Kolo, the Quintessential Ethiopian Snack

When you think of Ethiopian cuisine – be nice – what first comes to mind?  Coffee, probably, and yes, that’s a cuppa on the right.  I seldom drink the stuff, but since Ethiopia is the purported home of buna (the Amharic word for coffee), while visiting Addis Ababa, I caved.

The waitress subconsciously realized my dislike for the liquid dirt and offered up a local snack called kolo, which generally is just toasted barley.  You mean some versions have sunflower seeds and chickpeas too?  Don’t they have other food with ingredients less commonly found outside of the region?  You know, something like this?

Who am I kidding, I bought a couple of bags of kolo after finding out what it was.  Given that Ethiopia’s capital is a several thousand feet above sea level, if you’re not yet acclimatized, it’s easy to feel winded and tired; thus, kolo was an appropriate snack, for it wasn’t overly salty or savory.

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Have you ever tried kolo?  What are your favorite Ethiopian dishes?

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