Restaurateur Saba Alemayoh recounts personal and political histories of Tigray, the northernmost state of Ethiopia in this compelling read about her mother Tekebash Gebre’s life through food. Try fare that Tekebash ate in transit on the way to Sudan, where the author grew up before ending up in Australia. Injera flatbreads, abash (chickpea soup) and other mouth-watering traditional dishes await.

From Tigray to the world, Tekebash & Saba is not your average cookbook. It is a love story through food―a legacy of Tekebash Gebre, Saba Alemayoh’s extraordinary mother.

Tekebash & Saba is a celebration of the food of Ethiopia's northernmost state Tigray, interweaved with the compelling story of author Saba Alemayoh and her mother Tekebash Gebre.

In this stunning cookbook, the chapters are divided by the different stages of Tekebash’s life journey, from growing up in Tigray to making a new life for herself in Australia. The food in these chapters are defined by the stages of that journey, from the first dish that Tekebash learned to make (Chickpea stew), fleeing Tigray (Shredded flatbread with tomato sauce), and marriage (Red lamb stew), to becoming a new mother (Tigray-style gnocchi), famine (Sauteed mushrooms) and opening a restaurant with Saba (Fried cauliflower).

Intertwined with Tigray culture and stories, Tekebash and Saba is a cookbook whereby food is not only the familial cord that binds Tekebash and her daughter together, but one that ties them to their home. This cookbook is a window into their story and that of Tegaru. It’s their story, and it’s Saba’s tribute to her mother. But it is also a story that will resonate with anyone who knows the unceasing pull of a distant homeland and the comfort of its food.

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