Restaurant Review: The Ethiopian Food of Your Dreams Has Now Materialized

For the past week or so, I've had the same dish stuck in my head, spinning over and over like a record on repeat. In Ethiopia, it's called bozena shiro — a lush, silky stew made from ground chickpea flour, clarified butter, a laundry list of fragrant spices and tiny pieces of beef simmered until they're all but indistinguishable. It was brought to my attention by Hana Belachew, a waitress at Lalibela, the newest addition to the restaurant-dense strip of Fairfax known as Little Ethiopia. It turns out she would know exactly what to recommend: Her mother is the chef, and with the help of Hana's five sisters (and one brother) who run the front of house, the family is serving some of the most addictively delicious Ethiopian cooking in Los Angeles.

Back to that chickpea stew: It arrives bubbling hot in a small, black cauldron, along with big floppy sheets of injera — the thin, slightly spongy sourdough pancake that you use to sop up the ruddy, brick-red stew. The bozena shiro is deep and earthy, like the booming pluck of a bass string. The injera cuts through with a lemony tang, and you're left wondering how the simple combination of beans and bread can pack such a revelatory amount of pleasure.

If you have spent any amount of time eating in L.A.'s small but robust Little Ethiopia neighborhood — which boasts crisp-skinned trout with lemon at Buna Market and bowls of slick fava bean foul(tricked out to resemble Mexican bean dip) at Meals by Genet — you might be familiar with the cooking of Tenagne Belachew, a matronly grandmother from a small town in northern Ethiopia. She's cooked in the community for more than a decade, at Little Ethiopia stalwarts Rahel and Marathon.

Over the years Belachew has attracted something akin to a cult following among local diners, and when she arrives at your table with a warm smile, brandishing a sizzling platter of derek tibs (butter-sauteed cubes of beef flecked with herbs), you'll understand why her 2-month-old restaurant already has amassed a roomful of regulars at dinnertime.

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The prevailing wisdom when it comes to Ethiopian food in Los Angeles is that most restaurants serve a similar menu of mostly vegan, long-simmered stews and a handful of beloved meat dishes like kitfo, a sort of beef tartare with copious amounts of clarified butter and the peppery spice mixture known as berbere.

Generally speaking, the Ethiopian spot you frequented for date night or "meatless Monday" reflected a preference for ambiance more than anything else, whether you were into the slick, modern-bistro look of Meals by Genet or the colorful African artwork and ornate wicker tables at Messob.

At Lalibela, the vibe is pretty subdued — white walls are hung with a few traditionalist paintings, a cozy patio in the back is situated under a shady canopy, and a small marble bar functions more for aesthetics than actual drinking. The air is lightly perfumed with the scent of incense, and a jangly 1970s Ethiopian funk track might come on over the loudspeakers, which is to say that Lalibela feels like a pretty groovy place.

Tenagne Belachew, with three of her daughter

While it's true that Lalibela serves many of the Ethiopian staples common everywhere else, it's the delicate, subtly spiced details that set it apart. There are crispy, house-made sambusas, triangle-shaped pastries filled with lentils and onions and paired with a swipe of bright green jalapeño sauce, and a deeply entrancing version of Ethiopia's national dish, doro wot, a dark, formidable stew fortified with poached chicken and hardboiled eggs; it could easily be mistaken for a soul-stirring variation of Oaxacan mole. There is a lean Somali riff on kitfo, amped up with minced jalapeños, which you can either scoop up with house-made injera or have tucked into a crusty French roll as a sandwich.

Of course, you will most likely end up with one of the menu's platters, which arrive on large, communal plates draped with a layer of injera and then loaded like a painter's palette with little mounds of vegetable dishes. Order the "Veggie Utopia" and you'll encounter a bouquet of tender split peas, chickpea fritters, lentils stained with curry powder, soft potatoes, collard greens, scoops of fresh Ethiopian cottage cheese and whatever else the kitchen has prepared that day — an onslaught of different textures and spices, portioned so that there is enough to tantalize but not overwhelm.

For dessert, the viscous fruit smoothies known as spris are a cure for hot Ethiopian summers, made with avocado, mango and papaya layered like a tie-dye parfait and sweetened with a drizzle of sweet, black currant syrup. Or you could opt for a slice of truly outstanding tiramisu (a holdover from the country's Italian occupation during World War II), which pairs well with a cup of Ethiopian coffee, roasted in-house.

