Discovering ETHIOPIAN Cuisine

Fascinating Amharic Script

Bole Road - one of the main arteries in Addis.

Global Coca-Cola

An exhibit in the National Museum

View from the museum.

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DISCOVERING ETHIOPIAN CUISINE

Although it may not be high on many travellers’ lists, I really enjoyed my short time in Ethiopia. The people were physically striking and generally warm and friendly. The capital, Addis Ababa, was also a fun place to explore for a 3-day layover. My impressions? Well, Addis had a few grandiose pockets such as the president's palace and the 5-star hotels but, relatively speaking, it looked much poorer than many other capitals I've been to. That said, the streets were still very colourful regardless of the level of affluence, whether it was high end variegated marble walls or much cheaper corugated tin partitions painted in bold colours. The “Merkato”, which is purported to be the largest outdoor market in Africa, was also very colourful and was a fun place to shop for out of the ordinary spices, fabrics, metal work and other souvenirs.


The highlight of our stay in Ethiopia was, for me, its unique cuisine. As if to incorporate more of the senses, it is eaten with the hands instead of utensils. And it is a sensory treat: visually engaging bright reds and oranges from the wa’t sauces, aromas that draw you in, and then complex blends of spices that seemed to make every morsel a tiny work of art. I could move to Ethiopia for its cuisine alone.


I was so enchanted by the national dishes that I actually bought an Ethiopian cookbook at the airport. Apart from various recipes, it had chapters on Ethiopian culture that made a fascinating read. Let me end with an excerpt from the book. I’ll preface it with the fact that I have no idea if this accurately reflects/reflected Ethiopian society or if it is the author’s isolated viewpoint. I would also make the comment that social and cultural engagement, much like Ethiopian spices, can be quite complex. Still, the excerpt provides some food for thought….


From “Exotic Ethiopian Cooking”, D.J. Mesfin, 2004.

An Ethiopian man is always the diner; never the cook. The kitchen is off-limits to him. His woman doubles up as cook, servant and waitress. In a childless household, she washes her huband’s feet and brings him a vessel and water pot for him to wash his hand before touching food. Washing hands before a meal is a must. The lady of the house only promotes herself to chef if she can afford domestic help or has a daughter.
A woman worth her salt values her cooking no less than her looks. In fact, she is more partial to her cooking because she is socially judged by it: an unaccomplished woman makes her husband a laughing stock. Her honor, therefore, depends on her standing in society. It is also a matter of honor and duty that she creates her daughter in her own image – a good cook, housewife and mother. That attribute and her virginity make her a prize catch for a suitor. In this catalogue of virtues, good conduct, pleasant character and respectability are plus points. For, as our saying goes, a good wife is her husband’s crown.

SOUTH AFRICA Road Trip

Cedarberg's arid landscape.

Forests and coast along the Garden Route

The Drakensberg Mountains

Cape Agulhas - the southern most point in Africa



Cape Dutch Architecture

Table Mountain

Stellenbosch in SA's Wine Region

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SA Road Trip!

… Road trip out to Cape Town to attend our friends Monica and Neil’s wedding. It’s a 16-hour drive from Johannesburg to Cape Town but we decided to take it slow, not driving more than 3 or 4 hours per day, thus allowing us to take in the varied landscape between Jo’burg and the Cape. To describe the trip in familiar North American terms, it was like cutting through a 3-hour swathe of Qu’appelle Valley Saskatchewan, followed by a bit of Wyoming, leading to drier Arizona, then passing through lusher Vancouver Island, and finally traversing unnerving (but stunning!) mountain passes to arrive at California’s Pacific Coast Highway.


But then, of course, that’s in North American terms, which does an injustice to South Africa’s distinct flavour. In the first rural town we stayed at, for example, we visited a dusty bar where we witnessed Afrikaaner “langarm dans”, a dance style that looked like a cross between Texan line-dancing and European waltzing. When we arrived in our club clothes and dissimilar style of shakin’, we were initially gawked at like some aliens from a far-flung urban galaxy. It didn’t take long, however, before they were chatting with us and we were enveloped in their hospitality. You’d have been hard pressed to find any music from our millennium playing at their club, but I learned that isn’t what’s needed to have a great time.


The next bit of our road trip, the Karoo, reminded me very much of South-Western United States, with its arid landscape and craggy mountain backdrop. But then, periodically, there’d be the incongruous thatched huts or ostrich farms that would serve to remind you that you weren’t in Kansas, or Arizona, or anywhere in the western hemisphere for that matter. This was Africa.


The next leg of our trip was, of course, also Africa but the contrast was so great, you would have thought it was another continent. Approaching a town called Knysna, the dry air moistened and the mountains greened correspondingly. First, small flowering bushes, then taller and lusher until we were towered by dense, yellow-wood stands. We had reached what is very aptly called “the Garden Route”, a quite enjoyable spot to spend a couple of days hiking and exploring.


Continuing past the Garden Route, you eventually hit the end of the earth. I.e., “Cape Agulhas”, the southern-most tip of Africa. The tiny village was how one might romanticize it to be: wind-blown, out-of-the-way, sleepy, with a picturesque lighthouse dominating the landscape. Obviously not the place to find pulsating night-life but there’s something to be said for that slower pace; something to be said for the deep gulps of fresh sea air and the mesmerizing pounding of two oceans…Definitely worth venturing off the beaten path for.


In contrast, once again, our next stop was Cape Town. This city is arguably the gem of South Africa. Apart from its charming Dutch-style architecture, Cape Town has a scenic ocean front at its feet and the arresting “Table Mountain” covering its back. Fantastic scenery, vibrant street life, beautiful people, beautiful food, beautiful time: Thank you, Monica and Neil, for having your wedding there!


Their wedding, as to be expected, was unforgettable. It was held on the lawn of a stately villa, with grand eucalyptus trees rimming the perimeter and Table Mountain overlooking in the background. A group of African singers delivered polyrythmic songs as the radiant bride was escorted down the lawn. Neil looked dashing in airy Nigerian robes. The ceremony itself was peppered with distinctly African traditions that were new to me (bride and groom jumping over a broom, for example), but the universal feeling of warmth was there, as was a universal joy in celebrating the bond between two soul-mates.
I might have even shed one of those universal tears…