Ethiopian Cooking

I finally found the answer to this thread:

Good Quosta Recipe?
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=26953&hilit=ethiopian

In this thread:

Kolo at Kukulu
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=29576&hilit=ethiopian

I have made half-hearted attempts at Ethiopian cooking several times. It was always insipid. I assumed that restaurant food had enormous amounts of butter and oil. Then one of my friends bought this book:

Exotic Ethiopian Cooking
http://www.amazon.com/Exotic-Ethiopian- ... 588&sr=1-2

I learned that when recipes on line called for butter or oil, they meant spiced butter or oil. I thought about trying to make it, but it seemed like a major pain. When the thread on Kukulu popped up, my procrastination was rewarded with an easy solution. I stopped in this weekend, they have Niter Kebbeh (the spiced butter) available pre-made. The friendly owner told me that even some of the ladies buy it--it takes a deft hand to make at home.

So far I've tried a variation of yatakilt alicha--a potato and green bean stew. Based on a few recipes I saw on line, I cut up some potatoes and boiled them for about 10 minutes, then I added some green beans and boiled another 10 minutes and then steamed some broccoli on top.

In the mean time, I melted about 2 tablespoons of the spiced butter in a sauce pan and then fried a pureed mix in the butter. The puree was a half onion, 3 cloves of garlic, about a half inch of ginger, and two jalapeno peppers I'd thrown in the food processor. When it was fragrant but not yet browning, I mixed in the vegetables and used some of the reserved cooking water to loosen it up. I wish I had pictures to share.

Today, I tried shiro. The market sells the powder--you basically fry the same mix I described above, then add two cups of water and a half cup of the powder. I made the mistake of adding some berbere spice mix to it, but the shiro mix already had some mixed in.

The market and Shan's both sell injera, which I don't think I'll tackle.

I would love to hear other people's attempts and recipes. I'm going to try some quosta next.

Kukulu Market
6129 N Broadway
Chicago
773-262-3169
9am-10pm everyday

Shan's Restaurant/Store
5060 N Sheridan Rd
(between Carmen Ave & Winona St)
Chicago, IL 60640
(Note: Shan's has the injera and some spices, but no magic butter.)

thanks for this! I will have to keep an eye out for that cookbook, Amazon only has used copies starting at $75

did you come across a good recipe for Tikil Gomen? That's one I keep trying to reproduce with poor results. Seems like a simple pan braise of cabbage carrots and potatoes, but mine never turns out like Ras Dashen's. I made my own niter kibbeh a couple of years ago. It keeps forever in the freezer and it adds a wonderful fragrance to indian dishes.

While buying my kolo at Kukulu, I asked the owner about Ethiopian cookbooks. He said they were out of the one usually stocked (not sure which title) but expected to have it soon. So it might be worth asking next time you stop by.

Thanks!

Sarcon, you're a better foodie than I am--I just thought of the clean up when I saw the butter recipe and kept putting it off. It's delicious stuff, so I may try making it this winter.

I haven't found a Tikil Gomen recipe. I don't have access to the cook book right now--I made a bunch of notes and gave it back. It's out of print so $75 is the going rate--more than I want to spend--and it is only in the reference section of the library. Rene G--thanks for the recommendation of speaking to the owner at Kukulu. He was very friendly, so I'll check in when I'm out of butter. It may not be too long at this rate, I want to put it on everything.

I think that the same method I used on the potatoes and beans would work on the Tikil Gomen. Cook the vegetables separately--either steam or boil and make the puree of onions, garlic, peppers, and ginger, and then cook it in the spiced butter. Add the vegetables in at the end with some of the cooking water. I think it would work because the beans and potatoes had a very similar consistency to the Tikil Gomen I've had at Ras Dashen. If I get a cabbage in the next couple of weeks of my CSA (which seems a safe bet), I'll let you know.

The one thing I'll add about the berbere spice is that I find that it tastes pretty raw if you don't cook a while in oil, the way you have to turn thai curry paste dark. One of the problems with the shirro I made is that it has a raw chili flavor.

sarcon wrote:did you come across a good recipe for Tikil Gomen? That's one I keep trying to reproduce with poor results. Seems like a simple pan braise of cabbage carrots and potatoes, but mine never turns out like Ras Dashen's. I made my own niter kibbeh a couple of years ago. It keeps forever in the freezer and it adds a wonderful fragrance to indian dishes.

According to Maritu at Ras Dashen, their tikil gomen is made thusly: saute an onion in olive oil, slowly, until soft. Add carrots, add potatoes, cook until soft, add cabbage, add a dash of curry powder. Yes, I made it, and no, it wasn't exactly the same, but it was quite tasty. Time-consuming, though.