♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Samuelsson: Injera is really the staple.

It's beyond just being a bread.

It's something that we eat in everything we have in Ethiopia.

If he came at like 4:00... we'd have a shortage.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

We work about 12 to 13 hours a day, Monday through Friday.

This is truly a teff factory we got here.

And then, Saturday and Sunday, we start at 2:00 a.m. We finish at 8:00 p.m. -Oh, wow.

-Two shifts.

-Can you show me the kitchen?

I want to see where you make injera.

-Come on.

Yes.

-And here we got the...?

-Injera.

-Yeah.

And then you swirl them, right?

-Yeah.

Nice!

-See?

-Got it.

Pick up your...up.

Yes.

Not too much.

Yeah, go ahead.

It's okay.

Good job.

Oh, my gosh.

-There we go.

-Close it.

How many injeras a day do you guys sell do you think?

Uh...it's a lot.

3,000, 4,000 pieces.

-A day?

-Yeah.

So you go in... We can hire you if you know how we make injera.

Put it...either one.

Good job.

[ Applause ] Well, I'm ready to eat.

I'm Chef Marcus Samuelsson, and as an immigrant born in Ethiopia and raised in Sweden, food, to me, has always told a deeper, more personal story.

♪♪ It's a path to culture, identity, and history.

Now it's a party.

I'm going across the country to learn more about America's immigrant communities and culinary traditions to see how food connects us all across the United States.

♪♪ ♪♪ Samuelsson: When I think about Washington, D.C., yes, it's the home of politics of the U.S. and runs so much of the Western world, but, for me, I look at it as the capital of the Ethiopian diaspora.

♪♪ Amharic is one of the biggest languages spoken in D.C.

It's also where you can get injera made with real teff, berbere, great coffee, and where immigrant culture, specifically Ethiopian culture, is celebrated the most.

D.C. was the place that I truly started to identify as Ethiopian.

♪♪ My sister and I, we were born in Abrugandana, in a simple clay hut.

When I was about 20 months, my mother and my sister and I, we had tuberculosis.

My mother walked us to the hospital in Addis Ababa, in the capital.

My sister and I survived, and our mother, Ann, she passed.

♪♪ We got adopted about six months later to my Swedish family.

♪♪ When you get adopted, that sense of identity... it's something that you battle with and deal with all your life.

♪♪ So, for me, coming to D.C. was powerful because there were Ethiopian-Americans that connect me to the culture in a way that I didn't have access to in Sweden.

I've been going to D.C. for probably 20 years.

In the beginning it was always to Adams Morgan.

This was the heart and center our culture, our music, our restaurant.

But, the Ethiopian-American community has now grown all over the DMV -- D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Ethiopian food is definitely the glue that holds the diaspora together.

Today I'm gonna meet Ngussu.

A marketplace like Ngussu's becomes so important for the community, because once you're in America, you're so far away from the homeland that you desperately need these ingredients.

Where's the berbere?

I want to check out the good stuff.

-This is berbere.

-Nice.

I love it.

This is -- Back home, we have a family to make real, family berbere.

-And then they send it to you?

-They ship it to us.

What I love about berbere is that it's such a great spice blend, right?

It's not super spicy.

When I smell it, I think about Ethiopia right away.

Then you have the cayenne chili, right here, the mitmita.

Mitmita.

Whoo!

That's hot.

-Yeah.

-That's hot.

And then you have all the different spices here.

You have, what?

-Cardamom.

-Cardamom.

It's beautiful.

This is great.

And of course, buna, right?

Real, beautiful coffee.

-Yes, sir.

-Buna.

If you come to an Ethiopian household, you're gonna get served coffee.

The cup might be small, almost like a macchiato, but it's very intense.

It's very delicious.

You came as a refugee?

-Yes.

We left, young, from Ethiopia to Sudan.

Refuge.

Because it was Communist parties at that time.

Yeah.

They force you to take you into the army.

I just...

I don't like to fight my brothers.

By refuge, we came to the United States.

-Always in this part of...?

-Aragie: Yeah.

We were here.

We weren't going nowhere.

