Washington Post
A Tasty Introduction to Little Ethiopia - By Nancy Lewis
'' ... Sodere is a good place for an introduction to Ethiopian food.
Many of the more established Ethiopian restaurants serve the traditional way, on small, low tables surrounded by small, low stools. The food is placed on a communal platter that is covered with injera, slightly sour pancakes. To eat, diners tear off a small portion of the injera by hand and with it pick up a small amount of food -- like picking up something with a paper towel.
Sodere, with a sparkling clean interior that is reminiscent of an old-fashioned downtown city cafe, makes the introduction a bit easier. Diners sit in comfortable chairs and eat from regular tables.
Sodere presents the steamy, warm injera on a separate plate. The helpful staff members are eager to explain the food and demonstrate basic eating techniques. For the squeamish, there are forks.
Senedu Zewdie uses no written recipes for the menu she prepares daily. "I don't have to measure or anything," she said, to make the nine vegetarian sauces (Americans probably would refer to them as spreads or dips) resting on the giant injera before us. "Americans seem to like vegetarian best."
Zewdie said she likes being in the midst of what is becoming a "Little Ethiopia."
"We don't really compete," she said of the different restaurants. "People like to go to different settings, to meet and talk with different people."
She said there really isn't any competition from Dukem, a downtown Ethiopian mainstay two blocks away, which just happens to be owned by another brother..." >>more
Washington Post
Traveling to Ethiopia For Clues About D.C.
Graham to Study Immigrants' Roots - by Dakarai I. Aarons
''... D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) will spend the next month in Ethiopia to learn more about the culture and language of a large segment of immigrants who live in his ward.
The trip, Graham's first to Africa,.... In Ethiopia, he plans to meet with Ethiopian officials and to learn a bit of Amharic, the country's predominant language...
Graham's airline fare for the trip to Ethiopia was paid by Ethiopian Airlines, and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is providing free accommodations for his stay in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city, said Abdul Kamus, a community activist who organized the trip. District law permits Graham to accept the trip as a gift.
Last week more than two dozen Ethiopians, including Ethiopia's vice ambassador, Brook Haliu, came out to a Shaw restaurant to wish Graham good luck on his trip. In front of the Sodere Ethiopian restaurant, they surrounded Graham, a first-generation U.S. citizen from Scotland, as he thanked the community for the opportunity to travel to Ethiopia. He called his trip an "incredible privilege." ..." >>more
Washington Post
Washington's Little Ethiopia
A New Cluster of Restaurants Brings Exotic (Yet Inexpensive) Appeal to Ninth and U St
By Walter Nicholls
"... But the best-known Ethiopian restaurant in the neighborhood is the six-year-old Dukem. Owner Tefera Zewdie says that when he opened, the majority of his customers were from back home. "So much has changed in the last year and a half," says Zewdie, who has an adjoining carryout. On weekend nights in Dukem's outdoor area, there's a barbecue where Ethiopian-spiced New York strip steaks are grilled. "Now, I have far more white and African American customers," Zewdie says.
His sister, Senedu, opened Sodere restaurant last May with two of her other brothers, Mekonen and Mesefen. It's a few doors down from Etete. She says there is a challenge filling seats on weeknights with so many other restaurants in the area.
"Basically, with the food, all Ethiopian restaurants are the same," says Senedu Zewdie. "To be different, you have to have a coffee service and entertainment. That's what everybody is doing to attract more people." And all the enclave's restaurant owners agree that the best way to do so is by formally naming the neighborhood for their homeland.
The Washington region, with its 200,000 people of Ethiopian descent, has the largest Ethiopian population outside of the country itself, according to an unofficial estimate by the embassy. With the addition of Etete, which specializes in vegetarian meals, 10 Ethiopian restaurants now are clustered at U Street east of 13th and in the 1900 block of Ninth Street. Each has its distinct ambiance and fans.
The new enclave has twice as many Ethiopian restaurants as Adams Morgan, where Ethiopian entrepreneurs began opening food businesses in the late 1970s. The exotic and inexpensive cuisine attracts not only fellow countrymen but especially students and tourists. Meals are a communal, social activity, and there is no need for a knife and fork. Ethiopian is all about finger food. ... >>more
Washington Post
Ethiopia's National Dish - Doro Wot
Recipe by
Senedu Zewdie, of Sodere Restaurant - by
Stephanie Sedgwick
Doro Wat - 12 servings
In Ethiopia and for Ethiopians in the Washington area, no holiday meal is complete without doro wat -- a spicy chicken stew that includes whole, hard-boiled eggs. Senedu Zewdie, owner of Sodere restaurant on Ninth Street NW, uses a recipe passed down from her mother, Bogelch W-Maryam.
Doro wat, like many Ethiopian dishes, is extremely spicy for those unaccustomed to the cuisine. To enjoy the sauce, dip injera bread into it. Allow at least 4 1/2 hours for the preparation of this traditional dish.
8 cups chopped onion
6 1/2 cups water
Once 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 cups spiced butter*
1 1/2 cups berbere*
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger
6 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
6 bone-in, skinless chicken legs
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sweet white wine
12 hard-cooked eggs, peeled
In a pot large enough to eventually hold all the ingredients, on medium-low heat, heat the onions and 1/2 cup of the water, stirring occasionally, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the onions have turned golden brown.
Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring to incorporate until heated through. Add the spiced butter, berbere, garlic and ginger. When the butter has melted, adjust the heat to low and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
When the spice-onion mixture has cooked for 30 minutes, prepare the chicken. In a medium pot on high heat, add the chicken with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat slightly to poach the chicken, about 15 minutes. Drain the chicken, discarding the cooking liquid.
When the spice-onion mixture has cooked for a total of 1 hour, add the chicken to it and let cook for an additional hour over low heat.
Add the remaining 6 cups of water and stir carefully to incorporate the liquid. Let cook, adjusting the heat to a simmer, until the sauce thickens and heats through, about 15 minutes. Stir in the cardamom, black pepper and wine. Mix in the hard-cooked eggs and cook for 15 minutes.
*NOTES: Spiced butter, known as nitir kibe , is sold in small tubs at Ethiopian markets.
Berbere, also sold at such markets, is a ground spice mixture dominated by red chili pepper. Manufacturers have their own secret recipes.
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