Wearing cultures has always been the motto that defines our journey, travelling between cultures and countries through their textile traditions.
For the month of December, we want to do this journey between cousines among Christmas Pudding, Doro Wat, pandoro and panettone, leaving you with a few recipes should you feel like surprising your guests by giving your Christmas table an international taste.
KŪČIUKAI RECIPE
Kūčiukai are small Lithuanian biscuits made of yeast dough, with poppy seeds in the dough. Traditionally they are prepared for Christmas Eve dinner, to be eaten as they are, or accompanied by a cup of aguonpienis, a drink made with water, sugar and poppy seeds.
INGREDIENTS:
- 250g of 00 flour
- 125g water
- 5g fresh brewer’s yeast
- 25g poppy seeds
- 25g sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water with half the flour and mix. Sprinkle the surface with a little flour and leave to rise until the dough doubles in size.
Once the dough has risen, add the rest of the flour, oil, poppy seeds and salt. Knead well and cover with cling film. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper. Cut the dough and form rolls of about 2 cm, place them on the baking sheets and bake for about 6 to 8 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.
DORO WAT RECIPE
Doro wat is a traditional dish of Eritrean and Ethiopian cuisine, a chicken stew (sometimes boiled eggs), often served with injera.
In Africa, the star of Christmas is not the sweet, but the savoury, served at the table not on 25 December, but on 7 January!
Ingredients:
- 3 chicken thighs, bone-in, skinless
- 3 chicken drumsticks, boneless, skinless
- 2 lemons
- 4 large red onions, finely sliced
- 8 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly sliced
- 1 piece of ginger (5 cm), peeled and coarsely sliced
- 1 tablespoon seed oil
- 35 g berbere
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 45 g niter kibbeh ghee (Ethiopian clarified butter)
- 5 large eggs
- mekelesha
- salt
- injera
Soak the chicken in 950 ml of water. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into it and let it soak for 30 minutes. Drain and dry thoroughly. Prick it on the surface with the tip of a knife so that it absorbs the flavours better as it cooks. Leave in the fridge.
Meanwhile, heat an empty frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until well caramelised – about 1 hour 30 minutes. Chop the garlic and ginger in a blender (with a tablespoon of oil if necessary) and pour them into the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes then add butter, berbere and cardamom and leave on the heat for another 5 minutes. Add the chicken and 250 ml water. Cook, covering and stirring occasionally, for a further 30 minutes. Then bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the eggs. Cook 10 minutes, then drain and place the eggs under ice water until you can peel them. Peel the eggs and put them in the pan together with the mekelesha. Salt to taste and cook for another 10 minutes then serve with injera.
Between presents, lights and goodness, remember to love not only those around you, but also what surrounds you. Take care of the planet and don’t let the only green thing about Christmas be the tree.
Effei wishes you happy holidays, a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year!
The Redational Team