Just D.C. We like D.C.

In 1974, after thousands of years of the monarchy that was headed by Haile Selassie, there was a military coup by the communist regime that takes over Ethiopia, and kills Haile Selassie.

[ Shouting in Amharic ] And civil war lasts into the early '90s.

On top of that, we had drought and famine.

Many people get killed.

Many people have to leave the country -- coming to America, specifically Washington, D.C.

When you guys came 20 year-- 20...?

28.

28 years ago.

Did you start your business right away?

No, no, no.

I was working in housekeeping.

At the Marriott Hotel.

-Yeah?

And my husband, he was a chef, too.

Yeah.

And then after that, we started this business.

Five years ago.

So, through your grandparents' grocery, your parents' hard work, you've been able to go to university.

As an Ethiopian-American and, you know, second-generation, what do you think a market like this establishes and creates for the community?

The community... it's kinda like the catalyst.

So it creates that sense of community within the Ethiopian people.

At the same time, Americans will come in here like, "I've never tried injera before."

And they'll try some out and then, boom, they're hooked, and then it creates kind of a cultural conversation with the food and the spices and stuff like that, and they kinda get to know us... -Yeah.

...our own food, and it's pretty cool, to be honest.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

♪♪ Ethiopian food... it's a cuisine that has very little sweetness.

It's more sour because of its injera.

Yeah, it's a different level of heat because of its berbere.

And it's also fermentation.

So things like fermented cheese pose a real integral part about Ethiopian cooking, which makes its flavor profile very rare.

♪♪ Mengestu: You know, one of the most remarkable things, when you talk about Ethiopian food, is that it has no real comparison to any other cuisine.

You can't find berbere anywhere but in Ethiopian.

You can't find injera outside of Ethiopian culture.

Ethiopia has always had a very singular identity and history outside of Africa.

It has a 2,000-year history of monarchy, ending with Haile Selassie in 1974.

Out of all the countries it's the only one never to have been colonized, and so I think you find part of that singularity reflected in the food.

And we brought that with us to America.

And every time we sit down to eat, every time we have a cup of coffee with our parents, we find ourselves called back to our home constantly.

♪♪ Bellay: The coffee ceremony... it brings people together.

That's what we brought from Ethiopia.

That's some of the most beautiful culture.

The Ethiopian coffee, it's the way we prepare it.

It's completely different.

♪♪ After we roast fresh, we grind it and we boil it.

♪♪ Because of that, the taste will be much richer than the other regular coffees.

We don't usually get sugar.

We drink it with crystal salt, or, if people love you, they will give you it with spiced water.

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony... it is a social thing.

We don't have BBC, CNN, ABC, and so on.

That's our way of exchanging information, is a coffee ceremony.

Ethiopia... it consists of so many tribes.

We have Christianity, Muslims, Judaism, we have Pagans, but all of them, they drink coffee the same way.

♪♪ ♪♪ Samuelsson: Maki is a really important person in the Ethiopian-American community.

I knew Maki from his days in Harlem.

He used to have a band.

He also worked on Wall Street.

He's very diverse in his education.

He can talk to anybody about anything and everything that is Ethiopian.

What do we got, Maki?

What do we have here?

-Well, it's called mesob.

-Yeah.

This is where, traditionally, an old Ethiopian family -- where every household will share a meal.

The entire family.

-Yeah, yeah.

And we have the base, injera.

We have the doro wat.

We have the cabbage.

We have the lentils.

And... -Split peas, right?

...split peas.

It's called kik.

And... -Beets.

...beets and potatoes.

So lots of vegetables, right?

Lots of vegetables.

And we eat with our hands, right?

Absolutely.

The taste is much better when you eat it by hand.

-Yeah.

Traditionally that's how it's done.

If you could put all the sauce and the veggies in it, it would take... take a gursha.

What's the meaning of gursha?

What is that?

Gursha means like you're actually feeding a loved one... -Mm.

-...or feeding yourself.

You just took a gursha.

So, that gursha is actually "sharing the love."

A mother feeds their daughter, mother feeds her son, her husband... -Yeah.