Lalibela is the type of family-run jewel you might dream about encountering, a place where recipes are passed down through several generations, and the grandmother in the kitchen tends to pots that have been simmering for days at a time. That fantasy might exist solely in our heads most of the time, but occasionally you discover the bona fide version — and in the case of Lalibela, you can expect to be haunted by something as simple as chickpea stew for a long time to come.

LALIBELA ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT | Two stars | 1025 S. Fairfax Ave., Fairfax | (323) 965-1025 | lalibelala.com | Daily, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. | Street parking | BYOB

Ethiopian coffee, roasted in-house Read more here

Ethiopia: On Top of the World in the Simien Mountains

The Simien Mountains in Northern Ethiopia are vast and beautiful, and, like all mountains, they can be extremely challenging. Few would undertake to scale them without proper weatherproof clothing and sturdy boots. But some people are made of sterner stuff as I discovered when climbing the slopes of a mountain called Bwahit, at a height of 4,200 meters.

By Derek Fanning |

As we were crossing a particular area I scrambled up a short section of rock, looked up and saw a person, dressed in a shabby white robe stretching down to his ankles, observing me. He was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian clergyman. His eyes twinkled merrily, and he smiled warmly at me. He was using a slender cross as a walking stick and was barefoot. I could see that the soles of his feet were like leather. We said hello to one another, paused briefly to catch our breath, looked at the beautiful scenery around, and smiled again at one another. He was a wiry, resilient looking man and resembled a medieval pilgrim.

I did not know why he was up so high, nor anything about him, but he seemed to represent a tangible link to the medieval pilgrims in Europe. The fact he seemed so happy also made an impression on me. After a moment or two, we said goodbye and went on our separate routes. This was one of many experiences in Ethiopia when I felt I was in touch with a way of life that was the same in many aspects as centuries ago.

Spectacular mountain scenery in Ethiopia.

Our knowledge of Ethiopia in the West is generally very poor. Most of us associate the country with famine and desert, but in reality this is a country which is surprisingly fertile, culturally rich and historically fascinating. The desert does exist, but it’s in the east of the country, while most of the 90 million population live in the plateau region, above 1,300 meters, in a green, fertile and pleasant land.

While Ethiopia is a marvelous place to visit, travel here can be taxing. Being a developing country, it can take much longer to get things done than we are used to in the West; many tourists fall prey to upset stomachs, an unpleasant experience which can hamper your plans; and if you are brave enough to drive around the country on your own, then the road conditions are sometimes very poor and dangerous. Traveling here, it’s fair to say that it’s good if you’re the patient and good-humored type.

One of the standout things about the country is its stunning scenery. Another highlight is the country’s myriad historical sites. Ethiopia is the only country in sub-Saharan Africa with historical remains stretching back to the ancient Mediterranean civilization. The most popular language is Amharic, which is a Semitic language that derives from Ge’ez, the language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to this day. I learned only a few Amharic words, one of them being ‘ishee‘ which means ‘ok’.

I visited during October when the wet season had just finished and the landscape was enhanced by many varieties of flowers. There were nine in our group and we spent a few days sightseeing before flying north with the aim of doing a ten-day trek in the much-praised Simien Mountains.

The first port of call for most tourists is the capital city Addis Ababa which is the world’s third highest capital city, situated in the central highlands at 2,400m. The city and its three million inhabitants can be something of a culture shock at first with beggars, taxi drivers and hawkers all demanding your attention; and, of course, it’s not all picturesque; we drove up to an area called Entoto Hill on the outskirts of Addis and on the way we passed through run-down, impoverished suburbs which were like shanty towns and dominated by endless swathes of dilapidated corrugated sheeting.

The possibility of con artists and pick pockets can also be a worry. If you are on an organized trip, as most are, then this shouldn’t present a problem, but if you are an independent traveler then you may feel somewhat overwhelmed. In fact, Addis Ababa is mostly all roar and little bite. It’s a busy, bustling, exciting city with a predominantly friendly population. Visitors are urged to not let first impressions put them off, but to persist and visit some of the many fascinating historical places here.

