If you know me, you know I love food. Yes I cook, but sometimes when you have a craving, it’s just that craving.

The Manhattan from BooyeMonger, a delicious sandwich filled with cooked spinach, bacon and hot Roast beef with a house dressing; the crust from a wood oven baked pizza at Pizza Paradiso; the noodles in Bangkok Joes; and Tibs at madget.

I love Thai food, and it’s the first thing that pops to mind whenever the sun sets and I am hungry. When I first moved to the current dwelling, I went for Sushi nearby and ended up with an almost perfect Chicken Drunken Noodle.

The place called Yamazatoes, it’s really a Japanese spot with a fourth Thai dishes. I am not a big fan of ‘lets get two different types of cuisine in one location’ so that we can compete in two markets idea, so I was hesitant at first.

Anyways the dish was great for 11 big ones. Thus I started picking it up on my way home; at least once every two weeks and in some cases once a week.

One day I called to pick it up, and by the time It was time to pick it up, I was invited to a dinner gathering and so I skipped. Two weeks or so later when I called to make my order, the lady on the other side said hold on and brought the owner to the phone. He complained that I called and didn’t pick up.

‘Sorry it won’t happen again.’ And everything was back to normal, except the person who would pick up the phone would get some kind of approval before they accepted my order.

I always thought it was rude; so what! if I missed to pick up one order, I am a loyal customer and you should treat me as such.

If I had a choice I would have been a goner; unlike the Korean dry cleaner that was conveniently located next to my grocery store. I dropped of my corduroy sports jacket with the other usual stuff. Everything came back fine except they forgot to clean the jacket or something, because a particular large stain remained untouched.

I dropped it back the next time I went; the owner wasn’t there and I insisted they clean it for free, second time around. They left her a note asserting my claim.

When I came back to pick it up, she basically fought back and said I must have wore it again, because it was a while ago. I got animated and said you think I want to cheat you 7$, you didn’t clean it the first time around. And eventually I said I won’t be back. My average monthly dry cleaning expense will be spent elsewhere for ever.

Drunken Noodle was on my mind when I called to order but right after I hanged up I got a call from a girl, inviting me to dinner. I called right back and canceled the order, 2 minutes or so in between.

Next time I called, the owner got on the phone and said he is not taking orders from me. I explained the situation and he finally took the order.

A few weeks later I went to pick up…but this time I didn’t order ahead, I just arrived and ordered and he was at the front desk and told me that he is not taking orders over the phone from me.

Just come here and pay first,” in his thick far eastern accent with a dismissive tone. I told him, you know I average 26 orders a year, 2 years and counting. Do you know how much money that is?

He said he knows, how much I order from them. I reiterated that the cost of me messing up twice or even 6 times in a year is minute. If you want me to pay for the missed and canceled order I will pay. But you have to realize that there is such a thing about business costs.

And he said ok! If I mess up again just add it up as a business cost.  But I was thinking ya, don’t let your black people prejudice affect your business; nevertheless didn’t say it out loud since I don’t want him to spit on my drunken noodle.

This post is dedicated to my big sister, who is the biggest foodie I know.

I volunteered to write a column about my Abesha restaurant experience on Bernos after reading Nolawi’s very recent entry about Kitfo. I emailed Bernosoch and got myself nominated for the task. Even though I did not get the excitement and enthusiasm I expected from the Bernosoch, they nonetheless promised to publish my piece…I thank u!

I did not think I would be on the other side of the table in this restaurant. Bekka I just never saw myself as a waitress especially not in an Abesha restaurant. But the opportunity presented itself at the time I was so desperate for money. Of course my desire to work there was met with a strong resistance from my family due to the bias about Abesha restaurant waitresses.

I took the job anyways and I have a love and hate relationship with it. I have learned a great deal, I have truly enjoyed my time spent with my colleagues…and I witnessed the true definition of multitasking from the girl who works in the kitchen!

I generally try to observe how people carry themselves. I notice from the way X talks and Y walks to more subtle characters that are unique to each individual. Hence, my work gives me a chance to scrutinize people without being noticed. Here are the few observations about how most people (Abesha) carry themselves in Abesha restaurant. These are my personal observations and may not apply to everyone.

I hand the menus as soon as you take your seats and wait a couple of minutes until you are ready to give orders. But most of you don’t even bother to open it, you just sit and talk. After some time you will signal for me to take your order, and most likely you are not ready to order. I don’t know why you can not decide on what kind of Kitfo you want before you call me to take your orders.

