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Eritrean cuisine is based on Eritrea's native culinary traditions, but also arises from social interchanges with other regions. The local cuisine, have influences of Italian cuisine, and shares similarities with the cuisine of neighboring Ethiopia and the cuisines from other African countries in the region.
Eritrean cuisine shares similarities with surrounding countries' cuisines; however, the cuisine has its unique characteristics.
The main traditional food in Eritrean cuisine is tsebhi (stew), served with injera (flatbread made from teff, wheat, or sorghum and hilbet (paste made from legumes; mainly lentil and faba beans). A typical traditional Eritrean dish consists of injera accompanied by a spicy stew, which frequently includes beef, goat, lamb or fish.
Overall, Eritrean cuisine strongly resembles that of neighboring Ethiopia, [1] [2] although Eritrean cooking tends to feature more seafood than Ethiopian cuisine on account of its coastal location. [1]
Additionally, owing to its colonial history, cuisine in Eritrea features more Italian influences than are present in Ethiopian cooking, including more pasta specials and greater use of curry powders and cumin. [3] People in Eritrea likewise tend to drink coffee. [1] Christian Eritreans also drink sowa (a bitter fermented barley) and mies (a fermented honey beverage), [4] while Muslim Eritreans abstain from drinking alcohol. [5]
When eating injera diners generally share food from a large tray placed in the centre of a low dining table. Numerous pieces of injera are layered on this tray and topped with various spicy stews. Diners break into the section of injera in front of them, tearing off pieces and dipping them into the stews.[ citation needed ]
The stews that accompany injera are usually made from beef, chicken, lamb, goat, mutton, or vegetables. Most Eritreans, with the exception of the Saho, like their food spicy and hot. Berbere , a mixture that consists of a variety of common and unusual herbs and spices, accompanies almost all dishes. Stews include zigni , made with beef; dorho tsebhi, made with chicken; alicha, a vegetable dish made without berbere; and shiro , a purée of various legumes.[ citation needed ]
When making ga'at , a ladle is used to make an indentation in the dough, which is then filled with a mixture of berbere and melted butter, and surrounded by milk or yogurt. When dining, a small piece of ga'at is dipped into the berbere and the butter sauce, and then into the milk or yogurt.
Influenced by its past as an Italian colony, Eritrean cuisine also features unique interpretations of classic Italian dishes. [6] Among these specialties are pasta sauces spiced with berbere. [7]
Most dishes common to Eritrea are either meat-based or vegetable-based stews that are served over the spongy, fermented bread injera .
Suwa is the name for the home-brewed beer common in Eritrea. It is made from roasted corn, barley, and other grain and is flavored with gesho , a type of buckthorn leaf. The beverage is often made for celebrations; a sweet honey wine (called mies ) is also commonly served. The coffee ceremony is one of the most important and recognizable parts of Eritrean cultures. Coffee is offered when visiting friends, during festivities, or as a daily staple of life. If coffee is politely declined, then tea (shahee) will most likely be served.
Even though Eritrea has a tradition of coffee drinking for centuries, Italian-style coffee like espresso and cappuccino are extremely common in Eritrea, served in practically every bar and coffee shop in the capital Asmara.
The biggest brewery in the country is Asmara Brewery, built 1939 under the name Melotti. The brewery today produces a range of beverages. A popular beverage that is common during festivities is Eritrean-style Sambuca; in Tigrinya it is translated to areki. [13] [14]
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Ethiopian cuisine, which is synonymous with Amhara cultural food, characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of wat, a thick stew, served on top of injera, a large sourdough flatbread, which is about 50 centimeters in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour. Ethiopians usually eat with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes.
Turkish cuisine is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. The cuisine took its current form after numerous cultural interactions throughout centuries, descending from earlier stages of Turkish cuisine, Ottoman cuisine and Seljuk cuisine. Turkish cuisine with traditional Turkic elements such as yogurt, ayran, kaymak, exerts and gains influences to and from Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European cuisines.
Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep.
Goulash is a soup or stew of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. Originating in Hungary, goulash is a common meal predominantly eaten in Central Europe but also in other parts of Europe. It is one of the national dishes of Hungary and a symbol of the country.
African cuisine is an integral part of the continent's diverse cultures reflecting its long and complex history. The evolution of African cuisine is closely entwined with the lives of the native people, influenced by their religious practices, climate and local agriculture. Early African societies were largely composed of hunter-gatherers who relied on foraging for wild fruits, vegetables, nuts, and hunting animals for sustenance. As agriculture developed across the continent, there was a gradual shift to a more settled lifestyle with the cultivation of crops such as millet, sorghum, and later maize. Agriculture also brought about a change in diet, leading to the development of a variety of culinary traditions which vary by religion. Many African traditional dishes are based on plant- and seed-based diets.
