Addis Ababa - Ethiopian Food

Today was the final day of the Institute. The last couple of days were a bit of a blur of meetings. A lot to think about! This afternoon, we began a second set of meetings, geared toward a major research project being conducted by Overseas Council. In essence, this project will seek to discern ways in which student learning outcomes are being achieved in 9 theological schools around the world. Because this is a collaborative project with those 9 institutions, we are holding a 2-day planning meeting here in Addis. We've been joined by colleagues from Sri Lanka, Singapore, Ukraine, Poland, Costa Rica, and Argentina, as well as three participating institutions in Africa who remained after the Institute program, from Kenya, South Africa, and Benin.

There's much I could say about the last few days of meetings. But instead, I'm going to write about Ethiopian food. I first had Ethiopian food long before I traveled to Ethiopia, at a tiny restaurant near Wrigley Field in Chicago. Stefanii and I later fell in love with "The Queen of Sheba" restaurant in Indianapolis, formerly located near IUPUI. Sadly, it closed a number of years ago. In recent years, we've gotten our Ethiopian fix at Abyssinia on W. 38th St. or more infrequently at The Major on W. Washington. It was at Abyssinia that our girls (Leah especially) learned to love Ethiopian food.

But nothing compares to Ethiopian food in Ethiopia, especially the injera, an airy, flat bread made from a fermented dough. It's kind of like a cross between sourdough bread, Russian black bread, and a French crepe. Made from teff, a grain indigenous to Ethiopia (and now available at the Ethiopian market next to Abyssinia in Indianapolis), injera is the center of any Ethiopian meal. (Ethiopians pray for their daily injera). In a traditional meal, a large plate, often 3 or 4 feet across, is placed in the middle of a large basket stand. It is covered with injera and then a variety of stews are ladled on, and additional rolled injera is served on the side. You eat with your right hand, pinching off bits of injera and using it to scoop up some stew. The stews vary from meat-based to legume-based to cooked or pickled vegetables and cheese curds, all ranging from mild to fiery hot. The dark reddish ones have the most punch. My personal favorite is the injera that has sat under the stews, thereby soaking up the savory sauces. The photo above is our Ethiopian dinner this evening. The middle dish is a stew of chicken and boiled eggs, quite spicy and a bit sour. There are various other lentil-based dishes spread around, interspersed with a bit of meat, some cheese curds, and some string beans and cabbage. This plate was meant for about 8 people.