Ethiopian Dining - Gohe

I was introduced to the concept of Ethiopian cuisine back in Edmonton. As someone who quite enjoys novel cuisines and styles of dining, the concept of using a starch, Injera, as the vehicle to capture the curries intrigued me. One post-call Friday, I was leafing through my Show & Save coupon book to find a coupon for a Gohe Ethiopian Restaurant.

I was dining at an odd time in the afternoon so I had to conquer this battle myself. Most people see a coupon as a turnoff, but I saw it as an opportunity to try more things (and have leftovers). Wanting to try a lot of things, I ordered the Meat Combo and Veggie Combo.

I want to be clear here: this was BOTH the meat and vegetable combination on one dish. Gohe, like most Ethiopian restaurants, presents your food on an Injera and offers extra Injera on the side to lap up the deliciousness. From top to bottom, left to right:

 

TOP: Cabbage, Alecha Wot (beef stewed in Turmeric), Stewed Beets, Stewed Green Beans

MIDDLE: Salad, Dorot Wot (chicken stewed in Berbere spice), Kik Alicha (stewed yellow lentils), Salad

BOTTOM: Qeye Wot (beef stewed in Berbere spice), Misir Wot (spilt lentils in spicy sauce), Azifa (stewed lentils)

The star of the show were the vegetables. The Misir Wot was a wonderful combination of tender lentils in a secret spice mixture. Eating it with the sourness of the Injera and the saltiness of the home-made cottage cheese was a joy.

Out of the meats I enjoyed the Qeye Wot the most. Stewed with onions and tomatoes, once again the secret blend of spices added a wonderful taste and aroma to the dish that blended well with the sour Injera.

Injera is a type of sourdough that is the national dish of Ethiopia. The secret is the spongyness of the interior which allows it to soak up the sauces and ingredients. All in all, this was a incredibly tasty meal that gave a bevy of leftovers. Highly recommended!