Wat or wet or ito or tsebhi is an Ethiopian and Eritrean stew that may be prepared with chicken, beef, lamb, a variety of vegetables, spice mixtures such as berbere , and niter kibbeh, a seasoned clarified butter.
Arab cuisine collectively refers to the regional culinary traditions of the Arab world, consisting of the Maghreb and the Mashriq. These cuisines are centuries old and reflect the culture of trading in ingredients, spices, herbs, and commodities among the Arabs. The regions have many similarities, but also unique traditions. They have also been influenced by climate, cultivation, and mutual commerce.
Iraqi cuisine is a Middle Eastern cuisine that has its origins in the ancient Near East culture of the fertile crescent. Tablets found in ancient ruins in Iraq show recipes prepared in the temples during religious festivals—the first cookbooks in the world. Ancient Iraq's cultural sophistication extended to the culinary arts.
Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant, in the sense of the rough area of former Ottoman Syria. The cuisine has similarities with Egyptian cuisine, North African cuisine and Ottoman cuisine. It is particularly known for its meze spreads of hot and cold dishes, most notably among them ful medames, hummus, tabbouleh and baba ghanoush, accompanied by bread.
Assyrian cuisine is the cuisine of the indigenous ethnic Assyrian people, Eastern Aramaic-speaking Syriac Christians of Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey. Assyrian cuisine is primarily identical to Iraqi/Mesopotamian cuisine, as well as being very similar to other Middle Eastern and Caucasian cuisines, as well as Greek cuisine, Levantine cuisine, Turkish cuisine, Iranian cuisine, Palestinian cuisine, and Armenian cuisine, with most dishes being similar to the cuisines of the area in which those Assyrians live/originate from. It is rich in grains such as barley, meat, tomato, herbs, spices, cheese, and potato as well as herbs, fermented dairy products, and pickles.
The culture of Eritrea is the collective cultural heritage of the various populations native to Eritrea. Eritrea has nine recognized ethnic groups. Each group have their own unique traditions and customs but some traditions are shared and appreciated among different ethnic groups. The local culture consists of various, and often quite similar, traditions practiced by the nation's many Cushitic and Ethiopian Semitic-speaking Afro-Asiatic ethnic groups, in addition to those practiced by the area's Nilotic minorities. Eritrean culture is in some ways similar to the cultures of other countries in the region.
Shiro, also called shiro wat, or tsebhi shiro, is a stew served for either lunch or dinner, originating from Northern Ethiopia and Southern Eritrea. An essential part of Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine, its primary ingredient is powdered chickpeas or broad bean meal and often prepared with the addition of minced onions, garlic and, depending upon regional variation, ground ginger or chopped tomatoes and chili-peppers. Shiro is served atop injera or kitcha. Tegabino shiro is a type of shiro made from heavily spiced legume, chickpea, field pea, or fava bean, oil, and water. It is brought bubbling to the table in a miniature clay pot or shallow aluminum pan. It is often consumed with dark or sergegna injera.
Fit-fit or fir-fir, , is an Eritrean and Ethiopian food typically served as breakfast. Fit-fit is served by preparing sauce and shredding injera or kitcha into pieces and mixing the two. It is generally made with shredded flat bread, spiced clarified butter, and the hot spice berbere. There are two main varieties of fit-fit depending on the type of flatbread being used: the sourdough injera and the unleavened kitcha.
Afghan cuisine is influenced by Persian, Central Asian, and South Asian cuisines due to Afghanistan's close proximity and cultural ties. The cuisine is halal and mainly based on mutton, beef, poultry and fish with rice and Afghan bread. Accompanying these are common vegetables and dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, whey, and fresh and dried fruits such as apples, apricots, grapes, bananas, oranges, plums, pomegranates, sweet melons, and raisins. The diet of most Afghans revolves around rice-based dishes, while various forms of naan are consumed with most meals. Tea is generally consumed daily in large quantities, and is a major part of hospitality. The culinary specialties reflect the nation's ethnic and geographic diversity. The national dish of Afghanistan is Kabuli palaw, a rice dish cooked with raisins, carrots, nuts, and lamb or beef.
Italian Eritrean cuisine is the mix of Eritrean dishes and spices with Italian dishes.
Djiboutian cuisine is a mixture of Somali, Afar, Yemeni, and French cuisine, with some additional South Asian culinary influences.
Zigni, kaih tsebhi or kai wat is a popular Eritrean and Ethiopian stew made from meat, tomatoes, red onions and Berbere spices. The meat can be beef, lamb, goat, or chicken and usually placed on a plate of injera, a type of unleavened bread made from teff flour. It can be eaten for lunch or dinner. The dish requires a relatively long amount of time but not a lot of active effort to make. The traditional recipe can take as long as five to six hours to prepare. As such, it is sometimes reserved for special occasions. The Berbere spices can make the zigni spicy and give it a red color.
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