Ethiopian

While I was in Brisbane I also took the liberty of going on a little adventure. I found myself in Marooka, or little Africa as it should be called. It was almost unsettling, but mostly awesome that it actually felt as if I had left the country. I had those travel feels of being the odd one out and full of wonder. As I roamed the streets I was the only white person… and a blonde hair, blue eye-d one at that. I was on the hunt for injera, an Ethiopian flat bread that put into the too hard basket when I looked at cooking it myself. It was the key element in the meal that I had in mind for Sunday night so I made it my mission to find some. It wasn’t too long before I saw a sign up indicating that ‘Ethiopian Village’ could have the goods. So I went down a dark alley way, past an African barber blasting their music while working on a tight weave, and found the restaurant. Except there was smoke billowing out it looking like incense on steroids and it looked as if I was going to walk into someone’s house. I peered through the curtains and was waved in by a group of Ethiopian men gathered around for what seemed like a routine coffee and chat.

I approached what had to be the counter and was eventually greeted by a welcoming face who had to be surprised to see the likes of me. I asked if they sold injera and hoped that I got the pronunciation correct. She seemed hesitant but said it would be $1 a piece and she would check out the back, I guess you were meant to order ahead. I was asked to wait, which I did happily as I saw the different ‘locals’ come in and out, helping themselves to the kitchen. The bread was huge and a steal for a mere $1 per piece considering I wouldn’t even attempt to try at home. As I walked back to the car, with the backdrop of the incredible sunset, I was reminded of the surprising kindness you stumble across when travelling. It really shouldn’t surprise me anymore.

Now that I had my injera I had some cooking to do. I decided to use the Ethiopian recipes from Feast for Freedom to cook some authentic dishes. It reminded me of Ugandan cooking in a lot of ways. I invited over some friends to share my spoils with and in keeping with true to African style, we enjoyed on the floor. It was such a fun eating experience. You rip off the injera and use it to eat pick up the other dishes. No cutlery here. The only way I could describe the injera is as a sourdough pancake crumpet. I think I’ll have to visit my friends in Africa for another Ethiopian experience soon.

Good food is good-er with good people.

-Me

• Cuisine: Ethiopian
• Dish/es: Injera, Tikel Gomen (cabbage and potato curry), Misir Wot (red lentil stew), Habesha Goman (spinach and mushroom) and rice.
• Company: Two couples and the housemate and I