...so it's a love sharing.

One of the cool things with Ethiopian culture and food is that Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that never got colonized, right?

Right.

You know, if I eat in another country in Africa, food is delicious, but you can always see the European influences, right?

You know, and I think that's what makes our food so distinct and uniquely different.

-Right.

Unchanged for thousands of years.

-Yeah.

-So it's a soul food.

-Yeah.

-When I'm really hungry, like my... -Yeah.

It's not only my stomach -- my soul -- It takes me back.

It kinda grounds me, so, like, "Okay, I'm back now," you know?

That's great.

Ethiopian food has also kept its identity through fasting.

There's about 200 fasting days in Ethiopian food culture that is shared across religions.

That doesn't mean you don't eat.

It just means that you take in less meat, you eat less dairy.

Imagine more than 90 million people, with different religions, are fasting together, which makes it a very powerful Ethiopian experience.

So, Maki, being a Muslim in Ethiopia, what did that look like in terms of food?

Living in a Muslim household, sometimes where I grew up, we don't eat meat for a week.

So the Ethiopian diet is based on vegetarian food... On vegetarian.

...and then when you break the fast, that's when the big meat dishes come in, so it becomes very special.

Big celebration.

Very special.

Yeah.

I think that it's amazing that many things have changed over the thousands of years, but we held on to fasting.

I remember when we got married, Maya and I, first thing she said was, "I want to make sure my village can eat meat."

And that meant not just the people that came to the wedding, but actually the whole village, right?

That's wonderful.

♪♪ Marrying Maya brings me back full circle to my Ethiopian identity.

♪♪ Maya definitely showed me how to love Ethiopia in a way and experience it in a way that would not be possible without her and her family.

Maya was born into the Gurage region, which is part of Southern Ethiopia.

Maya is a great Ethiopian cook.

I mean, she cooks extremely regional, and she knows the history.

She knows the reason why you eat this dish during this specific moment in time.

♪♪ -How are you?

-So good to see you.

Darmy is the chef and part owner of Beteseb.

She's gonna teach me how to make the royal dish from the Gurage people, kitfo.

So, I'm super excited.

Today you're gonna teach us about kitfo.

Yes.

Kitfo is our popular food.

Yes.

So, we use it for weddings, for any occasion.

-Big celebrations.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

To make kitfo, we need really nice, clean beef.

So we have these beautiful pieces that you cleaned.

What does the word "kitfo" mean?

I think anything you chop to small pieces.

Yeah.

Anything chopped.

Anything that's chopped they call it kitfo.

Kitfo is like, you know, very special for us.

It's like Japanese sushi, you know?

Poor or rich, everyone eats kitfo.

I mean, if you don't know how to make kitfo in Gurage, you are like a bad daughter or wife or what-- They take your Gurage card?

They take your Gurage card?

And who taught you how to make kitfo?

My mom.

Actually when I was a kid, always I was wishing to be a chef.

That was my dream.

-Yeah.

When of the coolest things with your restaurant is that... this never happens in any ethnic community, but I think this is a cooler thing.

Like, your restaurant is actually known in Ethiopia.

It never happens that you get that level of love and legitimacy.

Darmy is an amazing cook.

She walks me through the process of chopping up the meat really really fine.

You add spices such as bishop seeds, black cardamom, cumin, fenugreek... toast them up, 'cause that's sort of how the spices open up and lets them get the most flavor out of the spices.

Okay.

Wow!

Whoo!

That smells so good.

Can I pour it in here?

Yeah, sure.

♪♪ Kibbeh, which is this clarified butter, is a staple in Ethiopian food.

It's a flavor enhancer, but it's also a preserving technique.

It's literally a butter that you simmer, you take all the milk product out, and then, at the same time, you're adding in all the spices.

Mmm.

That's beautiful.

-Let me show you something.

This smells very similar to oregano.

But it has a little bit more grassier feel than oregano.

Nice.

Kibbeh, which is used very carefully in Ethiopian cooking, is one of the reasons why you get almost that umami taste in Ethiopian food.

