by implying themselves to be descents of Jewish biblical figures such as the Queen of Sheba; considering themselves the House of Solomon. As an empire, they included modern day Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Red Sea portion of Sudan. The Solomonic Dynasty had wide and far-off trade routes, as Archaeologists have found from their remains and their goods found at sites around the Mediterranean and out towards Asia. This means their cuisine had access to ingredients beyond their reaches, with rare spices from India blending with unique local spices to form a totally unique cuisine.
Ethiopian cuisine (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ምግብ “Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā məgəb”) characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of wot, a thick stew, served on top of injera (Amharic: እንጀራ), a large sourdough flatbread, which is about 50 centimeters (20 inches) in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour. Ethiopians usually eat with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church prescribes a number of fasting periods known as tsom (Ge’ez: ጾም ṣōm), including all Wednesdays and Fridays and the whole Lenten season (including fifteen days outside Lent proper). Per Oriental Orthodox tradition, the faithful may not consume any kind of animal products (including dairy products and z,) during fasts; therefore, Ethiopian cuisine contains many dishes that are vegan.
A typical dish consists of injera accompanied by a spicy stew, which frequently includes beef, lamb, vegetables and various types of legumes (such as lentils), and is traditionally consumed on the mesob basket. Due in part to the brief Italian occupation of the country, pasta is popular and frequently available throughout Ethiopia, including rural areas. Coffee is also a large part of Ethiopian culture and cuisine. After every meal, a coffee ceremony is enacted and coffee is served.
The history of Ethiopian cuisine is influenced by the agricultural heritage of the nation. A key component of tradition is injera – a tangy and soft flatbread crafted from teff, an ancient grain native to Ethiopia. In dining settings, injera is commonly paired with an assortment of wot dishes featuring vegetables, legumes, and meat; one type, doro wot, a spicy chicken stew accentuated with berbere, a spice blend comprising chili peppers, garlic, ginger, and an array of spices, is the national dish of Ethiopia.
Throughout history, Ethiopian cuisine has developed through connections and trading with other nations, along with religious practices. For example, the enduring Christian beliefs in Ethiopia have impacted the development of plant-based meals due to fasting periods that forbid eating meat. Likewise, Islamic customs have influenced meat dishes during some celebrations like Eid. Ethiopian food has been influenced by the country’s geography and its rich agricultural resources, such as lentils, beans, coffee, and various spices. The customary Ethiopian coffee ritual entails roasting, brewing, and serving coffee with great importance, as it is thought to have originated in Ethiopia. Ethiopian cuisine goes beyond mere nourishment, playing a key role in communal dining and cultural representation.
Ethiopian Orthodox Christians avoid pork for cultural reasons as well as religious reasons, while Ethiopian Jews and Ethiopian Muslims avoid eating pork or shellfish for religious reasons; pork is forbidden in Judaism and Islam. Most Ethiopian Protestants or P’ent’ay also abstain from eating food that the Orthodox abstain from. Many Ethiopians abstain from eating certain meats, eating mostly vegetarian foods, partially from the religious fasting period.
Berbere (Amharic: በርበሬ) is a basic ingredient in many Ethiopian dishes. Berbere, a combination of powdered chili pepper and other spices (cardamom, fenugreek, coriander, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, cumin and allspice) is an important ingredient used to add flavor to many varied dishes like chicken stews and baked fish dishes. Also essential is niter kibbeh, a clarified butter infused with ginger, garlic, and several spices. Mitmita (Amharic: ሚጥሚጣ, IPA: [mitʼmitʼa]) is a powdered seasoning mix used in Ethiopian cuisine. It is orange-red in color and contains ground birdseye chili peppers (piri-piri), cardamom seed, cloves and salt. It occasionally has other spices including cinnamon, cumin and ginger.
In their adherence to strict fasting, Ethiopian cooks have developed a rich array of cooking oil sources—besides sesame and safflower—for use as a substitute for animal fats which are forbidden during fasting periods.
Wot begins with a large amount of chopped red onion, which is simmered or sautéed in a pot. Once the onions have softened, niter kebbeh (or, in the case of vegan dishes, vegetable oil) is added. Following this, berbere is added to make a spicy keiy wat or keyyih tsebhi. Turmeric is used instead of berbere for a milder alicha wat or both spices are omitted when making vegetable stews, such as atakilt wat. Meat such as beef (ሥጋ, səga), chicken (ዶሮ, doro or derho), fish (ዓሣ, asa), goat or lamb (በግ, beg or beggi) is also added. Legumes such as split peas (ክክ, kək or kikki) and lentils (ምስር, məsər or birsin); or vegetables such as potatoes (ድንች, Dənəch), carrots and chard (ቆስጣ) are also used instead in vegan dishes.
