Note: this article was built from an AI-generated base, then totally rewritten because this was utter shit. Don’t use AI.
Injera and how meals work
Most Ethiopian meals are built around injera, the sour flatbread that works as plate, starch and utensil. Stews, vegetables and meat are served on top or beside it. Pieces of injera are used to pick up the stews.
Injera is traditionally made with teff, though some recipes mix in wheat or barley. Those mixed versions contain gluten. Honestly, I found Injera pretty disgusting, I can’t stand sour tastes. So I suffered for my three weeks and a half I had in Ethiopia.
Hand-feeding someone a bite of injera is called gursha, a gesture of affection or hospitality.
Core stews and fasting plates
Beyaynetu is a mixed fasting plate. It usually brings several meat-free dishes on one injera: lentils, split peas, greens, potatoes, cabbage, beetroot or shiro.
| Food | What it is | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Shiro | Chickpea or broad-bean stew, often smooth and spiced | Pretty simple and tasty, served along Injera |
| Misir wat | Red lentil stew with berbere | Nicely spiced, filled with fiber and proteins |
| Kik alicha | Mild yellow split-pea stew | I don’t remember that one |
| Gomen | Cooked greens, sometimes with onion and garlic | It’s a popular side dish with Injera |
| Atkilt wat | Cabbage, potato and carrot stew | I don’t remember that one either |
I usually ate the small stews served on top of the injera without keeping track of every name.
Meat dishes
Doro wat is chicken stew with berbere, usually served with egg and injera.
| Food | What it is | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Doro wat | Chicken stew with berbere and egg | Found everywhere, makes a good lunch |
| Tibs | Fried or sauteed meat, often beef or lamb | Very common for lunch or dinner |
| Kitfo | Minced beef with spice and clarified butter | Raw, lightly cooked or fully cooked |
| Key wat | Spicy red meat stew | Couldn’t find it |
| Alicha wat | Milder meat stew | Couldn’t find it |
Kitfo can be served raw, lightly cooked (leb leb) or fully cooked.
Breakfast and snacks
Firfir is torn injera mixed with sauce, often spicy and filling. Chechebsa or kita firfir is torn flatbread mixed with spiced butter or sauce. Genfo is a thick porridge, usually eaten with spiced butter in the centre. Ful is common in cities and offers a breakfast without injera.
IMHO, breakfasts are the best part of Ethiopia’s food culture, mostly because you do without the Injera.
For snacks, look for sambusa, fresh bread, simple cakes, fruit juice and tea. Spris is a layered fruit juice, often avocado, mango and papaya.
Other
Pizza and pasta (Mostly spaghetti) are popular everywhere in Ethiopia; I encountered pasta served on top of injera too. I found the pizza disappointing and expensive compared with local dishes.
Addis Ababa
At Yob Abyssinia in Addis, I enjoyed the dancing and being invited on stage, but the food was meh.
August 2026 delivery-menu examples in Addis Ababa were 650–900 ETB for shiro and simple fasting dishes, 1 000–1 800 ETB for firfir or mixed vegetarian plates, and 1 100–2 250 ETB for tibs, kitfo or doro wat. These came from Deliver Addis menus, including restaurants in Bole.
Northern highlands
I ate at Bet Diplomat in Bahir Dar. Ben Abeba is my recommendation in Lalibela for Scottish-Ethiopian cooking.
Tej is Ethiopian honey wine. I don’t know much about it: I’m Sikh and don’t drink alcohol.
Harar and the east
I ate street food while exploring Harar’s old town, and enjoyed the smell of Harari coffee.
Coffee and drinks
A traditional ceremony takes time: roasting, grinding, brewing in a jebena and serving small cups. You can get coffee pretty much everywhere, even the side of the road
Tea is common. Fresh juices are easy in Addis and larger towns.
Dietary notes
Yetsom means fasting food, which excludes meat and dairy under Orthodox fasting traditions. Niter kibbeh is spiced clarified butter, used in many other dishes.
Alicha stews are generally milder than those made with berbere.
Good luck with the food, if you like Injera, you’ll be rewarded with one of the world’s top food.
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