Beejhy Barhany, Author of the New Ethiopian Cookbook Gursha at Tadias Magazine

Beejhy Barhany, author of Gursha: Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens, brings her rich culinary journey to life in her debut cookbook. (Courtesy photo)

Tadias Magazine

Publisher’s Note:

At Tadias Magazine, we have had the pleasure of following Beejhy Barhany’s inspiring journey for many years, from the opening of Tsion Café in Harlem to her continued work as a cultural ambassador of Ethiopian and Beta Israel cuisine. Her new cookbook, Gursha: Timeless Recipes for Modern Kitchens, is a natural extension of her passion for storytelling through food, blending flavors from Ethiopia, Israel, Harlem, and beyond.

We first featured Beejhy in a 2015 Q&A when Tsion Café was still a new and exciting addition to Harlem’s vibrant culinary scene. A decade later, her vision has expanded beyond the restaurant, bringing the warmth and communal spirit of Ethiopian dining to a broader audience through this beautifully designed and presented book. Gursha is more than a collection of recipes—it’s a personal and cultural narrative, a tribute to the people and places that shaped Beejhy’s culinary identity.

In the following Q&A, Beejhy shares the journey behind Gursha, the emotions that went into writing it, and the stories behind some of its most unique dishes. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.”

— Liben Eabisa, Publisher, Tadias Magazine
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Q&A: Beejhy Barhany, Author of the New Ethiopian Cookbook Gursha

By Tadias Staff

Updated: March 24th, 2025

TADIAS: Beejhy, congratulations on Gursha! It’s a beautifully crafted book—both visually and in the way it tells your story through food. We thoroughly enjoyed going through it. How does it feel to finally have this cookbook out in the world?

Beejhy Barhany: Thank you, Liben. It was exciting to hold the cover and feel the texture of the physical book. It truly was a labor of love. Writing a book is not easy. I went through a range of emotions while finishing this book. The pain of revisiting some of the more difficult times of my life, the pride in learning more about my family, and the happiness of navigating such a huge task and getting it done. Ultimately, I want to share the rich flavors of Ethiopian cuisine, the grace of my community, and the highs-and-lows of my journey with the world.

TADIAS: You’ve taken readers on a journey across continents, from Ethiopia to Sudan, Israel, and Harlem, with dishes that reflect those experiences. How did you decide which recipes to include? Was there one that felt particularly meaningful to you?

B: Food is a very easy way to engage with people. I want to share the flavors and the aromas that left a mark on my being and give a glimpse into the lives of the people and places that were graceful and hospitable to me and my family.

TADIAS: The book isn’t just about food—it’s filled with stories, tributes to family members, and even heroes from your journey. Was there a particular story or person you knew had to be in the book from the very beginning?

B: Ethiopian food is ancient, adaptable, and versatile. If you have onion, garlic, ginger and chili pepper (berbere) add this to chicken or beef and you can make a delicious Ethiopian wot. Many of the vegan stews that are placed on our injera are legumes and vegetables (gomen, cabbage, bamya, fasolia) that are utilized all around the world and are very adaptable to any particular cuisine. Of course the taste will be different to what we as Ethiopians are accustomed to, but I think it highlights just how much our diverse cultures have so much in common.

TADIAS: There are some fantastic twists in the book—Berbere Fried Fish, Injera Fish Tacos, and even influences from Sudanese and Yemenite cuisine. Can you talk about how these flavors found their way into your kitchen?

B: The beauty about food is that, not only is it delicious when consumed but it forms powerful memories about the places where you were when you tasted that flavor. These items had an impact on my life in significant ways and I want to capture those moments by creating those culinary offerings. In Israel, my Yemenite neighbors introduced me to wholesome flavors like malawach. Sudan, where I spent enough time to pick up Arabic, is where I learned to love the smell of flavorful donuts legamat that were eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Injera Fish Tacos are a result of my time travelling through South America and living and working in NYC, with its strong Spanish cuisine. My kids love Mexican food so much that I wanted to mimic the look and feel of tacos, without compromising Ethiopian flavours. Cutting the Injera into two small bites and then making tacos out of them was my way of exploring a different cuisine yet holding on tight to my native flavors.

TADIAS: Gursha itself is such a warm and communal concept. If you could host a dream dinner with guests from across your journey, who would be at the table, and what would you serve?

B: That is an ultimate dream question. At my table, I would invite my mom and grandma, Nelson Mandela, Edna Lewis, Julia Child, James Beard, Bob Marley, Che Guevara, Harriet Tubman, and Ras Alula. On the menu, we would have teff injera, hanza, doro wot, gomen, beg wot, Kai wot, spicy tomato tilapia, fasolia, ayib, avocado salad, messer wot, Jollof rice, tej, negesti saba chocolate cardamom cake, carrot and coconut ginger celebration cake, and bunna.

(Courtesy photos)

TADIAS: You’ve been an ambassador for Ethiopian and Beta Israel cuisine for years, especially through Tsion Café. How do you see Gursha contributing to that larger mission?

B: Gursha hopefully allows us to take the message of Ethiopian cuisine, community, and culture to a larger audience, beyond the confines of the restaurant. Much as Tsion Cafe has provided us with a sacred space to have dialogue, break bread, and learn about the stories, tradition, and customs of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Jewish community, we hope to create that same space wherever the reader may be. Now that the recipes are at their fingertips, readers can engage with stories aligned with traditions and hopefully have a better understanding of my story and community.

TADIAS: Finally, for someone picking up Gursha and cooking from it for the first time, what’s one recipe you’d recommend they start with—and why?

B: For someone who has never cooked Ethiopian food and does not know how to start I would recommend making your berbere spice, it is one of the key ingredients in Ethiopian cuisine, and can be added to any other foods. The next best step is to use the berbere spice to make the kulet/silsi, which is the base to any aromatic/spicy stew. Once you have these foundations, you are prepared to make any item – whether meat, seafood, or vegetarian dishes – into a traditional Ethiopian delicacy.

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Gursha is set to be released on April 1, 2025. Learn more and pre-order through Penguin Random House.

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