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What images or thoughts does the country Ethiopia bring to mind? Some think of Rastafarians, who believe Emperor Haile Selassie I is God incarnate. Others think of it as the oldest country in Africa and the place of possible birth of man. A lot of people think of food, or lack thereof. They think of Ethiopia as a place of starving people, such as South Park's "Starvin Marvin" character. When I think of Ethiopia, my mouth waters

You see, Ethiopia is the home to one of my favorite cuisines. Ethiopian food is so good, I have never taken someone to their restaurant and had that person dislike the food. This is even more astonishing when you realize you eat with your hands using injera to pick up the food. Injera is similar to a tortilla, but is spongier and kind of rubbery. Sounds terrible right ... you are so wrong.

Wikipedia calls injera a pancake-like bread made out of teff flour. Which sounds a lot better, even though I have no idea what teff flour is. All I know is that this food is delicious.

The food generally consists of either vegetables, beef, lamb, or chicken (there are dishes with fish as well) either in a stew (called a wot) or sautéed (tibs). There are other styles, but these are the main two that I have had. They take all the orders of the people you are with and put them all on one dish on top of a piece of injera with sides of salad and kiki wot (lentils). Everyone shares. Everyone goes home full and happy.

A few tips for the menu ... beef is "sega" or "siga", chicken is doro, lamb is yebeg, and fish is asa. Alicha does not have berbere and is therefore a milder form of wot.

So whenever you think of Ethiopia now, think of amazing food andgo find an Ethiopian place near you. You will not be disappointed. If you are nervous about strong flavors try some tibs to start out. Enjoy!