Around me, I hear a horn blow followed by the sounds of drums beating. Then, suddenly I see a stream of people, dressed in white clothes, walking together in a line. These images and sounds appear so vividly in my mind, even though I’m sitting in my living room, not across the world in an Ethiopian village.
The scene has stayed with me ever since I finished reading Beejhy Barhany’s Gursha, the first major cookbook on Ethiopian Jewish cuisine. It depicts the very special way that Beta Israel would celebrate Shabbat, publicly, as a whole community, in a specific way no one else around the world ever has.
Gursha is much more than a collection of recipes from Barhany’s native Ethiopia – it paints a full picture of the life of Beta Israel, Ethiopia’s Jewish community. Portraits of individuals who had an influence on Barhany’s life feature throughout the cookbook along with recipes inspired by or from them. Barhany writes as if she personally knows her readers and addresses them directly. Likewise, the recipes in the cookbook are written as stories, in blocks of words, not as numbered instructions. Through these narrative-style recipes, we don’t just learn how to cook, we uncover the history and customs of a rarely discussed Jewish community.
And yet, amongst the many differences between Beta Israel Jews, and other Jewish communities around the world, the importance of hospitality within Beta Israel tradition is reminiscent of the similarities between Jews everywhere. Barhany writes that, “to us, every visitor represented an opportunity to prepare bunn (coffee) and a meal.”
We see this preparation, not just in the beautiful photos of complete dishes which accompany many recipes in the cookbook, but through a series of cooking process photos. Step-by-step photos carry the reader along visually through stages of a recipe from start to finish, such as the process of making Niter Kibbeh/Tesmi, Spice-Infused Ethiopian Clarified Butter. If anything, where the photos are included is a bit inconsistent and it would be great to see less white space and more of the gorgeous representation of Beta Israel food culture.
Readers will walk away from reading this cookbook able to share specifics about the Ethiopian Jewish community. Amongst Beta Israel, “dates were considered candy,” and desserts were rarely eaten, but on the flip side, “Ethiopians like to eat spicy food so much that they will often just grab a serrano or jalapeno pepper and munch on it.” Further, Barhany explains that many Beta Israel abstain from dairy and milk on Wednesdays and Fridays.
This cookbook isn’t solely the food of one culture, but the food of several cultures combined and adapted over time, emulating Beejhy’s journey from Ethiopia to Sudan to Israel, to Harlem in New York City. We discover how Beta Israel found ingredients in Israel to substitute for what they once used in Ethiopia, adapting their cuisine while preserving its spirit.
One question Gursha leaves somewhat open is how many Beta Israel traditions Barhany continues to observe today. While her Harlem restaurant celebrates Ethiopian Jewish culture, the cookbook also includes a nonkosher recipe, Beef Canapés, which she notes departs from Beta Israel’s separation of meat and dairy. Its inclusion raises interesting questions about how tradition evolves when carried across borders and generations.
Gursha concludes with menus for holidays throughout the Jewish year, from Sigd (unique to Beta Israel) to Hanukkah (shared by Jews worldwide). Together, these menus invite readers of all backgrounds to celebrate in the Ethiopian Jewish style, blending ancient tradition with modern hospitality.