It’s simple restaurant etiquette but yet most people tend to ignore it. I suspect that you inspect the menu in non-Abesha restaurants with so much energy and enthusiasm. It really ticks me off when you say with such assurance “derk Tibs!” or “gorde gorde” this or that kind of tibs ….I usually have to bite my lips from saying “ere medhanyalm Y’adrekeh! What makes you think we have derk Tibes?” …. how about you consult the menu for what kind of tibs we have.

The menu is both Abesha and fernji friendly and I assure you that you will be able to understand it. Unless you really know we serve what you want, how about you all take a moment to look if we serve your “gurde gurde”

And the menu also has the list of drinks we serve. Please don’t ask me for “Tela” or “tej.” I have heard that joke too many times that it has become a nuisance.

Almost all of you wash your hand before you eat. That is a great quality and I am sure it saves you from ingesting a lot of germs. But however, it is in your best interest if you wash your hands before the food arrives. Especially if you ordered “tere Kitfo” you can not afford to go to the restroom for 10 minutes to fix your hair. And please don’t call me and say “wey betam kezekez.” Clearly, it is gone get cold! I can heat it for you but don’t expect me to bring you another “tere Kitfo.” Heat cooks the meat in case you did not know … and thus becomes a bit more like “leb leb.”

If you find that our food is not to your standards please tell us so in clear manner (I am usually open to positive criticism). It’s pretty amazing how I get “tibsu gene yehone cheger alew.” I understand that the food is not as great as some people like and I can change it for you.

But I can not read your mind and clearly I can not just take back your order because it slightly falls behind your great aunts tibs. If you want me to change your order you better give me a good reason why I should do so. Just because it’s an Abesha restaurant does not mean you can eat and leave as you please.

Its business and it is that before anything else. Ha ha ha I even had a customer who asked me “tinish shiro ke guno argibet” I was so close to blurting out “Yene embet, this is not your mam’s Teklehaymanout Mahber” This is a restaurant and if you want something, I will add it to you tab “whether it is tenesh ke gonu” or not.

Every night I go home with good tip money and with lots of things to laugh about. I once asked my fernji colleague what she thinks about our Abesha clienteles. She said the very common thing most fernjis say “I am scared of their smile. It is so beautiful.” And she went on and added “you are all a polite bunch.” I agree with her. It has been a pleasure working in an Abesha restaurant and most of my customers are so kind and understanding.

My dear customers you are indeed a polite bunch!

Don’t get me wrong I like Kitfo, especially good Kitfo. But this has to be the second most ordered food at Ethiopian Restaurants when Ethiopians attend.

Here in DC, Dama Restaurant by public consensus has the best Kitfo; possibly in the whole US of A.

Kitfo is good but I am tired of ordering it, every time I go to Ethiopian Restaurants.

It also gets somewhat awkward when you are about to order, one of the guys likes his cooked, others like it TireA, and others Leb Leb.

I think cooked Kitfo is great, but there are times I like it completely TireA.

The Kitfo Compatibility Test

I went to have a 4 pm meal with a friend and his girl friend. Two entrée’s, one is Kitfo but the dilemma was how to have it prepared. The waitress anxiously waiting; I like usual tried to make it easy on every one… whatever you guys choose.

When in fact I should have been a bit more assertive and ordered Leb Leb. She wanted it cooked, he wanted it raw. A minute passed, the waitress said I will give you a few minutes.

Finally I decided to meddle in and say ‘in between it is!’

What would they have done, without me? Does she win or does he?

Later, I decided to ask them who usually wins. She said he and he said she. They couldn’t even decide on that. They should break up right away! Of course I didn’t say that but I made a crude joke to lighten the moment before they started punching each other.

I like my Kifto raw like Qinter!

This is going to be a series of post with stuff I really like.  Basically I will post the stuff maybe a picture or a video or a link and a little description.

Hey I like a lot of different stuff; let me know what you like?

1. Ergonomics office chair – since I spend a lot of time on the computer and I am so restless, I like to have the perfect chair, I am consistently unhappy with the design and flexibility of most office chairs. I just ordered the below a few minutes ago.



