Hi, > I discovered Ethiopian food before I went vegetarian. I've tasted > kitfo; didn't care much for it, but it was better than I'd expected. > Back then my favourite Ethiopian meat dish was zilzil tibs.
I tried to avoid meat dishes while I was there, but it's not always possible. 'Fasting food', as it's known, is usually a better bet than the meat in most parts of the country. However, in some places you don't have a menu or a choice, and just take what you're given. I like Ethiopian food very much, and crave it from time to time. Fortunately there are quite a few Ethiopian restaurants in London, and I have many Ethio-philes among my friends, so the craving is easily satisfied. Injera is the most difficult thing to get right, but some of the restaurants have it flown in from Ethiopia daily. >> >I've always had a pet theory that the >> >idea of them taking a slice from a living beast is some sort of >> >amalgam from kitfo, and the practice of cattle herders in the south of >> >draining blood from the animal to mix with milk as a source of food. > Whatever the source of the idea, the meme is old enough to be > in the Kosher laws in the Old Testament. Now I'm wondering > whether it was ever practiced or if the prohibition was based > on the type of misunderstanding you suggested. I'm not familiar with the Kosher laws (beyond what 'everybody knows') but it's interesting that you should mention it because before Ethiopia became a Christian country in about 300AD (?) the people were predominantly Jewish. The Falasha, who were air-lifted to Israel in the 1980s, are a relic. There are also other obscure Judaic sects there whose practices are said to be pre-Mosaic. Ethiopian tradition claims that Menelik I, and the royal line which ended with Haile Selassie, was descended from the union between the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. I've been to the ruins of the supposed palace of the Queen of Sheba, just outside Axum - which is where the Ark of the Covenant is said to be kept. They wouldn't let me see it though. -- Cheers, Bob
