The first could be the Injera – a sourdough-risen flatbread with a slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is the national dish of Ethiopia. It is central to the dining process in those cultures as bread is the most fundamental component of any meal.

    Derek Tibs – there are many variations and styles of tibs, but for the most part it’s a certain type of meat (either beef, lamb, or goat) cooked in Ethiopian butter with a few spices, onions, and peppers.
Derek tibs is the version that’s cooked dry, kind of like stir frying, but just with some butter in a pan and searing the meat until some pieces get crunchy.
It’s often served in a flaming hot earthenware dish with hot coals in the bottom. This keeps the meat sizzling hot and you get some meat crispies at the bottom. 

     Historically, tibs was served to pay a compliment or show respect to someone. Today it’s still viewed as a special dish, hence its popularity for special events and holidays.
Typically, the meat of the tibs that arrives at your table has just been cleaved from carcasses hanging outside beside the restaurant’s entrance and meat rarely comes fresher or tastier.

   Kitfo – while injera is a daily experience for most Ethiopians, kitfo is generally saved for a special occasion or served during national public holidays in the country. Kitfo is Ethiopian beef tartare made from top quality raw beef mixed hot chilli powder. The lean meat is hand-chopped to give it a melt-in-your-mouth texture, and the finished product is often eaten with kocho, a chewy bread made from False Banana.

Kitfo can be served with aib (like dry cottage cheese) and gomen (minced spinach), a recommended pairing making the meal even more delicious, as well as especially filling — highly recommended after a hard day’s traveling or if one is confronted with a hangover after a long night.

   Gored gored – is a raw beef dish eaten in Ethiopia. Whereas kitfo is minced beef marinated in spices and clarified butter, gored gored is cubed and left unmarinated. Like kitfo, it is widely popular and considered a national dish. It is often served with mitmita and awazi (a type of mustard and chilli sauce).

   Wat – a stew that can be made from vegetables, doro (chicken), asa (fish), kai (beef), shiro (chickpeas) or messer (lentils). The spiciness of the sauces varies according to the amount of berbere – the seasoning blend of spices.
The preparation of a wat begins with chopped onions slow cooked, without any fat or oil, in a dry skillet or pot until much of their moisture has been driven away. Fat is then added, often in quantities that might seem excessive by modern Western standards, and the onions and other aromatics are sautéed before the addition of other ingredients. This method causes the onions to break down and thicken the stew.
Wat is traditionally eaten with injera.
Doro wat is one such stew, made from chicken and sometimes hard-boiled eggs. The chicken is cut into twelve pieces representing the twelve apostles of Jesus Chris.

   Without Shiro breakfast is unthinkable.  Shiro is a homogeneous stew whose primary ingredient is powdered chickpeas or broad bean meal. It is often prepared with the addition of minced onions, garlic and, depending upon regional variation, ground ginger or chopped tomatoes and chili-peppers. Shiro is served atop injera. 
Tegabino shiro is a type of shiro made from heavily spiced legume, chickpea, field pea, or fava bean, oil, and water. It is brought bubbling to the table in a miniature clay pot or shallow aluminum pan. Its true aficionados usually consume it with a dark or sergegna injera.
However, it can be cooked and added to shredded injera or taita and eaten with a spoon; this version is called shiro fit-fit.
It is a vegan food, but there are non-vegan variations with niter kibbeh (a spiced, clarified butter) or meat – bozena shiro.

   Shahan ful is generally served for breakfast. It is made by slowly cooking fava beans in water. Once the beans have softened, they are crushed into a coarse paste. It is often served with chopped green onions, tomatoes, and hot green peppers, as well as yogurt, feta cheese, olive oil, tesmi, berbere, lemon juice, cumin, and chili pepper. It is typically eaten without the aid of utensils accompanied with a bread roll.

   Fir-fir (fit-fit) – is an Ethiopian food typically served for breakfast. It is generally made with shredded flat bread, spiced clarified butter, and the hot spice berbere. Kitta fit-fit is sometimes eaten with plain yogurt. 

   Dulet – For the uninitiated, this dish of mixed meats might be more enjoyable if not translated and explained. It’s made with minced tripe (an animal’s stomach lining), along with liver and lean beef fried in butter, onions, chilli, cardamom and pepper. Like kitfo, much of its popularity stems from it being very filling and hitting the spot after a hard-going day or night. Offal has never tasted so good — give it a go.

    Asa lebleb – is lightly cooked fish in a flavorful sauce. The spices used in the sauce vary throughout Ethiopia. Asa lebleb is usually only found in fishing towns where the fish is very fresh.

    Asa shorba – fish soup. This is perhaps the dish that varies the most throughout Ethiopia.

    Asa Goulash – deep fried fish served in a spicy sauce with tomato and onions and eaten with injera. It has no resemblance to goulash whatsoever but this is the name used throughout the country.

    Koroso – deep fried fish cut in a checkerboard style so that in can be eaten without cutlery. It is served with lime and a spicy cochcocha dipping sauce. This is the most common preparation of fish and the favorite of many of our guests.