2. Basil- I love the taste smell freshness of basil, its one of those things that makes food m mmmm so gooood you want to bite your fingers. You can’t make any type of decent pasta with no basil, not dried old basil, fresh basil – it only lasts about a week in the fridge so you have to make something good everyday. And don’t cook it but use it as a sort of garish, put it on after you are done cooking.



3. Hot Coffee- There is nothing more important than the first coffee in the morning. I live like a zombie, who hasn’t gotten enough sleep in weeks. I have hard time waking up and the coffee is the only thing that gives me the energy to go from the morning to early afternoon. I love the smell, taste and the feeling coffee gives me.

]]> http://www.bernos.org/blog/2008/12/08/stuff-i-like/feed/ 70 http://www.bernos.org/blog/2008/05/27/price-of-a-good-dinner/ http://www.bernos.org/blog/2008/05/27/price-of-a-good-dinner/#comments Tue, 27 May 2008 17:00:50 +0000 DawitK http://www.bernos.org/blog/?p=794

This past week I moved to my new apartment as I’m still organizing everything. Including the kitchen…I still have to buy stuff for my empty refrigerator.

So yesterday I decided to grab dinner by myself as I got Rigatoni pasta dish at a local restaurant. The bill including tip was 20$; which is the price of a good dinner.

This week also memorializes, pun intended, bernos 2nd year anniversary since we opened our business. With that I thought we should give a celebratory discount, down to the price of a good dinner, including shipping of course.

This week and only this week, we offer free shipping; on all bernos orders, including to all our customers overseas.

You get your bernos tee at your doorsteps for the price of a good dinner. If you haven’t gotten a bernos tee yet, this is your chance. It takes less than one minute to place your order online.

The bernos tees seen below are currently available ranging in price at about 20$.

Thank you all for your continued support.

There is a prominent Chinese American chef on PBS named Martin Yan; he makes Cantonese style quick and easy stir-fry recipes.

He has a popular phrase at the end of his show where he would put the last garnish on the entrée and he would loudly say

and remember… If Yan Can Cook, So Can You!”

I can’t help but smile every time I hear it because it’s so catchy, much like a popular phrase from the radio during WWII era in which a legendary host would say “Good Night and Good Luck!”

You might have heard because George Clooney titled his Film about the host after it.

Except when Martin Yan says it, he doesn’t pronounce the ‘N’s and its quite funny. It sounds like ‘If Ya Ca Koo So Ka Yu!‘

And I can’t stop laughing when people make fun of it by changing it up and saying “If Yan can’t, then neither can you!” or many other reiterations of the phrase.

I hate to make fun of accents, as I have an accents that can be construed as an Indian-Ethiopian that migrated to America; and that is another story.

Right before I was going to put the Pizza in the Oven

So I bought book on quick and easy stir-fry dish because I wanted break my Wok Meron and Dawit bought me when I moved into my apartment. I haven’t yet because these days I have been making pizza, at least once a week after I bought a pizza stone that works better than the wood oven at Wolf Gang Pucks.

Making pizza is very easy and much of the work is the dough. After the second time I have it down to a science the way I like it. I can even throw it up in the air!

The ingredients change based on what is in the fridge but I have put almost any vegetable and or meat on it, on different occasions of course.

The best thing about making pizza is that you can flavor it in different styles, like my Ethiopian meatballs, I have made it very Ethiopian by flavoring like the fried Bederjan we used to have in our home in Ethiopia.

For those not familiar with what Bederjan is, it’s a special eggplant that is found in Ethiopia. They mostly make Wot with it but it’s not the same as one found in the west. The Latin name is actually Solanum aethiopicum, notice the Ethiopian in the name. So they call it ‘Ethiopian eggplant.’ My mom would argue that the small fat Egg plant is found at the Korean store, thus not making it Ethiopian at all.

Eggplant is popular in our house hold, both my sisters; make fried egg plant but breaded Italian style in most cases. My younger sister uses eggplant in many dishes, including salad.

In Ethiopia eggplant is used in different things. Like this Ethiopian Eggplant salad or the Bederjan wot; not a big fan of it but it beats having Shiro with no meat. Even the Eritrean serve it with bereberE and tomato sauce; I am not a big fan of that either; BerberE and Tomatoes should not mix.

Pizza Out from the Oven cooling, look at the perfect puffy crust, just the way I like it!

