1 pound lamb, cubed
1 small red onion, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup butter, cubed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 black cardamom pods
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon brown sugar
salt and pepper

1. Combine lamb, onion, jalapeno and red wine and marinate for about an hour.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and skim off any solids that float to the surface.
3. Add the garlic, turmeric, cardamom, coriander seed, red pepper flakes, allspice and cloves. Remove from heat and allow to solidify.
4. Return the butter to the heat to liquify, then pour through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove any solid matter.
5. Pour flavored clarified butter into a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in the cayenne and brown sugar.
6. Remove the lamb from the marinade and pat dry, reserving marinade. Brown the lamb in batches, then return all the lamb to the pot and add the marinade, bringing to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until lamb is tender, about an hour. Simmer longer for flavors to meld.
8. Pull apart lamb chunks with a fork and season to taste with salt and pepper and serve garnished with freshly chopped jalapenos.

Makes 4 servings

1 cup vegetable broth
3/4 cup couscous
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper

1. Bring vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan and stir in the couscous. Remove from heat and allow couscous to absorb liquid.
2. Whisk together olive oil, garlic, coriander and lemon juice and stir into the couscous, fluffing with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup honey
2-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup warm whole milk
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
4 cups flour

1. Whisk together warm water and honey in a small bowl, then stir in the yeast. Allow to proof for 5 minutes while preparing other ingredients.
2. Combine the egg, milk, coriander seed, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a large bowl, beating until smooth.
3. Stir the yeast mixture into the egg mixture, as well as 5 tablespoons of the butter. Gradually incorporate the flour until it becomes a smooth dough. Add more flour if necessary.
4. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, at least 5 minutes. Place dough in a clean bowl greased with the remaining butter and cover with a damp towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
6. Punch dough down and form into a round. Transfer to a baking sheet and allow to rise for 10-15 minutes while the oven is warming. Bake until the crust is a light golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap on it, about an hour. Allow to cool before slicing.

Makes 8 servings

This is dinner two of two for the Ethiopian recipes, the one in which I am adventurous enough to make a foreign bread. Yemarina Yewotet Dabo is basically a bread made with honey and yeast and some spices that make it taste sort of like pumpkin pie (cinnamon, cloves and coriander). It eats more like a large slice of a light dessert biscuit, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It made a nice foundation for the entree at hand.

Tibs, an Ethiopian lamb stew, is definitely not a low fat meal. It is essentially the fattiest cut of meat stewed in butter and red wine. The butter is actually a sort of compound butter that's flavored with a very popular spice blend in Ethiopian cuisine called berbere. Since I couldn't find it anywhere (not that I tried too hard) I decided to improvise and just throw the spices that would be in berbere into the "stewing liquid". The taste was similar to a gamier version of the Jamaican Pulled Pork, which I might add is never a bad thing. I found the use of so much better completely unnecessary though, and I did not find this as desirable as the pulled pork either, so if I'm craving something like this, I'd go with the Jamaican variety.

Since a loaf of bread apparently isn't enough starch for one meal, I also made some Garlic Coriander Couscous to accompany the lamb. This is quite delicious and is great hot or cold, and can easily be reused as a component of a salad if you want to throw in some tomatoes, onions and so on. Couscous is possibly the fastest, easiest starch accompaniment to basically any meal. It's so incredibly versatile! I love it.