Each variation is named by appending the main ingredient to the type of wot (e.g. kek alicha wot). However, the word keiy is usually not necessary, as the spicy variety is assumed when it is omitted (e.g. doro wot). The term atakilt wot which simply means ‘vegetable’ is sometimes used to refer to all vegetable dishes, but a more specific name can also be used (as in dinich’na caroht wot, which translates to “potatoes and carrots stew”; but the word atakilt is usually omitted when using the more specific term).
Meat along with vegetables are sautéed to make tibs (also tebs, t’ibs, tibbs, etc., Ge’ez: ጥብስ ṭïbs). Tibs is served in a variety of manners, and can range from hot to mild or contain little to no vegetables (making this beloved to TFD’s carnivorous soul). There are many variations of the delicacy, depending on type, size or shape of the cuts of meat used. Beef, mutton, and goat are the most common meats used in the preparation of tibs. The mid-18th-century European visitor to Ethiopia Remedius Prutky describes tibs as a portion of grilled meat served “to pay a particular compliment or show especial respect to someone.” It may still be seen this way; today the dish is prepared to commemorate special events and holidays.
According to some sources, drinking of coffee (buna) is likely to have originated in Ethiopia. A key national beverage, it is an important part of local commerce.
The coffee ceremony is the traditional serving of coffee, usually after a big meal. It often involves the use of a jebena (ጀበና), a clay coffee pot in which the coffee is boiled. The preparer roasts the coffee beans in front of guests, then walks around wafting the smoke throughout the room so participants may sample the scent of coffee. Then the preparer grinds the coffee beans in a traditional tool called a mokecha. The coffee is put into the jebena, boiled with water, and then served in small cups called si’ni. Coffee is usually served with sugar, but is also served with salt in many parts of Ethiopia. In some parts of the country, niter kibbeh is added instead of sugar or salt.
Snacks, such as popcorn or toasted barley (or kolo), are often served with the coffee. In most homes, a dedicated coffee area is surrounded by fresh grass, with special furniture for the coffee maker. A complete ceremony has three rounds of coffee (abol, tona and bereka) and is accompanied by the burning of frankincense.
Tea (shai) will most likely be served if coffee is declined. Tea is grown in Ethiopia at Gumaro and Wushwush. Across southern Ethiopia, many groups drink boiled coffee leaves, called kuti among the Harari in the east and kaari among the Majang in the west. This is often made with widely varying seasonings and spices, such as sugar, salt, rue, hot peppers, ginger. The Ethiopian Food Safety Authority has registered the safety of coffee leaf infusions with the European Union. Tej is a potent honey wine. It is similar to mead, and is frequently served in bars, particularly in a tej bet or “tej house. It is prepared from honey and gesho. It has a sweet taste and can be stored for a long time; the longer it is stored, the higher the alcohol content, and the stronger the taste.
Injera (Amharic: እንጀራ) is a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made of teff flour. In both Ethiopia and Eritrea, injera is a staple. Injera is central to the dining process in Amhara community, like bread or rice elsewhere and is usually stored in the mesob.
As previously noted, Ethiopian food is always served with injera – in fact, injera is actually the PLATE upon which mounds of different dishes are served. One important note about injera – it expands in your stomach, so never eat until you are full or you WILL regret it – stop early and you’ll be full soon enough!
Traditionally, injera is made with just two ingredients: teff flour and water. Teff flour is ground from the grains of Eragrostis tef, also known as teff, a cereal crop from the Ethiopian Highlands. Teff production is limited to certain middle elevations with adequate rainfall and is a low-yield crop, so it is relatively expensive for the average farming household. Many farmers in the Ethiopian highlands grow their own subsistence grains, so wheat, barley, corn, or rice flour are sometimes used to replace the teff content. Teff seeds are graded according to color, used to make different kinds of injera: nech (white), key or quey (red), and sergegna (mixed). When teff is not available, injera is made by fermenting a variety of different grains, including barley, millet, and sorghum. Teff, however, is the preferred grain for making injera, primarily because of its sensory attributes (color, smell, taste). Teff flour is gluten-free.
To make injera, teff flour is mixed with water. The fermentation process is started by adding ersho, a clear, yellow liquid that accumulates on the surface of fermenting teff flour batter and is collected from previous fermentations. The aerobic microbial flora of ersho contains spores of Bacillus species (unable to grow at the low pH of 3.5) and several yeasts (in order of abundance): Candida milleri, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Pichia naganishii and Debaromyces hansenii. The mixture is then allowed to ferment for an average of two to three days, giving it a mildly sour taste.
The baking method for injera has changed little since its origin. Traditionally, the flour is mixed with water and fermented. It is baked by pouring the mixture onto a large circular griddle, known as a mitad. The injera is baked into large, flat and round pieces. The dough’s viscosity allows it to be poured onto the baking surface, rather than rolled out. In terms of shape, injera compares to the French crêpe and the Indian dosa as a flatbread cooked in a circle and used as a base for other foods. In taste and texture, it is more similar to the South Indian appam. The bottom surface of the injera, which touches the heating surface, has a relatively smooth texture, while the top is porous. This porous texture makes injera good for scooping up sauces and dishes.
