Exotic Ethiopian Cooking

I grew up in several places in Ethiopia and missed this marvelous food when my family returned to the States. This book has been very helpful to me in recreating the dishes I loved as a child. As to the actual recipes ... Ethiopian cooks generally cook by feel and sight. There are no cups and teaspoons in their huts, so following the recipes to the teaspoon in this book is not recommended. If you are trying to cook for only one, many of these recipes are for six or eight or even more. Cut down on the Spiced butter and the onions if you don't like that many; add more black cumin (which is actually nigella seed used in Indian cooking and can be bought cheaply at Ishopindian.com), cardamon, fenugreek or anything else you might like. The recipes are really guidelines as Ethiopians use what they have at any given time. Over the years I have tested and tasted my recipes, using this book as a starting point. Strangely, the only thing I haven't been able to get to work for me is the Injera recipe. Since I live near Seattle, I can buy very good injera, so that's okay. I highly recommend this book for everyone. I need another one. My first one is falling apart!

I give this book 5 stars, because it has so much cultural history in it, because it is a genuine, truly sincere effort, and because it is so vast; it truly has *a lot* of recipes. The injera recipe is difficult to recreate, as are many of the amts. of ingredients called for in recipes. However, it is a total compendium of many, many dishes. The author clearly put his heart, life, and culture into this book and it shows. I used this book many times to recreate these classic dishes. Thank you Jote Mesfin! Ethiopian-inspired Cooking, Vegetarian Specialties

I believe the individual who wrote the "More than Just a Cookbook", on 1-20-2006, and referred to "rue" as a poisonious plant was incorrect in this statement and, consequently, unjust to the author of the cookbook. Rue is a base, or a medley of vegetables slowly cooked down to a thick paste for a flavoring, and often used in French cooking.

Ethiopian food is of the best and most complicated cuisines in the world. This book is a great introduction and guide. I am writing this review because I read a review that said that this book did not have enough detail. The recipes for Injera (the Ethiopian staple bread) are the only ones that I have ever tried that actually work. If you have any doubt about what the finished product should look like, just check out the many great color photos in the book! If every country in the world had a Daniel Mesfin writing books about its cooking and culture, the world of cookbooks would be much more fascinating than it is. If you have never tried Ethiopian food, find a restaurant in your state. Then buy this book and start cooking for yourself. The book contains contact information for businesses that sell Ethiopian ingredients. This is an awesome book.

I grew up in Ethiopia and desired to make this delicious food. After acquiring this book, I have fed my family many dishes from it. The recipes are easy to understand and the directions a breeze to follow. All the ingredients can be bought at an Ethiopian store or the regular grocery store. There are recipes to make basic ingredients such as Berberi, used to cook chicken, beef, & lamb as well as legumes. Also recipes to make the spiced butter and oils that are basic ingredients in every dish.I love this book. I hope you will write another so I can learn more.