A great kibbeh could be six-months to a year old.

It will never go bad, unless you put your fingers into it.

Just a little dollop of this, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, will change the entire flavor of a dish.

And then it becomes this beautiful gold color of kibbeh.

This is gold.

Now comes the blending of the kibbeh, right?

Yes.

Yes, yes.

Add in this labor of love to infuse our kitfo.

I get the first taste?

-Mmm.

-Oh, wow.

Oh, my God.

Right?

-This is amazing.

It's so rich and beautiful.

Normally they always pick the white friends, but...

I'm on a culture trip.

I need to learn.

This is so beautiful.

This is the real deal.

My God.

Well, I think I found the kitfo goddess now.

Yeah, she's good.

I get it, too.

To eat this after you've been fasting, when you haven't had meat for a long time, celebrating with rich butter or celebrating with a meat becomes super important.

Well, thank you so much... -Thank you very much.

-...for teaching us.

-Thank you for coming.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

I feel like it's a cheap ticket to Ethiopia, right here.

I feel so at home, and I'm so happy.

-Thank you.

-I love guys here.

♪♪ Every country, every culture has these traditional dances.

One, two.

Little spin.

One, two.

Eskista, to Ethiopians, is as important as being Ethiopian itself.

You have injera, you have berbere, you have Haile Selassie, you have the runner, and you have Eskista.

I would actually put the Eskista before the runners, even.

♪♪ As an adopted child, I missed out on all this Eskista training that you get naturally from just going to any big Ethiopian occasion, so...

I am in desperate need of some Eskista classes.

I could not have asked for a better teacher than Damtew.

He was both choreographer and director of the National Theatre in Ethiopia, from the '90s to 2006... before he moved to the DMV.

And one, two, three.

One, two, three.

Again.

One, two, three.

One, two, three.

Good.

Good.

You know, Ethiopian dance is such a big part of our culture, and I wasn't raised in Ethiopia, I was raised in Sweden, so I missed that.

And the only thing actually I remember from this is me and my sister being really young... -Really?

-We were three, four years old, and we always counted [ Speaking native language ] Good.

So I do remember that as a child, counting in three.

Yes, yes.

And dancing was the one thing that we, even when we lost our language, we'd like -- we still tried to hold on to that dance.

Okay, the next step is a Gurage dance.

Gurage dance is a beat from the Southern part of Ethiopia.

Maya is from the Gurage region, so that's good.

Oh, okay.

I am, but I'm not good at the dance.

I don't know all the moves, so... Let's start it slow.

Okay?

Right.

Kick.

Kick.

Right.

Left.

Good.

Right.

Left, left, right.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Good!

Okay, we actually... -Gurage!

-Whoo!

-Okay.

I thought the food was very technical and difficult, but the dance...

There's so many different steps.

It's like beatbox.

Yes.

Yes.

It feels very much like it's tribal, it's war dances.

Like, I'm the chief.

Here's my woman.

Don't come close.

Here's my meat.

Here's my daughter.

Here's my bed.

Oof.

Oof.

-Meat.

-Exactly.

-Meat.

-Yes.

Yeah.

Good.

We have a couple of things that will always tie us together.

Berbere... -Yeah.

-...injera... -Uh-uh.

...and Eskista.

That's it.

♪♪ Mengestu: One of the things I love about being Ethiopian is that we keep these traditions in place and alive in America.

Ethiopians have maintained devotion to their culture and to their history.

Haile Selassie represented a Black identity that was not subservient, that was enormously proud, that was free from racism, free from slavery, free from subjugation.

And so, when you come to America, you're suddenly forced to confront a type of racism you've never known or really understood before.

We not only benefit from the cultural history of African-Americans having knocked down those walls, having affirmed the rights of Black men and women to actually be citizens in this country, but we continue to collectively expand that idea, how Blackness is not only shaped but also enlarged by our shared experiences.

♪♪ Woman: Storytelling was always something that I naturally was drawn to, just because, growing up around so much culture, there was so much to share.

I had a different story than others.

Samuelsson: You picked storytelling through film and writing...

