Huge fan of Ethiopian cuisine here. Every time I go to the US I don’t miss eating out at Ethiopian restaurants. Curious, interesting menu on cards. Food is amazingly similar to south Indian, nutritious, sumptuous, yum, and so laboriously prepared. Value for money, no junk food. Highly recommended.
Simply love their Injera breads that are fermented to heavenly perfection. Made of maize flour, the staple African foodgrain? After almost 2 months in the US that’s what I desperately needed ! I chose the Ethiopian restaurant over Indian which is very expensive. Injera reminds one of dosa. The Shiro or the red chutney is typically like what we call ‘thokku’ or ‘thogaiyal’ in Tamil . In reality it is lentil chutney made spicy. What we call ‘paruppu thogaiyal.’ The spinach, the mixed veggies everything tastes like Indian. Spice level is left to your choice. Ethiopian food is so original, flavourful, seasoned with native spices, and is very affordable. Healthy as well. I opted for vegetarian fare but family had meat which they said was too good. I have eaten at a few more African restaurants that I don’t remember much about. I can only recall that every single one of them was GOOD. Authentic African recipes, sometimes simple (like their bread) and sometimes elaborate cooking very much like our Indian curry. Delicious. NEVER MISS THE EHTIOPIAN TEA POT! Runaway hit! However don’t expect the KFC McDonald Pizza hut Coke Pepsi culture to understand anything substantial, deep and meaningful in the real sense.
A dozen Ganeshas of various sizes greeted me in a 100% vegetarian Mexican restaurant. In most Mexican restaurants I find Lord Ganesha idols everywhere. Food was great here too. I really don’t care for the names of the dishes. I left the ordering to my family and only made sure that everything was indeed only vegetarian.
I come from a culture that is 10000 years old at least. We are the only unbroken continuous surviving civilization in the world. All around us the Mayan, the Greek, the Egyptian, the Mesopotamian all floundered. Only Hindu civilization survives to this 21st century and will survive to eternity. We appreciate and respect the goodness and uniqueness in every culture. That is how we grow as civilized humans. Beautiful Africa and Africans. African cuisine differs from border to border. Signature menus. The choice of breads and the accompaniments give one an idea about the healthy lifestyle of their local culture. Even the art on display in the restaurant served as a treat to our tired eyes.
vijiravindran's 