On our first morning in the city we visited the Ethnography museum which was a worthwhile visit and gave us an insight into Ethiopian culture, including cattle-running as practiced by the Hamar people – the men run across the backs of a line of bulls in a male initiation rite. The museum was formerly the palace of Emperor Haile Selassie.

Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis is worth a visit and this was my first encounter with Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, a branch of Christianity which broke from Rome many centuries ago because of an argument over the nature of Christ. Holy Trinity was opened for us by a middle-aged Ethiopian Orthodox Christian clergyman with a white beard and kind face. He was wearing a long blue robe and flat-topped blue hat. Holy Trinity Cathedral is the final resting place of Haile Selassie who was murdered by the communists in 1974 by being smothered with a pillow. He was a bad ruler, but the system that followed was much worse. Haile Selassie was crowned emperor in 1930, promising his hard-pressed people much but delivering little.

Selassie’s Ethiopia gave very little constitutional protection or power to the vast majority of its citizens. The Emperor favored the nobility and did little to further the lot of ordinary Ethiopians. The poorly structured political scene attracted self-serving careerists rather than politicians of substance and ideals. When Selassie was murdered in 1974, Ethiopia was no less feudal than it had been in 1930 and the economy was as subsistence-based as ever.

Ethiopian food is an unusual affair. One eats by hand using sections of injera (a large, pancake-shaped food which looks like carpet liner) to grab the small selections of vegetables and meat. The veg and meat were excellent, being beautifully spicy. Ethiopian cuisine is very interesting, even in the cheapest places.

We flew north to the city of Gondar which is located near malaria-riddled Lake Tana, but malaria is rare in Gondar itself. A good-humored local woman was our guide for the day and showed us around the city’s well preserved 17th-century castles. Gondar was the imperial capital of Ethiopia for 200 years and was founded by Emperor Fasilidas in 1635. The walled Royal Enclosure dominates the city center and contains several castles, partially restored by UNESCO.

The Scottish explorer James Bruce came this way in 1790 and wrote about his experiences here, descriptions which shocked folks back home. We spent a couple of hours in the Royal Enclosure and our guide told us the plotting, the evil ambition, and the backstabbing that went on over the centuries between members of the Royal Family. The architecture was an interesting blend of foreign influences. Of the various rulers, Emperor Iyasu (1682-1706) stands out because he was a popular and peace-loving emperor, and was described as a “lively and sagacious genius”.

Sadly, many of Gondar’s beautiful churches were destroyed in 1888 and the only church to survive entirely unscathed was Debre Berhan Selassie (“Mountain of the Enlightened Trinity”) which contains wonderful paintings within, including a beautiful ceiling decorated with the faces of 80 cherubs. Iyasu intended to move the Ark of the Covenant to Debre Berhan from Axum. This never happened and Ethiopians say the Ark still remains in Axum, although this has never been proved.

After Gondar we began our trek in the Simien Mountains, which are a couple of hours’ drive north of the city. The trek was a wonderful, demanding trip. It fluctuated regularly between very warm and very cold; it was at high altitude; it involved camping, and there were several long, hard days of walking. The trek was nine nights of camping and 10 days of walking in steep terrain with the equatorial sun often beating down upon us.

On the trek’s first day we walked to the famous escarpment which goes on for many miles and sometimes drops as much as 3,000 feet. Here we were treated to our first view of the spectacular landscape of the Simiens with its mesas, plateaus and spires; a landscape created by volcanic activity 70 million years ago and consisting of basalt.

On day five, shortly after we encountered the bare-footed, medieval-looking clergyman, we reached Bwahit Pass which was a magnificent viewpoint where we could see a wide panorama of huge mountains with their vast cliffs and spires. From here we set off on a knee-jarring descent of 1400 meters, which got progressively warmer as we dropped.

One of our camps was at a place called Geech, which was a wide, grassy, treeless plain at 3,600 meters. That night it dropped to minus five degrees Celsius and there were millions of stars in the sky. In the distance we could see huge swathes of lightning illuminating the sky and clouds. We hoped that the storm wouldn’t reach us. Thankfully, it didn’t. The next morning we were treated to our first sighting of the magnificent lammergeyer, a high altitude vulture, with an enormous wingspan, which looks wonderful in flight.

