Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions from the Horn of Africa

Ethiopian cooking can be intimidating, especially injera, the country’s hallmark sourdough flatbread, the starter batter for which takes days to prepare and a magician’s touch to pour properly into a skillet. This colorful exploration of Ethiopia’s culturally diverse gastronomy, “influenced by ... different climates and geography,” its role as an historic crossroads of faiths and by its trade with the Arabian Peninsula, Africa’s interior and Asia, guides the reader through dozens of recipes. Spices are key ingredients, especially berbere, a blend of chiles, ginger, cardamom and more, that is “hot, but not blisteringly so.” Fenugreek figures prominently in the meat stews featured here, favored by citizens of Harar, home for many of the country’s Muslims, while dates sweeten date and orange marmalade.