I picked storytelling through food, but when you talk about a city like D.C., that so much of African-American culture stems from the capital, how does that impact your work?

You know, when I first moved here I was so excited to move to Chocolate City.

I really wanted to immerse myself in that, and learn so much about this history that a lot people don't know about that are coming to this city.

It was literally the Mecca for Black opportunities come true.

You see political independence.

You see economic independence and stability.

It was the self-sufficient, thriving Black community.

I was amazed by this rich culture here, you know, go-go music, their fashion, local streetwear.

You know, to the large here, we look at Black people as one, but ask Black people and ask subcultures of that -- we know what there's many different stories to it, right?

You are Africa-American, 'cause your parents come from Africa.

You are Ethiopian-American.

But, also within that, you have another story that is an even deeper story.

Tel us about that.

I was born in the U.S., and my mom was from Eritrea and my dad is from Ethiopia.

Isn't that the same country?

Isn't that the same thing?

Yes.

It's a question I get a lot.

♪♪ You know, there are lots of complicated ways of presenting conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

In the 19th century, as Italy began to make its colonial excursions into Africa, Italy failed to colonize Ethiopia, but it did manage to actually colonize Eritrea.

♪♪ It meant that Eritrea developed its own economic history and its owns traditions.

It's different from Ethiopia.

And once the two countries were united after World War II, I think there was a lot of tension around why these two countries were now being unified.

♪♪ I think there was always a large desire among Eritreans to be independent after the end of Italian colonialism, and the liberation movement happening in Eritrea definitely gave rise to more violence.

Ethiopia ended up in a civil war with Eritrea.

In 1991, Eritrea became an independent nation, and Ethiopia became the country it is today.

Nice!

I get some food?

Yes.

Thank you.

-Kitta fit-fit.

-Nice.

And this is pasta.

With cotoletta.

Nice.

So, I ordered pasta saltata.

A little bit of spicier red sauce, with, you know, a little bit of fried chicken.

What did you have?

-I got a kitta fit-fit.

It's like barley made kind of like a pancake, and they tear it up and they put berbere...

I got to taste that.

Mmm.

Dive in.

This is good.

When I think about Eritrean culture, I always think about who the food started to change, right?

Mm-hmm.

The Italian influences are stronger.

And, also, architecture.

You start to see sort of that Art Deco...

Explaining the difference between Eritrea and Ethiopia and explaining the civil war is very painful.

If you think about our grandparents' generation, and even our parents were directly affected.

How did you talk about the war in your family?

It was a contentious topic to bring up.

My grandmother, she didn't go to my parents' wedding when she found out that she was marrying an Ethiopian.

Wow.

That's how strong it was?

-That's how strong it was.

-You just didn't do that.

-Yeah.

-I grew up in Sweden.

The Habesha population, they were most Eritreans... -Okay.

-...although I was Ethiopia, but my Habesha culture was really Eritrean, so... that identity between Eritrea and Ethiopia, it was constantly part of our conversation.

Yeah.

So that was something that I really got to embrace more when I moved to D.C., 'cause the community was so large.

So I would say, "Oh, actually, I'm half Eritrean, half Ethiopian."

And then that usually sparks a conversation.

"Oh, wow.

Really?

You don't see that often."

-"Step back!"

-Yeah, exactly.

And it's like, "Tell me about that."

I was, you know, involved in my university and really tried to push forth with creating like a unity group as opposed to just an Eritrean group or an Ethiopian group.

And I think that was something powerful, to see our generations able to get... to heal, you know, to heal these wounds that are so deep for so many people.

I'm just excited to see the next generation, you know, talking about the food differences, talking about the drum beats instead.

Yeah.

As immigrants, as first-generation, as people of color, unity is that way that we will be able to, you know, move forward.

Move forward.

♪♪ ♪♪ Samuelsson: So, today I'm gonna cook an Eritrean breakfast food.

All Ethiopians/Eritreans, we gather over Eritrean breakfast.

One of my favorite dishes is fuul, right?

Okay, that's my favorite, too.

fuul is essentially a bean stew, right, which is really eaten all over the Arab-African but also the Arab world, right?