One day our trek took us to the hugely impressive Geech Abyss where we scrambled a few feet over a narrow bridge of rock in order to gain a better view of the wonderful Jinbar river waterfall plunging hundreds of feet. This was a sight to stay with one forever. The Jinbar Falls are 500 metres high and are one of the tallest falls in Africa. According to one list I saw, Jinbar is the 108th tallest waterfall in the world.

While trekking in the Simien Mountains is challenging, it is not beyond people with average fitness. Many visitors to Ethiopia go on a fortnight-long historical trail which includes Addis, Gondar, Axum and Lalibela. My guidebook told me that if it were virtually anywhere but in Ethiopia, Lalibela would be called one of the wonders of the world. As it stands, Lalibela is barely known outside Ethiopia.

Gorgeous food

Food can be unimaginative and unappetizing in many African towns, but not so in Ethiopia where the food is a welcome surprise. It’s deliciously spicy, and portions are generous and very cheap. One plate of food, costing about a Euro, is often enough to feed two. There are a wide variety of dishes, most of them unique to Ethiopia, which are eaten using a pancake-shaped, slightly sour tasting dough called Injera. You use this to scoop up a choice of vegetables and meat including lamb, goat, beef, and fish.

Church frescoes

Debre Birhan Selassie in the city of Gondar is one of the most beautiful churches in Ethiopia. It’s decorated inside with a huge number of gorgeous frescoes, including the striking ceiling with its 80 cherub faces. There’s a depiction of an especially fearsome-looking Satan surrounded by flames, and a painting of a captive Muhammad being led by the devil. Some say the frescoes were painted by one artist in the 1600s. Others say that probably several artists were involved during the early 19th Century.

Full-on dance

Another unique cultural aspect of this country is its dancing, a style to be found nowhere else. The dancing reveals a passionate, emotional streak in the Ethiopian character. The music sounds like nothing you’ve heard before. Accompanied by singers and musicians, dancers entertain tourists in restaurants and hotels, their shoulders jerking and twitching in an unusual style. Everything builds in intensity until musicians and dancers, are in a state of full-on energy. It’s a special, exciting experience.

Getting there

Derek traveled on the 13-day Simien Mountains Trek tour. The tour costs from £2,095 per person, to include return flights; three nights hotel and nine nights’ camping on a bed and breakfast basis; most meals; transport and the services of a tour leader, driver, local guide and cook. For further information, or to book, visit www.explore.co.uk or call +1252 884 723.

Source: Independent Ireland

Ethiopia - Israel relations

Ethiopian Consulate in Jerusalem

Ethiopia–Israel relations are foreign relations between Ethiopia and Israel. Both countries re-established diplomatic relations in 1992. Ethiopia has an embassy in Tel Aviv; the ambassador is also accredited to the Holy See, Greece and Cyprus. Israel has an embassy in Addis Ababa; the ambassador is also accredited to Rwanda and Burundi. Israel has been one of Ethiopia's most reliable suppliers of military assistance, supporting different Ethiopian governments during the Eritrean War of Independence. In 2012, an Ethiopian-born Israeli, Belaynesh Zevadia, was appointed Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia.

 Royal Era

During the imperial era, Israeli advisers trained paratroops and counterinsurgency units belonging to the Fifth Division (also called the Nebelbal, 'Flame', Division). In December 1960, a section of the Ethiopian army attempted a coup whilst the Emperor Haile Sellassie I was on a state visit in Brazil. Israel intervened, so that the Emperor could communicate directly with general Abbiye. General Abbiye and his troops remained loyal to the Emperor, and the rebellion was crushed.

In the early 1960s, Israel started helping the Ethiopian government in its campaigns against the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF). The Ethiopian government portrayed the Eritrean rebellion as an Arab threat to the African region, an argument that convinced the Israelis to side with the Ethiopian government in the conflict. Israel trained counter-insurgency forces and the Governor General of Eritrea, Asrate Medhin Kassa, had an Israeli Military Attaché as his advisor. An Israeli colonel was put in charge of a military training school at Decamare and the training of the Ethiopian Marine Commando Forces. By 1966, there were around 100 Israeli military advisors in Ethiopia.The Ethiopian-Israeli cooperation had impacts on the discourse of the Eritrean rebel movements, which increasingly began to use anti-Zionist rhetoric. It also enabled the Eritreans to mobilize material support from the Arab and Islamic world.

