Dear Parents,
I had the pleasure of visiting the class today and it was great to see them again! No, the baby has not been born yet but perhaps soon!
The purpose of my visit was to make good on a promise to let the class sample some thiopian food. Their current class novel, The Garbage King, is set in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Mr. Rogers is integrating the novel study with a new Social Studies unit on poverty.
The class had the chance to sample two dishes. In case you would like to try them at home, please take a look at the following recipes. The only ingredient you may have some trouble finding is an Ethiopian spice called Berbere. I found it at African Breese on 4th Avenue in Vancouver.
http://www.yelp.ca/biz/african-breese-vancouver
Enjoy!
Mrs. Withers
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Doro Wot (Red Chicken Stew)
One of the most popular dishes of Ethiopia
Measurements and Ingredients: (serves 5)
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken breast
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
2 1/2 tsp. minced or powdered garlic
1 tsp. minced or powdered ginger
2 tsp. authentic Ethiopian Berbere spice (more to make it spicier)
2 tsp. Paprika for redness
1/2 teaspoon salt (as needed)
1/2 cup of water
Preparation Method
In large pot, simmer onion, garlic and ginger with vegetable oil till lightly brown. Add Berbere and Paprika, continue to simmer for about 15-20 minutes at low heat stirring occasionally by adding a touch of water as needed to avoid sticking. Add chicken and simmer while adding the remaining water as needed. Finish off simmering by adding salt. Serve hot with Injera (Ethiopian flat bread), fajitas or rice.
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Kik Wot (Red Lentil Stew)
Measurements and Ingredients (serves 5)
2 cups of split lentils
1/2 large onion finely chopped
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2.5 teaspoons minced or powder garlic
1 TBSP authentic Ethiopian Berbere
1 tsp. salt (as needed)
4 cups of water
Preparation Method:
In large pot, simmer onion, garlic, and Berbere with vegetable oil. Add lentils and water and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes at low heat, stirring occasionally until lentils are fully cooked. Serve hot with Injera (Ethiopian flat bread), fajitas or rice.
Injera (Ethiopian Flat bread)
Unfortunately, it is hard to make the perfect Injera at the first attempt. There are a number of different recipes to make injera and none have a solid formula. A number of factors can alter the quality of injera such as the temperature of the grill, the type of grill (mitad), the temperature of the dough during fermentation, quality of the flour, ways of mixing the dough…
You may try our recipe, but if the quality of injera is poor, you may need to alter and experiment different ways considering the above factors. Good Luck!
5 pounds self rising flour
1 pound teff
1 pound corn flour
1/2 gallon water (till medium thickness)
Preparation Method: Add all ingredients in large bowl and mix thoroughly by hand. Let it ferment over night (24 hours) in room temperature. Heat a flat round or square grill (Mitad) to 400 degrees. Remix the dough, if too thick add more water until the dough is runny (medium thickness). Pour the dough on grill in rotating motion. Let cook approx. 30 sec – 1 minute and remove by grabbing one end with both hands. Let it cool to room temperature before serving. If it feels spongy, then you have it right.
Recipes adapted from those found on this website:
http://www.ethiopianspices.com/html/recipes.asp