MEREB GUIDE
Your Network to Ethiopia
Addis Ababa
MEREB GUIDE
Your Network to Ethiopia
Addis Ababa
On Ethiopian Orthodox fasting days, most kitchens in this city cook entirely without meat, dairy or eggs — not as a side option, but as the main menu. There is nowhere else in the world with this density.
ረቡዕ, 7 ኦክቶበር
Most restaurants will be serving ye'tsom — the fasting menu, cooked without meat, dairy or eggs. Shiro, misir wot, gomen, atkilt. Ask for ye'tsom beyaynetu and you get a platter of all of them.
Ye'tsom beyaynetu — a platter with a portion of everything on offer that day. The single most useful phrase.
Shiro — ground chickpea stew. Almost always plant-based.
Misir wot — red lentils. Gomen — collard greens. Atkilt — cabbage, carrot and potato.
One thing to know: fasting food excludes meat, dairy and eggs, but it is usually cooked in the same kitchen as everything else. If you avoid cross-contact, ask when you order — staff are used to the question.
Plus every Wednesday and Friday, except in the fifty days after Fasika. Dates follow the Orthodox calendar; the church can announce differences in a given year.
0 serve it every day, not only on fasting days