Mostly though, I prefer Margherita style pizza, tomatoes, basil, parsley and Red Bell Peppers with different types of cheeses. So I make the pizza with a different reiteration based on what is available in the refrigerator.

And thus, remember …. If Nolawi Ca Koo, So Ka Yu!

Last Thursday, which happens to be the day that our own Meron turns 22 years old, we went to celebrate it by organizing all her closest friends, presumably, to a dinner gathering.

We decided on having dinner at a famous local Moroccan spot her is DC. The whole enchilada, it’s a seven course meal but you don’t get to pick the food. Its standard with one choice, one of the entrée is either Lamb or Beef. We chose the latter.

Seven of us, and most of us had never met before.

They washed our hands, Ethiopian style and brought us a towel too, which is supposed to be used to wipe stuff, since we are suppose to eat most of the items by hand.

The also brought Meron a little sambusa with a firework candle attached to it, and a shot of a port wine like homemade Vino. And at the end, she got a certificate, saying in “its your birthday…” or something to that extent. I can’t read Arabic, but they write from the right to the left.

I took picture and you can find the album here, but most of the pictures I didn’t post because dawit messed it up. As you can see and as you have seen Dawit is always very uncomfortable when there is a camera around. He likes to pose, and look at the camera as if he is a model or something. Thus, deleted all the photos that looks posed, because posing doesn’t capture the moment, it captures faraness.

Dawit, stop posing for photos, just relax and continue to do your thing, with out faking a pose. This actually applies to everyone that has a pocket digital camera and poses with people at every event, this is stupid, instead of posing just take the godamn picture while people are doing their thing, this way I know what it would feel like to have been there.

How would you react if you discover that the juicy kurte sega you had for dinner last night was from a cloned cow? Well, if the idea of eating a cloned meat doesn’t quite sit well with you, on your next trip to a grocery store, you’d want to check the meat label and see if it’s from a cloned or natural cow. What if there is no label on it?

That is what the FDA is saying – don’t ask, don’t tell on cloned meats. The FDA announced last week that meat from cloned animals and their offspring is safe to eat as that from their counterparts bred the old-fashioned way. But here is the thing, the FDA won’t require such meat to be labeled or tracked.

Cloning indeed causes genetic alterations; the extraordinary rates of early and horrible deaths among cloned animals testify graphically to that. However, the FDA counters that a clone capable of reaching breeding maturity is safe and that genetic alterations caused during cloning aren’t passed to their offspring.

Surveys also show that “more than 60 percent of the U.S. population is uncomfortable with the idea of animal cloning for food and milk.” The single biggest reason people give is “religious and ethical,” with concerns about food safety coming in second.

By contrast, proponents say, Clones are not genetically engineered animals. They are simply twins, albeit born a generation apart.

I wouldn’t have a problem eating a cloned meat if I knew the cloning process was 100% perfect and the new animal was 100% identical to the original, but if that is the case then what is causing the unnaturally short lifespan and horrible deaths for cloned animals? – I will let FDA eat this first, wait for few years and then get back to me with the results… if whoever ate it is still around that is.

I like integrating American food with Ethiopian. One of the things I remember growing up was the mini meatballs on toothpicks that were served Hors d’œuvre like at wedding and birthday parties.

We would always have them and gibjza’s in our place… I really loved them, and everyone I know loved them too; they disappeared really fast!

Ethiopian meatballs are distinct in comparison to the rest of the world meatballs. For example, Swedish meatballs are too soft for me, and the Italians one are too big and hold so much moisture.

It’s great that Ethiopians in the US still make them the way I had them growing up, I see these meatballs mostly at weddings, not so much at birthday parties.

Nowadays Abesha birthdays are more barbeque than parties, and I abhore it. Esti, if you are going to throw a bash for you 32nd birthday do something different. I was at your birthday barbeque every year since your 27th and every year I eat your dry burger that come pre-made from the grocery store. Ya, even cave men can throw a meat on the fire!

Get some Ethiopian Meatballs at your party; I will even share my recipe. Its imperative to remember is that these meatballs need to be very small; marble size, and served room temperature; because you have to the flavor of the fresh Qaria.

Ground Qaria is the focal point of Ethiopian Meatballs. Enclosed my recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef – ground your own, the fresher the better
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs – unflavored, or you can just used flour
• 1 egg beaten to death
• 1/8 cup, feta or mozzarella cheese, ( u can switch with cream or another egg)
• 3 to 4 jalapeño peppers ground (Qaria)
• 2 cloves freshly ground garlic
• salt
• pepper
• fresh rosemary

Preparations:

Mix all ingredients together. Mixture should be moist but not so that the meatballs fall apart.

