Amicho is an Ethiopian root vegetable. It is the starchy underground “corm” from the root of the Enset plant. It’s treated like a potato, and boiled. See separate entry on Enset.
Ethiopian Food
Ayib
Ayib is a soft Ethiopian fresh cheese similar to cottage cheese. At meals, it often serves as a simple, cooling foil to many of the complex and sometimes fiery tastes in Ethiopian cuisine.
Bulla
Bulla is a starchy white powder, harvested in Ethiopia from the Enset plant. To make it, the stem and leaf sheaths of the plant are scraped into a pulp. The juice is squeezed out of this, and the juice is then evaporated down to a white powder. This powder can be stored for years. It…
Enset
Enset is a plant that grows in south west Ethiopia. It provides the staple food of 18% of the population of Ethiopia. Several foods are derived from it, which are important in the cooking of the Gurages and the Sidama groups of people. Other groups such as Hadya, Gamo, Wolayita, use the plant too, but…
Injera
Injera is an African flat bread that can be up to ½ metre (1 ½ feet) wide. It is best known in the west as an Ethiopian bread, but it is also made in Sudan, Somalia and Kenya. Injera has a spongy texture with a slightly sour taste, and will make you feel really full…
Kitfo
Kitfo is a raw beef dish that originated with the Gurage people of the Showa province in southern Ethiopia. The meat is minced, not ground, and seasoned with “mitmita” (a chile powder of red pepper, mustard seed and salt) and topped with flavoured, clarified butter (“niter kibbeh”, or “nitir kibe”, or “tes-mi”or “nit’r qibe.”) The…
Kocho
Kocho is a traditional flatbread in the Gurage cuisine in Ethiopia, usually served with the meat dish called “kitfo,” and / or a cabbage called “Ubasha Cabbage”, which is high in vitamin A. The bread is made from fermented starch, also called “Kocho,” from the Enset plant. The green leaf sheaths of this plant are…
Teff
Teff is a cereal grain. It comes in a range of colours from light to red to dark brown. It can be ground into flour or cooked as a side dish starch. It is gluten-free.
Wot
Wot in Ethopian cuisine refers to very thick stews or hearty thick sauces. Generally, in English Wot gets compared to a stew. Wot can be made from meat, ground beans or lentils. “Long pepper” is a typical spice used in Wot, along with black pepper, cloves, nutmeg and turmeric. Here are some of the better…