There are clearly too many recipes on the internet. I would like to add a few more, so you can just ignore the others. On this page I present you with some of my favorite foods and sweets. Please don't follow the recipes as if they are a law, but rather use them as a guide for your own culinary experiments.
Cannelloni | Dabo (Ethiopian Bread) | Key Mesir Wot (Ethiopian Red Lentil Sauce) | Seedcake | Sega Wot (Ethiopian Beef Stew)
Cannelloni
Cannelloni is usually an Italian dish consisting of tube shaped pasta with a filling of meat or cheese. In this recipe, pancakes are used instead of the pasta and the filling includes a lot of spinach.
Ingredients:
- Frozen spinach
- Cottage cheese (hütenkäze)
- Pancakes
- Grated young cheese
- Pasta sauce (tomato sauce for spaghetti)
- Oregano or Basil
- Cream
- Salt
- Nutmeg
Preparation:
Prepare 12-15 pancakes (This should be normal, plain, non-sweet, thin pancakes made from just flour, water and/or mik, and eggs).
Put the frozen spinach in a sieve and let it melt, the water should run out, and squeeze it a bit to make it more dry. Mix spinach with cottage cheese and some salt and nutmeg, and you can also add some grated young cheese. Mix very well together. Roll the spinach in the pancakes and close the rolls on each end. Put the rolls next to each other in a flat container (for use in the oven). Pour some of the cream over it and then the tomato sauce. Then you can still put some grated cheese if you want and sprinkle some dry oregano or basil over it. Put in the oven, around 150 Celcius for about half an hour. The sauce should become boiling.
Ethiopian Bread (Dabo)
Dabo is a spiced type of bread. In Ethiopia it is often served as a snack or while drinking coffee. It is best when eaten fresh (still warm) and can be combined with cheese.
Ingredients:
- White flour, 1 kg
- Yeast, 2 tablespoon
- Salt
- Oil, half cup
- White cumin, 1 tablespoon
- Black cumin, 1 tablespoon
- Grounded coriander seed, 1 tablespoon
- Chili powder, 2 tablespoon (if you like it hot)
- Banana leaves (if available)
Preparation:
Clean the seeds and wash them in a small sieve. Mix all the ingredients into the flour with warm water. Make the dough just like making normal bread. Keep it covered and when it rises, mix it again. The second time after it rises, put it in a shape and bake it in the oven as normal bread.
If banana leaves are available, wash them thoroughly. Put them on a flat surface and put the dough on top. Fold the leaves to cover the dough on all sides. Then bake it in the oven. Remove the leaves before eating.
The chili powder can be used according to your taste to make the bread more or less spicy hot.
Key Mesir Wot (Ethiopian Red Lentil Sauce)
Key Mesir Wot is a spicy vegetarian dish. In Ethiopia it is served together with Injera (large “pancakes” with a slightly sour taste, which are made of a local cereal called Tef). It can be served warm or cold, for example with bread or chapati.
Ingredients:
- Red lentils, 250 gram
- Red onion, 4 medium size
- Garlic, 1 whole
- Ginger, 1 piece
- Oil
- Red chili powder, 2 table spoons
Preparation:
First clean the lentils (remove stones etc.). Put them in a sieve and wash. Chop the onions and put them in a pot and fry with half cup of oil. Add the chili powder to the onions, keep on a low fire and stir it. Add the washed lentils and continue stirring to avoid sticking. Keep boiled water ready and add this drop by drop so that it does not get dry and sticks. Add garlic and ginger finely chopped. Keep everything on low fire for one hour. Keep on stirring and add water if needed. If you want the sauce to be less hot, use curry powder instead of chili.
Seedcake (Kruidkoek)
This is a Dutch recipe for a kind of cake called “kruidkoek”, which means “spice cake”.
Ingredients:
- 250 gram butter
- 6 eggs
- 250 gram dark brown sugar
- 250 gram flour
- 250 gram currants
- 250 gram raisins
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon powdered cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Preparation:
Stir the butter until it is creamy. Add the eggs. Add the sugar. Add the flour (sieved). Finally add currants, raisins, and the various spices. Mix well. Prepare the container by covering the surface with a bit of butter and sprinkle this with powdered bread crumbs. Poor the dough (batter) in the container. Bake slowly in a medium warm oven (set on position 3) for about 1½ hour.
Sega Wot (Ethiopian Beef Stew)
Sega Wot is a spiced stew of beef. In Ethiopia it is served together with Injera (large “pancakes” with a slightly sour taste, which are made of a local cereal called Tef).
Ingredients:
- 3 big onions (chopped)
- 3 table spoons oil
- 2 entire garlic (sliced)
- 4 teaspoon fresh ginger (grated) or ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cardamom (ground)
- ½ teaspoon mustard seed (ground)
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek (ground)
- ½ teaspoon coriander (ground)
- 1 to 2 table spoons fresh hot red chili
- 3 table spoons tomato paste (if desired)
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- water
- 750 g beef (cut in small cubes of ± 1.5 cm size)
Preparation:
Use a dry pan over moderate heat. Fry the onions for a few minutes, while stirring constantly. Then add the oil (preferably corn oil) and stir fry for another minute. Mix the spices with some water into a smooth paste. Add this together (if desired with the tomato paste) to the onions and continue to fry. Add salt and a bit of water. Stir to mix everything thoroughly. Add the beef cubes and a 1 to 2 cups of water. Cover the pan and cook for about 45 minutes (until the beef is tender). There should be a moderate amount of sauce. Add a bit of water if required.