Mesfin Melleket from Merkato Restaurant and Market, estimates there are about 50,000 Ethiopians living in Southern California. Many live close to Fairfax, and share native dishes and culture with Angelenos. Ethiopian is food similar to Indian food, yet there's a distinct difference in this country's flavors.
A true Ethiopian meal has you sit on saddle like seats in front of a messob; sort of a table. A family style platter features a well balanced feast: tomato salad, collard greens, cabbage, chicken or beef tebbs and some sort of lentil. It's eaten without flatware by tearing and scooping a bread called injera.
What tortillas are to Mexican food, injera is to Ethiopian. Injera is a bread made with a grain called teff. Tiny and nutritious, one cup of teff has as much calcium as a glass of milk and all the iron a woman needs on one day.
While Ethiopians aren't big on dessert, after your meal coffee is a treat as much as a tradition. A social event, it's the time to talk politics, gossip, and socialize
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