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Friday, July 4, 2008

Cafe Lalibela - Ethiopian Cuisine

Ginan was telling me about a woman that she works with and the wonderful discovery of Ethiopian food. It sounded so good and was something that I had never tried. So, during her visit in the early part of June we decided to meet with Kalen and sample the tastes and spices. We were not disappointed, and may be new fans.

We ordered the Lalibela Exclusive (suggested for a party of three) so that we could taste everything. It is a big combo platter. This is great because you get to try everything.
You get a tortilla like bread and use it to eat the food. See the hand in the picture? That is Ginan demonstrating. I learned from her that you turn the plate to put your favorite thing in front of you. Tricky.

The menu describes it as: A combination of doro wat, kye sega wat, alicha sega wat, misir wat, gomen, yebere sega tibs, fosolia, yebeg alicha sega wat, tikil gomen and yekik alicha served with ayeb and selata.

Not much help, is it? Here, this may help. This is also from their menu.

Doro Wat (chicken)
Chicken simmered in kibae, berbere, onion and a tasty combination of seasoning. The Doro Wat is traditionally served with hard-boiled eggs. (Request for egg.)

Kye Sega Wat (beef)
Tender beef cubes simmered in berbere and flavored with various spices.

Yebeg Alicha Sega Wat (lamb)
Lamb cubes simmered in kibae, onion, turmeric and herbs.

Misir Wat (lentils)
Red split lentils cooked with onion, berbere and herbs.

Gomen (collard greens) (And we thought that the South had a corner on this market!)
Chopped collard greens cooked with garlic and onion.

Yebere Sega Tibs (beef)
Lean beef cubes pan fried with jalapeno, onion and rosemary.

Fosolia
Lightly spiced string beans cooked with carrots and onion.

Alicha sega wat (mild beef)
Tender beef cubes simmered in onion, turmeric and spiced with various spices.

Tikil gomen
Lightly spiced cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

Glossary of general terms
Awaze: A paste made from berbere.
Berbere: A combination of red chili powder and spices.
Kibae: Purified butter mixed with various spices.
Mitmita: Very hot red chili powder and spices.
Wat: A stew like sauce made from a variety of ingredients such as vegetables, beef, chicken, lamb or fish.
As always, check it out for yourself! http://www.cafelalibela.com/ and our dish is http://www.cafelalibela.com/pop_pics/exclusive.htm

1 comment:

  1. Ethopian food is so flavorful and enjoyable. I find myself with a hunger for it every few months and am not satisfied until I get it. All of the Ethopian people I work with are kind, wonderful, warm and caring people with great pride in their country and culture. Having a native bring you some of their home made food is a great treat!

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