Why Ethiopian Cuisine In Washington, D.C. Will One Day Be As Popular As Pizza - MOFAD

Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the world. I came here in 1977 for my terminal degree at Howard University. The first university in the United States who thought about African history. They created a hub for Ethiopians. We used to invite American friends to Ethiopian restaurants just to introduce these people to Ethiopian cuisine. The food itself is colorful. The beauty of it. Yellow, red, green. That's very enticing, appetizing, opens your desire to eat. After the end of World War II, Emperor Haile Selassie started to send his brightest students to the United States. They come here, get their education, get that knowledge and go back to build the nation. In 1970s, the military regime started human rights abuses. The political situation was not conducive for intellectuals, so they started to settle here. At that time in Washington, D.C., African-Americans were the majority. They feel that they are at home here. I was coming to this country in 1980. At that time, no Ethiopian market. It's very hard to get that spices. All Ethiopians go to Indian stores. That is why I have to open my own Ethiopian grocery store. Cardamom, black caraway, berbere. The special spices come from straight to Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, we grown up all together. We live together. We sleep together. That is why we came here. The same area we live. Coffee ceremony. You have to roast your own coffee. You can't drink by yourself. You have to have at least all the neighbors. The teacup, when they finish, there are people who are specialized to read. What is your situation going to be today? If it has opened up, you are going to be happy. If it's closed, there is something coming. So be careful. Our identity is just like an onion. You spill, you see an aroma, an aroma. You spill more, you see a Christian, a Muslim. Kind of a melting pot. You know, Ethiopians are like about 82 ethnic groups. The Gragas and Southerners eat more cut foods. When you go to the north, completely different kind of food, like the doro. But majority of Ethiopians use the same kind of bread that is in Jericho. I came here with my sister to the asylum. The first dish I learned to cook is the beef tips. First, I add rosemary and garlic and then the onion, tomato sauce and hot spice. Clarified butter and fresh tomato and jalapeno pepper. That's it. It's done to eat. Basically, it's not about only eating, it's about sharing, you know, talk and laugh and feed each other. After they came here and they tried the first time, they're excited and they are very happy. Americans are very open minded. One of my professors saw people using their fingers and he said pizza was like that. Some people didn't like pizza because they're using their finger. Americans will gradually get used to it and they will love it as they did with pizza. Ethiopian food is very tasty. Once they taste it, they just, they hook.