New kid on the block

That's what I felt like today as we went for lunch. Both Dereje and Melaku fast as Orthodox Christians at least every week on Wednesday and Friday. This is a breed of fasting that forbids eating of dairy, eggs, and all kinds of meat. It may more easily be put as "containing an ingredient that came from a living creature". Anyhow, I suggested going to Naklah, a Yemeni dive near the Wello Sefer part of town. On the way Melaku expressed a desire to go elsewhere. Even though there is a gamut of food they could have eaten at Naklah, it was explained to me that unless a restaurant has a specific section of its menu dedicated to fasting food, their fasting-eligible food could have been in contact with a forbidden substance. We ended up at Samgan Indian restaurant on Bolé Africa not far from Naklah.

Suppose Naklah used the same skillet to fry onion and pork slices, not at the same time, but in contact with the same pan. Hence, the onions could come in contact with some pork residue making them a non-fasting substance. He said that establishments with a fasting menu take a huge amount of care to ensure food that is off-limits does not come in contact with eligible food during cooking, preparation, and storage.

Starting next Monday, they are entering a 2 month fasting period which always occurs before Easter (Good Friday). It has not been long since their 30-day Christmas fast that started I believe on December 8, exactly 30 days before their time to celebrate Xmas.

ST loves to tease me about the minute details of what I ate and when, so ST, I had rice, naan, curry, cauliflower, chicken, tandoori, rice, carrots, onions, and sparkling water. Melaku had ...