Ethiopian night!

We'd tried Ethiopian food for the first time a few months back, and found it rich and really different, with some wonderful new flavor combinations. The menu of the restaurant offered few vegan/vegetarian alternatives, so I wondered what we could do at home. Once we found a source for injera, the huge rounds of spongy, pancake-like bread, the rest was easy!

The menu included injera, attar allecha, Ethiopian lentils, and ye'abesha gomen. First, berberi spice mix. I made a bit extra for future use - and it will be used. Mike said it smells like gingerbread. check out the ingredients!

Eritrean Berberi (Red Pepper Spice Mixture)
I've taken the recipe from here, and chosen to make just 1/2 cup - I didn't know if it would be any good. And yes, it is. I think this would make a terrific spice mix to saute vegetables in.

1/3 cup ground red chili pepper (use dried peppers & grind them fine in the food processor
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/3 tablespoon onion powder
1/3 tablespoon ground ginger
1/3 tablespoon ground cloves
1/3 tablespoon salt
1/4 tablespoon ground cumin
1/3 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
2. Store mixture in an airtight container.

Atar Allecha
recipe source
"A spicy pea puree, goes very well with hot Injeera. Cooking time does not include soaking time for the peas." - quoting the original poster, PinkCherryBlossom.
This was perhaps my own favorite, and one I'll make again (very easy to make, too). With the texture of mashed potatoes, this dish would also be great as a samosa filling, - or, with some added vegetable broth - a nutritious and comforting soup. I have colitis, and it did not bother my stomach (lentils are a whole different story).

1/3 cup onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 cup dried split green peas, soaked cooked and drained
1/2 teaspoon turmeric, ground (I grated whole turmeric root for this, having recently discovered it at a wonderful World foods market in Cary. Not sure it made a different, though)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons hot green peppers, finely chopped
1 cup water (I used veg broth)

1. Mash the peas. Set aside.
2. In dry pan over moderate low heat, stir fry the onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
3. Add oil and stir fry one minute more.
4. Add the mashed peas, tumeric, salt, and chili.
5. Mix well.
6. Add the water and cook 3-4 mins longer to reduce the mixture to a thick, green, well spiced puree.


Ye'abesha Gomen
Another dish from the fabulous PinkCherryBlossom, found here, the recipe author said "Vegetable dishes like this are served on one huge sourdough pancake, called an injeera. The veggies are dolloped on the huge injeera and a breadbasket of smaller injeeras are at hand to be torn into bits so that the veggies can be picked up with it. Can be served hot or cold." This is a very good collard dish, but I think I liked the other one, also posted here, better - the flavors are maybe too subtle for my heat-seaking tastebuds!

1 lb collard greens
1 cup red onions (chopped)
4 medium green peppers, sliced in strips
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon garlic (peeled and chopped)
16 ounces oil
salt

1. Wash collard greens, boil in medium pan until soft.
2. Remove from heat, drain, and cut into small pieces. Set aside.
3. Wash green peppers, remove seeds, slice lengthwise and set aside.
4. In the medium pan, cook onions over a low heat until brown adding a little water to prevent sticking and burning.
5. Add oil. Add collard greens and cook until water disappears.
6. Add all the spices and stir gently. One at a time, add the green pepper slices about 10 minutes before removing from heat.
7. Serve hot or cold.

finally, the fabulous
Ethiopian Lentils
posted here
As noted, I cannot really eat lentils without severe payback, but they were easy to make and delicious (a wonderful scent, too)! I used the berberi spice mix, detailed above, to spice this recipe.

2 cups dried lentils, picked over and washed
6 cups water (again, I used veg broth)
3/4 cup anaheim chilies, seeded and chopped
2 cups red onions, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup spiced butter (used vegetable oil instead)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon berbere, sauce
fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1. Boil the lentils in water for 5 minutes Drain, reserving liquid.
2. In 4 quart saucepot, saute the Anaheim peppers and onions in the spiced butter until the onions are tender.
3. Add the lentils, 4c of the reserved liquid, and the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer.
4. Cook, covered, over low heat 35-40 mins, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

This was fun to make, but a lot of work. I find Ethiopian food interesting but since I can only buy injera in packages of 10 pieces (and it doesn't keep well, falling apart after freezing & thawing) it's not something I'll be making frequently. The peas will be on the menu!