 

 The Israeli perception of the war in Eritrea as part of the Arab-Israeli conflict was reinforced when reports of links between the ELF and Palestine Liberation Organization emerged after the Six Days War

Parallel to the war in Eritrea, Israel was accused of aiding the Ethiopian government in crushing the Oromo resistance

In 1969 the Israeli government had proposed the formation of an anti-Pan-Arab alliance consisting of the United States, Israel, Ethiopia, Iran and Turkey. Ethiopia rejected the proposal. In 1971, the Israeli Chief of Staff Bar Lev made a visit to Ethiopia, during which he presented proposals for deepening of Israeli-Ethiopian cooperation. The Ethiopians turned down the Israeli proposals but nevertheless, Ethiopia became internationally accused of having given concessions to Israel for setting up Israeli military bases on Ethiopian islands in the Red Sea. Ethiopia consistently denied all such accusations.

Israel offered Ethiopia military assistance in the event of a Yemeni take-over of the islands, but Ethiopia turned down the offer fearing a political backlash. Still, Ethiopia was attacked at the 1973 OAU summit in Addis Abeba by the Libyan delegation, accusing Ethiopia of allowing the build-up of Israeli bases on its territory. At the summit the Algerian president Houari Boumediène called on Ethiopia to break its relations with Israel. In return, Boumediène offered to use his political leverage to freeze Arab support for the ELF.

The allegations of possible Israeli military bases on the islands of the Eritrean coast surfaced again soon thereafter, at a summit of Foreign Ministers of Islamic countries, held in Benghazi, Libya. The Benghazi meeting condemned Ethiopian-Israeli cooperation, and pledged support for the ELF.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Aklilu Habte-Wold began seeking political support for breaking relations with Israel after the OAU summit. After long discussions, the cabinet voted to sever diplomatic links with Israel. The decision was however censored by a veto from the Emperor. At the time of the October 1973 war, many African states severed their relations with Israel. This, and Arab threats of a crippling oil embargo, put pressure on the Emperor to withdraw his veto, and on October 23, 1973 Ethiopia severed its diplomatic relations with Israel. The break of relations with Israel caused the United States to tone down its support to Imperial rule in Ethiopia

Mengistu rule

Even after Ethiopia broke diplomatic relations with Israel in 1973, Israeli military aid continued after the Derg military junta came to power and included spare parts and ammunition for U.S.-made weapons and service for U.S.-made F-5 jet fighters. Israel also maintained a small group of military advisers in Addis Ababa.

In 1978, however, when the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Dayan admitted that Israel had been providing security assistance to Ethiopia, Mengistu Haile Mariamexpelled all Israelis so that he might preserve his relationship with radical Arab states such as Libya and South Yemen. Although, Addis Ababa claimed it had terminated its military relationship with Israel, military cooperation continued. In 1983, for example, Israel provided communications training, and in 1984 Israeli advisers trained the Presidential Guard and Israeli technical personnel served with the police. Some Western observers believed that Israel provided military assistance to Ethiopia in exchange for Mengistu's tacit cooperation during Operation Moses in 1984, in which 10,000 Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) were evacuated to Israel.  In 1985 Israel reportedly sold Addis Ababa at least US$20 million in Soviet-made munitions and spare parts captured in Lebanon. According to the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the Mengistu regime received US$83 million worth of Israeli military aid in 1987, and Israel deployed some 300 military advisers to Ethiopia. Additionally, the EPLF claimed that thirty-eight Ethiopian pilots had gone to Israel for training.

As Mengistu's allies in the Socialist Bloc went into a state of crisis and division, Ethiopia began to put more emphasis on relations with Israel. In 1989 formal diplomatic relations were reinstated. In late 1989, Israel reportedly finalized a secret agreement to provide increased military assistance in exchange for Mengistu's promise to allow Ethiopia's remaining Beta Israel to immigrate to Israel. In addition, the two nations agreed to restore diplomatic relations and increase intelligence cooperation. Mengistu apparently believed that Israel, unlike the Soviet Union, whose military advisers emphasized conventional tactics, could provide the training and matériel needed to transform the Ethiopian army into a counterinsurgency force.

