About Ethiopian CuisineExperience Bete-Lukas's exceptional cuisine featuring a complete menu with everything from salad, tibs, alicha, vegeterian dishes, and sambusas in an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere. The Ethiopian art decorated dining room with warm walls, and stylish artistic photos on the wall, nurture the setting. Ethiopian Cuisine Unlike the food of almost any other country, Ethiopian cuisine has grown in a vacuum, undiluted by outside forces. Its mountainous geography kept it largely isolated from its neighbors, and unlike other African countries, Ethiopia escaped European domination, except for a five-year Italian occupation/war. Only its position as a stop on ancient trade routes brought Ethiopia the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, fenugreek, turmeric, and other spices that are used so creatively. Ethiopian Food is served on centerpiece platters over injera, accompanied by plates of more injera. To eat, you simply tear off pieces of injera and scoop up bites of food. Our traditional menu incorporates beef, lamb, and chicken. And due to the Orthodox Church's fasting seasons, vegetarian dishes come in abundance and variety of flavors. The flavorings are usually cooked slowly in Kibe, with Ethiopia grown chilli peppers combining with ginger, garlic, onion, spices, basil, and a host of less familiar spices like bishop's weed, which resembles thyme. Berbere: A popular Ethiopian seasoning prepared from Ethiopian red chilli peppers, garlic, and other spices. Berbere is sun-dried and then mixed with more spices and is used in wots. Kibe: Another Ethiopian basic, Kibe is pure clarified butter seasoned with servral condiments and used in traditional sauteing. Key Wot: A lively sauce prepared with berbere, Kibe, and meat or legumes. Alicha Wot: A delicately mild sauce made from meat, legumes or beans with garlic, ginger, and Ird (curry). Mitmita: Bird's eye red pepper spiced with cardamom and salt, usually served with Kitfo.
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