The injera table and gursha

What it is

Injera is both the plate and the cutlery. It is made from teff, a tiny local grain, fermented for a few days and cooked on one side into a wide, spongy round. On it sit portions of wot, thick stews of lentils, split peas, chicken, beef or lamb, many of them spiced with a red chilli blend called berbere. There are also cooked greens, fresh cheese, and sometimes minced raw or lightly cooked beef. Rolls of extra injera are served on the side.

Gursha

Gursha means mouthful. A person wraps a generous piece of injera around the best of the food and places it in the mouth of a friend, a guest, a parent or a child. It is an act of affection and respect. A larger gursha shows greater warmth. A common saying holds that one gursha makes enemies and two make friends, so it is usually offered more than once. The person receiving it does not use their hands. They simply accept it.

How it works

Hands are washed at the table, often with a jug and basin brought by the host. The tray may sit on a mesob, a tall woven basket table. Everyone eats with the right hand from the part of the tray in front of them. On the many fasting days of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church, including most Wednesdays and Fridays and the weeks before Easter, the platter is free of meat, eggs and dairy. A coffee ceremony commonly follows the meal.

How to do it

1. Wash your hands when the jug and basin come round.
2. Tear a palm-sized piece of injera with your right hand.
3. Lay it over some stew, pinch and lift.
4. Eat from the area of the tray nearest you.
5. If someone offers gursha, lean in and accept it.

Good manners

• Use the right hand only, and keep fingers out of your mouth.
• Refusing gursha can seem cold. Accept at least the first one.
• The injera under the stews is the best part. It is eaten last.

What is eaten

InjeraLarge, spongy sour flatbread made from fermented teff flourShiroChickpea or broad bean stew, a staple in Ethiopian and Eritrean mealsKitfoMinced raw beef mixed with spiced butter, from EthiopiaWatEthiopian and Eritrean stew thickened with onions and spiced butterFit-fitShredded flatbread mixed with spiced butter and berbere, eaten for breakfast

Sources and further reading

• Ethiopian cuisine on Wikipedia
• Ethiopia.travel: official tourism site of Ethiopia