cooking Ensete in a rural Ethiopian village, Dorze Ethnic Group
they make a thick fermented porridge similar to tapioca, somewhat like Fufu called "Bula Genfo", flavored with butter, fenugreek and garlic. Later they show the plant and being processed, then a pancake-like flatbread similar to Injera is made called "Kocho", dipped in chili and honey
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ENSET
drought resistant plant staple of Ethiopia
Enset (Ensete ventricosum ) sometimes called "false banana" is a tall herbaceous plant from tropical Eastern Africa related to the banana. Enset is grown in Ethiopia for its starch-rich basal pseudostems (trunks) and their swollen underground parts, called corms, which are an important staple food in the southern areas of the country. It bears green fruit that closely resemble bananas but they are inedible. _______________________
In 1769, the celebrated Scottish traveller James Bruce first sent a description and quite accurate drawings of a plant common in the marshes around Gondar in Abyssinia, confidently pronounced it to be "no species of Musa" and wrote that its local name was "ensete". In 1853 the British Consul at Mussowah sent some seeds to Kew Gardens, mentioning that their native name was ansett. Kew, quite understandably, did not make the connection, especially as they had never before seen such seeds. However, when the seeds had germinated and the plants had rapidly gained size, their relationship to the true banana became obvious.
Bruce also discussed the plant's place in the mythology of Egypt and pointed out that some Egyptian statue carvings depict the goddess Isis sitting among the leaves of what was thought to be a banana plant, a plant native to Southeast Asia and not known in Ancient Egypt
Ensete ventricosum, commonly known as enset or ensete, Ethiopian banana, Abyssinian banana, pseudo-banana and false banana, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the banana family Musaceae. The domesticated form of the plant is only cultivated in Ethiopia, where it provides the staple food for approximately 20 million people
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that "enset provides more amount of foodstuff per unit area than most cereals. It is estimated that 40 to 60 enset plants occupying 250–375 square metres (2,700–4,000 sq ft) can provide enough food for a family of 5 to 6 people. Enset will tolerate drought better than most cereal crops.
Enset-planting complex is one of the four farming systems of Ethiopia together with pastoralism, shifting cultivation and the seed-farming complex. It is widely used by around 20 million people which represent 20-25% of the population. They mainly live in the densely populated highlands of south, southwest Ethiopia.
The plant is very important for food security because it is quite resistant to droughts (growth only stops for a short time) and it can be harvested at any development stage. Nevertheless, in recent years, the population growth has put an important pressure on enset cultivation systems. This is mainly because of a decrease of fertilization through manure and an increase in demand, especially during droughts. At such times, enset becomes the only resource available.
How it's used as Food
The young and tender tissues in the centre or heart of the plant (the growing point) are cooked and eaten, being tasty and nutritious and very like the core of palms and cycads. In Ethiopia, more than 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres; 580 sq mi) are cultivated for the starchy staple food prepared from the pulverised trunk and inflorescence stalk. Fermenting these pulverised parts results in a food called kocho. Bulla is made from the liquid squeezed out of the mixture and sometimes eaten as a porridge, while the remaining solids are suitable for consumption after a settling period of some days. Mixed kocho and bulla can be kneaded into dough, then flattened and baked over a fire. Kocho is in places regarded as a delicacy, suitable for serving at feasts and ceremonies such as weddings, when wheat flour is added. The fresh corm is cooked like potatoes before eating. Dry kocho and bulla are energy-rich and produce from 14 to 20 kJ/g (3.3 to 4.8 kcal/g).
Other uses
A good quality fibre, suitable for ropes, twine, baskets, and general weaving, is obtained from the leaves. Dried leaf-sheaths are used as packing material, serving the same function as Western foam plastic and polystyrene. The entire plant but the roots is used to feed livestock. Fresh leaves are a common fodder for cattle during the dry season, and many farmers feed their animals with residues of enset harvest or processing
Kocho is a traditional flatbread in the Gurage cuisine in Ethiopia, usually served with the meat dish called “kitfo,” and / or a cabbage called “Ubasha Cabbage”, which is high in vitamin A.
The bread is made from fermented starch, also called “Kocho,” from the Enset plant.
The green leaf sheaths of this plant are scraped with a bamboo scraper. The scrapings are then put in a pit in the ground, lined with Enset leaves, along with some yeast mixed into the scrapings. The pit is then covered with Enset leaves, and rocks. It is allowed to ferment for at least a month; generally much longer — up to two years is not uncommon.
posted
On the downside, it doesn't seem to be that nutritious although there is not a lot of analysis on it but it's a good starch combination with beans or meats It is also susceptible to bacterial diseases like bananas are. However regions in Ethiopia that grow Enset seem to do better during droughts
"The importance of Enset was evident during the severe famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s, which left Enset-growing communities largely unaffected. "
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Ensete seems like a crop that could be profitable & beneficial for farmers globally.Injera made from Teff grain is being grown outside of Ethiopia and also is high in nutritional benefits.Injera is eaten with Doro Wot a chicken dish, Tekil Gomen(cabbage),in BereBere Sauce is delicious Ethiopian Cooking.
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