Tekebash and Saba: Recipes from the Horn of Africa

From Tigray to the world, a love story through food. This is not your regular cookbook. The recipes are a legacy of Tekebash Gebre, my extraordinary mother. Tekebash was born in Tigray, under the rule of the last Ethiopian emperor. She lived under a communist regime before fleeing to Sudan. Since then we have been on a migration journey, from Aksum to Khartoum to Melbourne and beyond. Our hearts, however, will forever be Tigrayan, and through Tekebash's simple, vibrant dishes we celebrate a connection that won't be broken. It has been my privilege to translate and record what Tekebash cooked by taste, touch and memory for several years in our Melbourne restaurant. It's our story, and it's my tribute. But it will also resonate with anyone who knows the unceasing pull of a distant homeland and the comfort of its food.

Contents: Where is Tigray?
The backbone of the cuisine
Berbere and dilik
The first dish she ever cooked
Education during a civil war
Fleeing Tigray
Learning to cook in transit
Wedding? No. Married? Yes!
His favourite dish with a side of mistress
Pregnancy cravings
May Virgin Mary be with you
Shipped off at four years old for praying to the wrong god
Starvin' Marvin
Leaving Sudan
My mum butchered a hen in an apartment
Opening a restaurant with my mum as head chef
Raising a child through a tea cart
An attempt at dessert
Coeliac-safe restaurant
COVID-19!