Eritrea

Country - Eritrea

Cuisine Description - Eritrea is located in Northeast Africa, on the southwestern shore of the Red Sea, north of Ethiopia and Djibouti and south-east of Sudan. Due to the fact that Eritrea was colonized and occupied by Arabs, Turks, Italians, the British and Ethiopians, the country has integrated many of these countries' culinary influences. However, the staples remain traditional and include among other things: qitcha (unleavened flatbread), khobz (leavened flatbread), gaat and thxni (thick porridge made of roast flour and water), sherbe (runny porridge made from the roast flour of various grains, water and cow- or goat-milk) and injera or thaita (a crepe made of leavened/fermented batter consisting of the flour of various grains, water and a natural leavening agent). Although some might argue that pasta has become an Eritrean staple since colonial times, this is limited to the urban areas.
Eritrea is a largely arid country, consisting of less than 10% arable land which has been further diminished by climate changes (recurrent droughts), deforrestation and erosion caused by war and the use of antiquated farming methods by an increasing population. Nonetheless, the traditional crops in Eritrea consist mainly of cereals which have been cultivated in the land for millenia such as barley, thaff, wheat, sorghum, millet, and the newcomer crop of maize.
It is these grains that are then made into the above staples as well as a type of unfiltered beer known as suwa. The other of the two traditional alcoholic beverages in Eritrea is mies (a honeywine like mead). Winemaking in Eritrea has largely been the affair of the ancient orthodox church where it is known as nebit. It has not traditionally been a social drink but one reserved for holy communion. Modern Eritrea relies on imports for much of its minute wine-consumption, although there was a wine-making industry in Eritrea during colonial times under the brand name of Fennili (now defunct). Today, Eritrea makes it's own spirits such as Areqi (an aniseed liquor like Metaxa/Ouzo/Sambuca/Pastisse) and Vermouth.
Other ancient, millenial yet common crops are multi-use oilseeds such as sesame, cotton and flax, the latter two also used for producing textiles. The most common fruits and vegetables historically have been: dates, prickly pears (locally known as beles), watermelons, grapes, lemons/lime, oranges, bananas, onions (incl. garlic), leafy grean vegetables ex. mustard greens, beans/legumes and pulses, which were later complemented by chili-peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, papaya, guava and many others. Fruits are eaten fresh as they are, whereas vegetables are cooked in stir-fries and the legumes and pulses are sometimes boiled, dried, roast and ground into powder-blends for preservation. Some fruits are dried for preservation, such as raisins (zebib).
The most common spice in food by far is berbere which is a powder blend of dried, roasted and ground ingredients such as chili-peppers, black pepper, onions, garlic, ginger and other spices. Although the concept of "dessert" is unusual in Eritrea, drinking coffee is an ancient ceremonial and social event and coffee is another crop that is endemic to the region. Drinking (black, imported) tea is also common and the tea is almost always mixed with whole cardamom seeds, cloves and cinnamon.
Meat is a luxury in Eritrea, but is nonetheless a central component of any traditional dish to be served at a formal event.
The preferred meats are chicken, lamb, goat and beef while fish consumption is quite low, despite the country's long coast on the Red Sea, and mostly limited to the coastal fishing settlements and urban populations with modern cold storage facilities. The eating of crustaceans may have occurred in pre-historic times but from antiquity up until modern colonial times, it was and still is a non-traditional novelty. Among the highland Tigrigna people, meat is cooked in stews (zighni and tsebhi), stirfries (qulwa and alitcha) and broths (mereq), although qulwa is rarely made with chicken. The entrails (again, excluding chicken) of a freshly slaughtered animal are also cooked in a specialty dish known as dulot. Meat is preserved by cutting it into strips, rubbing it in salt and sun-drying, known locally as quantha. This is mainly used in stews.
Dairy products stem from cow-, goat- and more rarely; camel's milk. Cow- and goat milk is also churned into a special kind of clarified butter similar to ghee known in the Eritrean highlands as thesmi, which is prepared with other ingredients adding flavor before filtration, such as onions and other spices. Non-spiced thesmi is known as lkhay and is not a food but a hair treatment product/conditioner applied by traditional women. Cow milk is also processed into fresh yoghurt called rug-o and cottage cheeze known as ajjbo in the highlands. Copyright Recipes Wiki