- Darmy is the chef and part owner of Beteseb.
She's gonna teach me how
to make the royal dish
from the Gurage people, kitfo.
To make kitfo we need
really nice, clean beef
so we have these beautiful
pieces that you cleaned.
What does the word kitfo means?
- I think anything that
you chop to small pieces.
- Yeah, anything chopped.
- Anything that's chopped
they call it kitfo.
Kitfo is like, very special for us.
It's like the Japanese sushi.
Poor or rich, everyone eats kitfo.
- Darmy is an amazing cook.
She walks me through the
process of chopping up the meat
really, really fine.
You add spices such as
Bishop's seeds, black cardamom,
cumin, fenugreek and then
you want to toast them up
'cause that's sort of
how the spices opens up
and that's when we get the
most flavor out of the spices.
- [Darmy] Okay.
(grinder motor running)
- Wow, whoooo, that smells so good.
Can I pour it in here?
- [Darmy] Yeah, sure.
(quiet music)
- Kibbeh, which is this clarified butter.
It's a staple in Ethiopian food.
It's a flavor enhancer but it's
also a preserving technique.
It's literally a butter that you simmer.
You take all the milk products out
and then at the same time
you're adding in all the spices.
Mmmmm, that's beautiful.
- Let me show you something.
- This smells very similar to oregano
but it adds a little more
grassier feel than oregano.
- [Darmy] Yes.
- Nice.
Kibbeh, which is used very
carefully in Ethiopian cooking,
is one of the reasons why
you get almost that umami
taste in Ethiopian food.
A great kibbeh can be up to
six months to a year old.
It will never go bad unless
you put your fingers into it.
Just a little dollop of
this, half a teaspoon or so,
will change the entire flavor of a dish
and then it becomes this
beautiful gold color of kibbeh.
This is gold.
Now comes the blending
of the kitfo, right?
- [Darmy] Yes, yes.
- [ Marcus] Add in this labor
of love to infuse our kitfo.
- [Darmy] Kitfo, yes.
(quiet music)
- I get the first taste.
- [Maya] Mmmmmm,
- Oh, wow.
- [Maya] Really good, right?
- This is amazing.
It's so rich and beautiful.
- Normally they always
feed the wife first.
- Listen, I'm on a culture trip.
I need to learn.
Ahhhh, this is so beautiful.
- [Maya] It's the real deal, Marcus.
- I think I found the kitfo goddess now.
- [Maya] Yeah, she's good.
- Mmmmm, I get it too, to eat
it after you've been fasting
when you haven't had meat for a long time,
celebrating with rich butter
or celebrating with a meat
becomes super important.
Well thank you so much for teaching us.
- Thank you for coming.
- Wow.
- Yeah, I feel like this cheap ticket
to Ethiopia right here.
It made me feel so at
home and I'm so thankful
- Thank you.
- for having you guys here.
(electric guitar notes)