Baking is done on a circular griddle—either a large black clay plate over a fire or a specialized electric stove. The griddle is known as a mitad (ምጣድ) (in Amharic). Mitads have been found at archaeological sites dating back as far as 600 AD. Nowadays, mitads are no longer always made out of clay, and can also be electric.
In Ethiopia and Eritrea, a variety of stews, salads (during Ethiopian Orthodox fasting, for which believers abstain from most animal products), and more injera (called injera firfir) are placed on the injera for serving. Using one’s hand (traditionally only the right one), small pieces of injera are torn and used to grasp the stews and salads for eating. The injera under these stews soaks up the juices and flavors of the foods, and after the stews and salads are gone, this bread is also consumed. Injera is thus simultaneously a food, eating utensil, and plate. When the entire “tablecloth” of injera is gone, the meal is over.
In Ethiopia and Eritrea, injera is eaten daily in virtually every household. Injera is the most important component of food in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is often both the serving platter and utensil for a meal. Hearty stews such as wat are placed on top of the bread and then the meal is eaten by tearing pieces of injera off and scooping up the stews.
While injera’s literal use as the base and staple of any Ethiopian and Eritrean meal has not changed since its creation, its symbolic value has changed. Different varieties of injera can be found in the highlands vis-à-vis the lowlands of Ethiopia. In the lowlands, injera is often made with sorghum and in the highlands it is more commonly made with barley. Either way, because it is made with something other than teff, its symbolic value has already decreased compared to the symbolic value of injera made with teff. There are symbolic value differences with types of teff as well. White-grained teff is more expensive to buy and thus symbolizes a higher status than its cheaper counterpart, red-grained teff.
Ethiopian awaze sauce – አዋዜ (aka “Spicy Simmer Sauce” in the Ethiopian language of Amharic) – is ridiculously easy to make and is served with most main courses in Ethiopia – it’s the ingredients that are difficult to find in the U.S.! My original recipe for awaze dates back to 2016, and I have updated it here to be slightly more complex in spicing and with a more rounded flavor. I guarantee that once you try awaze, it will become a guaranteed favorite for sating all your spicing needs from breakfast to dinner! To make both awaze and tibs, you will also need to make the unmatched gustatory delight that is niter kibbeh – Ethiopian clarified and curried butter (which I use in and on almost anything that calls for spicy butter!). The recipe for making it with the needed ingredients sourced may be found here and it keeps for weeks in the fridge.
You will also need to make (or buy) the classic and ubiquitous spice blend found in almost every Ethiopian dish, known as berbere. My recipe for it is unmatched and may be found here, or you can buy it premade from the Ethiopian ingredient superstore known as Brundo (the only source for ALL my Ethiopian-specific ingredients, including the tej honey wine that is a part of awaze) – visit them here. Their quality is simply unmatched and My shadow frequently darkens their doorstep at the main store in Oakland, CA.
I refer you to My previous posting for injera here to link to the history, the needed ingredients and learning how to master making it – in an absolute worst case scenario, you can buy injera from a local Ethiopian restaurant (although I do encourage you try to and make it!).
As you have surmised – there is a lot of work and chained recipes needed to make this entire meal, and I make no apologies for it. The best cuisine is a labor of genuine love and your guests and family deserve the same – otherwise, just go out and order it at your local Ethiopian restaurant, if you are lucky enough to have one! However, with all that said – yes there are many sub-recipes needed to make this meal – but awaze can be made up to 1 month in advance as can berbere and niter kibbeh – the tibs itself is actually not difficult to make in the least. Ferment the injera batter in advance and make it while the lamb is marinating.
Tibs is made with beef, goat or lamb – I have always preferred the lamb version with its essence of rosemary, abundance of onion, garlic and hot peppers in addition to its superlative spicing made even more sublime with a dab of awaze on each mouthful. Prepare yourself, gird your culinary loins and prepare to be regaled by the compliments that will be assuredly coming your way when you serve this unique meal – TFD’s favorite!
Make the awaze sauce – combine all. Whisk the mixture together until it forms a paste, adding more wine or oil if necessary. Keep covered and refrigerated for up to 1 month.
Marinate the lamb:
Combine all the marinade ingredients, add the lamb, stir to combine and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
Make the tibs – heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the marinated meat and ½ the vegetables and herbs to the skillet, with the rest of the niter kibbeh and cook until browned but not well-done, about 10 minutes.
Throw in the remaining ½ of the onion and herbs, plus the liquid smoke and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then deglaze with the white wine. Pour off virtually all of the fat and juices.
Serve with injera and awaze sauce.
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ethiopian food is amongst my very favourite cuisines. i haven’t cooked it in some time, and this reminded me to make a little feast at home. cheers, fearless leader!
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ethiopian food is amongst my very favourite cuisines. i haven’t cooked it in some time, and this reminded me to make a little feast at home. cheers, fearless leader!
Long time, thanks so much for the kind words!