Lamb Dulet at Bete in Silver Spring

I'm fortunate to live in an area with a lot of great Ethiopian food in easy walking/biking distance. I've come to favor two; Abol for vegetarian dishes (an Ethiopian friend has told me the owner is vegetarian, which I think helps) and Bete for when I want meat. I was sold on Bete when I found they have dulet. From Wikipedia: "Another popular breakfast food is dulet (Ge'ez: ዱለት dūlet), a spicy mixture of tripe, liver, beef, and peppers with injera." I haven't had it for breakfast, but it's become one of my favorite things for dinner.

The last time I was there, when I ordered, the waiter asked me if I wanted it cooked or raw. My ears perked up. Raw? There was such a thing? Now I was beyond sold. (Note: the tripe probably is not technically raw, as I believe the way tripe is cleaned prior to sale is by parboiling it.)

Finally I've had a chance to try it. The raw version (served slightly warm, not cold) makes the pieces of tripe stand out better among the injera. Because Bete uses only lamb tripe, the tripe itself is softer and more pliable than its beef/veal counterpart, so cooking is not needed for it to have a good texture. The flavors and textures combine nicely, with the raw onion adding more of a bite again because it is not cooked. The final verdict? I'm not going back. As with kitfo (pictured just to the left of the dulet), raw is the way to go.

Note: My dining friend, who numbers several Ethiopians among his friends and knows a lot about Ethiopian food in the U.S., confessed after dinner that he was not expecting to like the dulet and that the fact that it is raw stomach was a barrier for him. But he gamely gave it a try, and ended up cheerfully taking the leftovers home with him. So, a happy ending for all!