Not For Vegetarians.

We were recently invited to the wedding of one of our residents.   It was a lovely affair with a beautiful bride, energizing music and good fun all around.

After the ceremony we headed to the wedding lunch; and what a huge spread it was.  In a country where most people fast (no meat or dairy) at least twice a week, I have been surprised with how much meat gets served when you are invited out.    This wedding was no exception.

Tere Siga Vendor near our house

Raw meat is part of the Ethiopian cuisine.   There are raw meat vendors on almost every corner.   It comes in various forms like kitfo and kurt or tere siga.  Kitfo is raw or very rare minced beef that has been marinated in various spices.   Tere siga comes straight off the animal (usually a cow) in alarmingly large chunks and is dipped into spices.

Tere Sega station at the wedding

It is thought that kitfo and kurt started as a necessity for Ethiopian soldiers.  During various wars, Ethiopian soldiers would hide in the mountains and need  “quick to prepare meals” that could be made without using big fires.  The smoke from the fires and the smell of cooking food could point enemies towards the secret location of the soldiers, so the “food that doesn’t require cooking” option was a good one.

I guess after the wars were done, soldiers brought these new recipes home.  I think the reason kitfo and kurt have become so popular is because the soldiers’ wives and girlfriends were so pleased with the “no cooking required” portion of these recipes.

I was lacking in courage the day of the wedding and probably appeared to be a ferengi wimp but couldn’t bring myself to sample any tere siga---maybe next time.

Of course raw meat is not limited to Ethiopian cuisine; there are recipes in Korean, Japanese, French, Italian, Lebanese… cuisines.

Should you decide to broaden your repertoire of recipes, here is a link to LA’s top 10 raw beef recipes: http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2011/08/raw_beef_dishes_los_angeles.php