November 29, 2006
Raw
The first Brit to visit Ethiopia was an 18th Century Scottish gentleman called James Bruce. He came back with so many tall tales that he was ridiculed as a liar for the rest of his life.
His tallest tale was that the country's favourite dish was a plate of raw meat. According to his biographer Miles Bredin in his book The Pale Abyssinian:
Bruce has an undeserved and unenviable reputation. He is generally remembered, if at all, as ill-tempered and a liar... Haughty and proud (the portmanteau word paughty might almost have been coined for him), he once forced a visitor to eat raw meat after the unfortunate man had expressed doubt at it being the Abyssinians' favourite dish.
To my shame, it has taken me two years to present the proof that Bruce was telling the truth. I can also tell you that Bruce's visitor wasn't unfortunate at all. Once you get used to the texture, fresh raw meat is tender and tasty.
The picture shows what I got when I asked for a 'tinnish, tinnish' [small, small] portion at a friend's wedding.
Posted by aheavens at November 29, 2006 5:27 PM