During 1990 Israeli-Ethiopian relations grew stronger. According to the New York Times, Israel supplied 150,000 rifles, cluster bombs, ten to twenty military advisers to train Mengistu's Presidential Guard, and an unknown number of instructors to work with Ethiopian commando units. Unconfirmed reports also suggested that Israel had provided theEthiopian Air Force with surveillance cameras and had agreed to train Ethiopian pilots

Commercial relations

Trade relations between Ethiopia and Israel have grown over the years. In the early 1980s, Dafron, an Israeli notebook manufacturer, won a government contract to market 2 million notebooks to Ethiopia. Israel imports Ethiopian sesame, coffee, grains, skins and hides, spices, oilseed and natural gum.

Ethiopian Jews

In return for this aid, Ethiopia permitted the emigration of the Beta Israel. Departures in the spring reached about 500 people a month before Ethiopian officials adopted new emigration procedures that reduced the figure by more than two-thirds. The following year, Jerusalem and Addis Ababa negotiated another agreement whereby Israel provided agricultural, economic, and health assistance. Also, in May 1991, as the Mengistu regime neared its end, Israel paid US$35 million in cash to allow nearly 15,000 Beta Israel to emigrate from Ethiopia to Israel. Read more here

Ethiopian Bible is the oldest and complete bible on earth.

Written in Ge’ez an ancient dead language of Ethiopia it’s nearly 800 years older than the King James Version and contains 81-88 books compared to 66. It includes the Book of ENOCH, Esdras, Buruch and all 3 Books of MACCABEE, and a host of others that was excommunicated from the KJV.

World’s first illustrated Christian bible discovered at Ethiopian monastery

The world’s earliest illustrated Christian book has been saved by a British charity which located it at a remote Ethiopian monastery.

The incredible Garima Gospels are named after a monk who arrived in the African country in the fifth century and is said to have copied them out in just one day.

Beautifully illustrated, the colours are still vivid and thanks to the Ethiopian Heritage Fund have been conserved.

Abba Garima arrived from Constantinople in 494 AD and legend has it that he was able to copy the gospels in a day because God delayed the sun from setting.

A page from the Garima Gospels – the world’s oldest Christian book found in a remote monastery in Ethiopia

The incredible relic has been kept ever since in the Garima Monastery near Adwa in the north of the country, which is in the Tigray region at 7,000 feet.

Experts believe it is also the earliest example of book binding still attached to the original pages.

The survival of the Gospels is incredible considering the country has been under Muslim invasion, Italian invasion and a fire in the 1930s destroyed the monastery’s church.

They were written on goat skin in the early Ethiopian language of Ge’ez.

There are two volumes which date from the same time, but the second is written in a different hand from the first. Both contain illustrations and the four Gospels.

Though the texts had been mentioned by the occasional traveller since the 1950s, it had been thought they dated from the 11th century at the earliest.

Carbon dating, however, gives a date between 330 and 650 – which tantalisingly overlaps the date Abba Garima arrived in the country.

So the first volume could be in his hand – even if he didn’t complete the task in a day as the oral tradition states.

The charity Ethiopian Heritage Fund that was set up to help preserve the treasures in the country has made the stunning discovery.

It was also allowed incredibly rare access to the texts so experts could conserve them on site.

The incredible relic has been kept ever since in the Garima Monastery near Adwa in the north of Ethiopia

It is now hoped the Gospels will be put in a museum at the monastery where visitors will be able to view them.

Blair Priday from the Ethiopian Heritage Fund said: ‘Ethiopia has been overlooked as a source of these fantastic things.

‘Many of these old Christian relics can only be reached by hiking and climbing to remote monasteries as roads are limited in these mountainous regions.

‘All the work on the texts was done in situ and everything is reversible, so if in future they can be taken away for further conservation we won’t have hindered that.

‘The pages had been crudely stitched together in a restoration in the 1960s and some of the pages wouldn’t even turn. And they were falling to pieces.

‘The Garima Gospels have been kept high and dry which has helped preserve them all these years and they are kept in the dark so the colours look fresh.

‘This was the most astounding of all our projects and the Patriarch, the head of the Ethiopian Church, had to give his permission.

‘Most of the experts did the work for nothing.

‘We are currently undertaking other restoration programmes on wall paintings and religious texts.