Shape meatballs to marble size and place on a frying pan 1/8 cup of olive oil — place rosemary in oil for flavoring. (I wet my hands before shaping each meatball and it helps make a nice ball.) Broil until outside is slightly brown on one side and then turn and broil the other side. Take out and put on plate with paper towel. Wait until cool before serving.

And don’t forget to put a toothpick on it!

Some Ethiopian expatriates are under the impression that eating raw meat is unhealthy. The act like eating raw meat is an uncivilized Ethiopian fad that should be stopped where it started, in Ethiopia.

Well dears, eating raw meat neither started in Ethiopia nor is it only practiced in Ethiopia. Not only is it perfectly health but it is also good for you.

A lot of people are a little bit intimidated about eating raw meat and fish, which is a great shame because I think they are really missing out," he said. "It is a very healthy and natural way of doing things." 1

A lot of Ethiopians suffer from Acid Reflux disease (more commonly known as ‘Cheguarayen Amemegne’) due to I don’t know what. I too suffered in the past. One of the things I did was eat raw meat to reduce the levels of acid in my stomach. Yap one of those traditional known medicines.

So expats, no need to look down upon Ethiopians who choose to eat it raw. No need to worry about Kosso. 

All you need is three ingredients:

• Berbere, which is what, is needed to make a good Awaze for Tire Sigga. I like my Awaze simple and somewhat thin, especially if it’s for Tire Sigga. My recipe for awaze, equal amounts of Berebere and Tej or any available Liquor; two table spoons of each is enough for single serving.  Depending on the flavor of the Berbere I might put some black pepper for extra kick.
• Injera, this is not a requirement but a preference.
• Fresh Meat, the fresher the better.

Now that my mouth is watery, I am going to the closest Ethiopian super store. In honor of our Megebwochachine, podcasted is Mohamud Ahmad's 60’s hit Atkilt FiraFire; which by the way is on my list of top Mohamud Songs. Eje YasQoretimal!

This pair of maps show the global presence of Starbucks coffee shops and McDonald's restaurants. When examined graphically, both companies act as global hubs that connect some of the world's poorest, most remote countries with some of the wealthiest.

There was only around 1000 Starbucks in the mid-90s and around 6000 today. An increase of only 6x, yet the bar for today is probably around 100x the size of the bars in the mid-90s.

The majority American junk food lovers are happy to see this report, Thank god for them Starbucks & McD's. are all over the world. I can't imagine having to take a vacations without thier coffee or McSlop burger!

This is an interesting article I found

Global coffee giant Starbucks has opposed a plan by Ethiopia to gain more control over its coffee trade and a larger share of the earnings for millions of coffee farmers living in poverty, international agency Oxfam revealed today.

Last year the Ethiopian government filed applications to trademark its most famous coffee names, Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe. Securing the rights to these names would enable Ethiopia to capture more value from the trade, by controlling their use in the market and thereby enabling farmers to receive a greater share of the retail price. Ethiopia's coffee industry and farmers could earn an estimated $88 million (USD) extra per year. Read More

Hummmmmm, Yippee! More over priced coffee, bad food and crappy jobs. It truly is a virus!
I wonder if the average McDonald's "wage slave" can even afford a daily Starbuck$?  

About five years ago I bought a Wok. Why? because the Japanese version the Iron Chef became the hottest show on the Food Network. For those of you who do not know, I cook a mean everything.

Bobby Flay’s southwestern style mixed with anything works for me. Just wait till you taste my cheese steak with Ethiopian flare; I put berbere in it and take out the cheese. Don’t worry I don’t eat it with Injera.

I do love that General Tso, but my attempt at making it has been a major disaster. Recipe after recipe, it just doesn’t seem to work for me.

I think westerners attempt at writing eastern recipes should just be outlawed. Just look at this recipe for Ethiopia Beef & Peppers. I guess that is suppose to be Tibs, but I have never seen my grandma ever put red wine in it. Yes, I occasionally put all types of alcohol on top of the sautéed onions in order to get the flavoring from the bottom of the Dist. But com’on Tumeric & Bell peppers in Tibs! That is not Ethiopian. Get some Tej & Berbere or a clue!