‘We believe that preserving Ethiopia’s cultural heritage will help to increase visitor revenue and understanding of the extraordinary history of this country. Read more here 

TEFF – gluten free, highly nutritious, big super grain of Ethiopia

Sanjana Potluri and R Mahendran

Teff (Eragrostis Tef) is a small-sized grain similar to poppy seeds which is grown in Ethiopia. Gluten-free and rich in protein, fibre and minerals, Teff started to gain a foothold as a new "superfood," along the likes of quinoa and spelt. The average yield per hectare of Teff in Ethiopia is 1.4 tonne, which is less than half as much as the global average of 3.2 tonne for modern varieties of wheat. It is also known as lovegrass in Ethiopia and was one of the earliest cultivated plants. About 20% of Ethiopia’s highland and mid-altitude arable cropping area is planted with Teff, and is the most prized of all cereals grown by an estimated 6.3 million farmers. White Teff is the most preferred and there are strong price differentials between the three types of Teff - red, mixed and white. Nominal Teff prices have increased steadily since March 2014 and increased by 5% from December 2015 to January 2016. One pound of Teff can produce up to one tonne of grain in only 12 weeks. 

The potential production capacity, minimal time and seed requirements have protected the Ethiopians from hunger when their food supply was under attack from numerous invaders in the past. Teff is also grown on a limited basis for livestock forage in other parts of Africa, India, Australia and South America. In the US, small acreages of Teff are grown for grain production and sold to Ethiopian restaurants (Carlson, Idaho) or utilised as a late planted livestock forage (Larson, Minnesota).  

This small seed has an exceptional nutritional profile (Table. 1) and has a very mild, nutty flavour. Teff has very much higher levels of calcium (167g/100g) than wheat (34g/100g), which is of interest to those on dairy-free diets. It also has significantly higher range of other nutrients - iron, magnesium, zinc, Vitamin B3/niacin, Vitamin C - and low levels of phytic acid making the minerals more bio-available than in any other grains. Teff is considered to have an excellent amino acid composition (Table. 2. Amino acid content of Teff grain compared with other cereals and FAO/WHO pattern is given), lysine levels higher than wheat or barley, and slightly less than rice or oats. Teff is high in resistant starch, a newly-discovered type of dietary fibre that can benefit blood sugar management, weight control, and colon health. It’s estimated that 20-40% of the carbohydrates in Teff are resistant starches and has a relatively low glycemic index. The proximate composition (db) of Teff is reported to be 94–133% protein, 73% carbohydrate, 198–35% crude fibre, 20–31% fat and 27–30% ash (Bultosa & Taylor, 2004).

Traditionally Teff is ground into flour and it is used to make the traditional fermented flat bread, injera in Ethiopia which is similar to American version of pancakes and south Indian version of appam which is basic to the Ethiopian cuisine and is central to many religions and cultural ceremonies. Across the country, diners gather around large pieces of injera, which doubles as cutlery, scooping up stews and feeding one another as a sign of loyalty or friendship - a tradition known as gursha. Teff naturally gluten-free, can substitute for wheat flour in anything from bread and pasta to waffles and pizza bases and other assortment of baked goods. This is a better alternative for gluten-free than xantham gum which is being currently incorporated into breads. Teff can also be eaten whole and steamed, boiled or baked or incorporated into other dishes. 

Table. 1. Nutritional Profile of Teff

S.no	Nutritional Composition	Content
1	Energy (kcal)	357
2	Starch (%)	73
3	Crude protein (%)	11
4	Crude fat (%)	2.5
5	Crude fibre (%)	3
6	Ash (%)	2.8
7	Amino acids (g/16gn) {glutamine + glutamic acid}	21.8
8	Iron (mg/100g)	9.5->150
9	Zinc (mg/100g)	2.3-6.8
10	Calcium (mg/100g)	17-178
11	Copper (mg/100g)	1.1-5.3
12	Phytate (mg/100g dry matter)	682-1374
13	Tannin (mg ce/100g dry matter)	16
14	Total polyphenols (mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g dry matter)	140
15	Phenolic acids (ug/mg) {ferulic acids}	285.9

Teff is now quoted to be the next big revolution in the grain industry as the “super grain” moving over quinoa. With its impressive nutritional profile, Teff is finding its way slowly into the lucrative markets of the West and is quoted to be Ethiopia’s next big gift to the world after coffee. The Ethiopian country currently has a ban on export of raw Teff grain and Teff flour and can only be exported in other forms such as injera, and other baked goods. The immediate lift on export ban will increase the Teff production but it may displace other important crops to farmers by boosting production and business interests at the cost of farmers. Growing demand for so-called ancient grains has not always been a straightforward win for poor communities. In Bolivia and Peru, reports of rising incomes owing to the now—global quinoa trade have come alongside those of malnutrition and conflicts over land as farmers sell their entire crop to meet Western demand. The government’s agricultural transformation agency is now only focussed on increasing the Teff production to meet the domestic demand to build a strong export market as around six million farmers in Ethiopia survive on cultivation of Teff. 

Table. 2. Amino acid content of Teff grain (g/16N) compared with other cereals and the FAO /WHO (1973) pattern.

Amino acid	Teff	Barley	Maize	Oats	Rice	Sorghum	Wheat	Pearl millet	FAO/WHO
Lysine	3.68	3.46	2.67	3.71	3.79	2.02	2.08	2.08	4.2
Isoleucine	4.00	3.58	3.68	3.78	3.81	3.92	3.68	3.09	4.2
Leucine	8.53	6.67	12.5	7.26	8.22	13.3	7.04	7.29	4.8
Valine	5.46	5.04	4.85	5.10	5.50	5.01	4.13	4.49	4.2
Phenylalanine	5.69	5.14	4.88	5.00	5.15	4.90	4.86	3.46	2.8
Tryosine	3.84	3.10	3.82	3.30	3.49	2.67	2.32	1.41	2.8
Tryptophan	1.30	1.54	0.70	1.26	1.25	1.22	1.07	1.62	1.4
Theronine	4.32	3.31	3.60	3.31	3.90	3.02	2.69	2.50	2.8
Histidine	3.21	2.11	2.72	2.10	2.50	2.14	2.08	2.08	-
Arginine	5.15	4.72	4.19	6.29	8.26	3.07	3.54	3.54	-
Methionin	4.06	1.66	1.92	1.68	2.32	1.39	1.46	1.46	2.2
Cystine	2.50	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2

Teff is also known for its dietary antioxidant content and recently a study conducted by the Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia concluded that the processing of Teff flour into partly or fully fermented injera had reduced the total antioxidant contents with respect to raw Teff flour. In 2015, University of Nevada, Reno started to conduct a project to improve the Teff grass. The aim is to make it more drought-tolerant and productive under the harsh growing conditions being experienced worldwide as the popularity of this gluten-free grain grows with farmers and consumers in dry regions of the United States. Ultimately, the researchers aim is to improve the economic viability of Teff as an alternative food and forage crop in Nevada, other parts of the United States and elsewhere across the world. The research team is also working on genetic and agronomic field crop and soil management approaches to make the crop less prone to lodging which occurs when stems break and the crop falls over in the field and a significant proportion of the seed cannot be harvested. Further research must be done on Teff to increase its production not only in Ethiopia but in other parts of the world while ensuring that the farmers do not get affected by the demands of the Western business interests. Even though it could be the next super grain, the world needs, it is still the staple diet of millions of Ethiopian farmers. 

References
https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/CropFactSheets/teff.html
https://www.teffco.com/what-is-teff/
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jan/23/quinoa-ethiopia-teff-super-grain
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32128441
http://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2015/teff-research-project
http://canchemtrans.ca/uploads/journals/CCT-2013-0012.pdf
https://www.12wbt.com/blog/nutrition/terrific-teff-new-superfood/
http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/teff-and-millet-november-grains-of-the-month
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32128441
http://www.foodsmatter.com/coeliac-disease/management/teff-in-the-gluten-free-diet.html
http://www.agri-learning-ethiopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/AKLDP-Wheat-Teff-Feb-2016.pdf
http://allaroundisglutenfree.pselion.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/128545.pdf
Bultosa G; Taylor J R N (2004). Tef. In: Encyclopaedia of Grain Science, Eds. Wrigley, C; Corke H; Walker C; pp 253–262, Elsevier, Amsterdam
     Physico-Chemical Properties of Teff [Eragrostis tef (ZUCC.) Trotter] Grains and Their Utilization in Bread and Biscuits Making, Mariam Idreis Osman Mohammed, University of Khartoum, 2007.

 (Mahendran is an assistant professor and Potluri is a student from Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology, MoFPI, Thanjavur. They can be contacted at  mahendran@iicpt.edu.in)