Who do you think you are? This is not Kitchen Stadium; and you are not Iron Chef Morimoto to make over-the-top culinary concoctions and call it Ethiopian!

We just had Fasika last week. We made Doro Wot just like Ethiopia, well not exactly; I mean we had twelve biletoch and eggs in it but the twelve pieces were comprised of only legs. Kind of like the twelve leg packages in plastic wrapper at the local grocery store. Yes a Doro Wot with no Feresgna no Melalacha and especially no MequaDesha, my favorite part.

Yes, we could have meG’enetatal a full chicken. However, it is easier to go with 12 legs.

At least we have circle teff Injera; as when I first came to this country, the Injera was square. The story goes that the made Injera on a square pancake meTad. Then one innovative entrepreneur got the idea to get a circle meTad custom made in Canada.

Whenever they send food from agerbet, I cannot stand the Injera; it is so thin and tastes like water. The Injera is DC is thick, filling and qomtaTa. It tastes better than the original.

What is the fixation of Injera and Kifo anyways? Back home we had non-Injera related foods daily. We forgot the Genfo, Che’Cheb’Sa, Atimit, Kolo, Beso, Qunta, ChiqKo, Bula, ane’Babero and etc; among other things.

Did I forget anything?

When was the last time you were served by a male waiter in an Ethiopian restaurant?

If you are like me, only once; and in that instance the waiter happened to the owner of the restaurant. Ethiopian restaurants servers, in general are only females. Of course, I am talking about the restaurants here in the United States. I have not been to every restaurant, but I have been to many in different cities.

Hooters is the brand name of a popular restaurant based in the US plus 13 other countries throughout the world. The marketing strategy is brilliantly masterminded to serving bad food with a beautiful young woman in scantly clad clothing. “Hooter girls ” are chosen based upon their breast size, as well as all round good looks.

If small-chested, they may be asked to pad their bras. They are instantly recognizable by their uniform of a white tank top with the Hooters owl logo and the location name on the front paired with the famously short orange runners' shorts. Originally, the T-shirts were white cotton, pulled tight, and knotted in the back to emphasize the breasts.

The qualifications to be a “hooters girl” are controversial, as it is objectification of woman at best. The number of past and pending sexual discrimination law suits is astounding. At the end, it is legal in almost all countries.

In Washington D.C. Metro

There are over 50 Ethiopian restaurants, most marketed directly to Ethiopians. Increasingly, I have noticed that some are exploring outside that of the traditional marketing strategy. Some like Zed’s Ethiopian Restaurant and others advertise only to non-Ethiopians. Some have nightly entertainment; some have big flat screen television screens with Ethiopian music videos.

The traditional marketing philosophy of “serve good food and they will come” has become antiquated. Good service has never really corresponded with Ethiopian restaurants, atleast not in the US.

The new philosophy seems to be “a kitfo served with a beautiful young Ethiopian tastes much better than just a kitfo.”

In addition, I think they might be right, as I prefer Madjet to Roha . Madjet servers are younger and more Konjo!

A friend who decided to cook for a group of people did not have NiTr Kibe, so she decided to cook with regular butter. I must say it lacked depth compared to what I am used to. Ethiopian food is complicated to start from scratch.

In a sense, all ethnic food is complicated. For Indian food, you can find curry packaged in a shaker at the local grocery store; for Chinese, you can readily find soy sauce, and other spices in the spice section.

From what I know curry is home made in the Indian household. They do not buy it, in most cases they make it from scratch. The packaged stuff is only available in the west.

One day we will have Berbe’rE and NiT’r Kibe at Safeway Ethiopian section, but till then we can make NiT’r Kibe on a need basis. We do not have to have it delivered from Ethiopia.

Here are instructions from a Daniel Mesfin on his book Exotic Ethiopian Cooking on ‘how to purify butter to herbed butter.’ I assume his version is for white people as it is a little tamer than my grandmother’s version. Even so, it is better than regular butter in your Tibs or Wot. My recommendation is that you hold of on the Red Onion and double the azmud and besobila. I make my own version all the time.

For those who are going to disagree on ingredients and process of the above; please mention what, as I plan to write ‘the ultimate NiT’r Qibe Recipe for Ethiopians living abroad. Coincidentally I found a place where you can buy Ethiopia spices online.