Sudan.

Egypt.

-Somalia?

-They eat it in Somalia.

They eat it every single day.

So it's a staple?

The way Ethiopians have injera?

Exactly.

-Fu is that?

-Yes, sir.

So basically, you start with dry beans.

-This is dry beans.

-Okay.

This is -- it comes from Ethiopia, most of the time.

So these have been soaked overnight?

This has been soaked overnight.

So you boil this for two or three hours.

♪♪ I have dehydrated fava beans right here.

When people have a hard time finding meat or can't afford it, you need protein, you need other types of things that can fill you up, and this is perfect.

Plus it's healthy.

-It is.

It is a very healthy food.

So, tell me, when did you come to America?

Since 1992...

I'm here in Washington.

I was 17 when I left home, so I've been here for 26 years.

Oh, wow.

So I know more about America than I did I Eritrea.

Yeah.

Who taught you cooking?

Like, when did that come into your life?

When I came to America, I started working for American soldiers in an American military house.

-Oh, wow.

-Washing dishes.

And then, finally, when they saw what I could do for them, they started teaching me how to cook.

♪♪ It's also spiced up a little bit, so we're gonna need some seasoning.

-This is the spicy.

-Yeah.

-They call it berbere.

-Berbere.

So you do have the berbere.

I love that.

-Everybody loves berbere.

-Yeah.

And then this is fresh cumin from Sudan.

So this is organic.

We got some boiled eggs.

That's great.

Awesome.

Once we put a little bit of oil, we smash it.

[ Sizzling ] A dish like this, that can be dried, soaked, and just boiled?

Hey, you can be in the middle of nowhere and you can still eat very, very well.

I understand why people eat it throughout the day, because if you work, whether you're a farmer or whatever, you can work the whole day.

This is something that fills you up.

Exactly.

And then it can hold you for a day, or for a night.

A little bit of tomato.

-Yep.

Maruf: A little bit of jalapeño.

Nice.

A little bit of chopped onion.

Yep.

A little bit of feta cheese.

Yep.

So once you put this on, you need the egg, olive oil or regular oil.

You can pour that on.

How do you say "bon appetit" in Tigrinya?

[ Speaking Tigrinya ] [ Speaking Tigrinya ] Let's eat, buddy.

-There you go.

This is so delicious.

Nice.

Samuelsson: The Ethiopian-American community in the DMV area... it's very diverse.

It holds everything from lawyers, doctors, scientists, cab drivers, people working hospitality, but what holds us always together is the culture.

♪♪ ♪♪ Saife-Selassie: Dama Cafe and Restaurant is an anchor restaurant for the Eritrean community.

A chocolate latte.

And a combo.

And food.

♪♪ This is a place where every kind of Ethiopian can come to congregate.

I think it is not only a restaurant or a coffee-shop business... Dama Cafe is like a community center for many Ethiopians around here, from the dish-washer all the way to the doctors and lawyers.

This is where we congregate for food, for politics, for sports, and for any kind of community functions.

At the same time, Dama Cafe is very popular with the taxi-cab community.

♪♪ Taxi-cab drivers are the best connoisseurs of any kind of food.

They know where the best food is at.

♪♪ Samuelsson: Hailu's been driving cabs for over 30 years, but way before he was driving cabs in America, he was a highly respected musician in Ethiopia.

He was performing both during Haile Selassie's time, but also during the communist regime.

And it was very, very hard to perform the music that they wanted to perform, 'cause everything had to be edited by the government.

So one day when they were touring in America, he decided to stay.

-How are you?

-Mergia: How are you?

Hailu, it's such an honor to meet.

The same.

Very much.

You've actually lived just as long in America as in Ethiopia, so... are you American or Ethiopian?

I'm a citizen.

Good answer.

-I'm a dual-citizen.

-That's good.

That's good.

That's good.

Hey, you know what, when people love your music, it don't matter what the passport says, right?

You know, when people think about Ethiopia it's so historically sophistically.

There was National Theatre.

There were music schools.

It's investment in culture, right, from the government side, which is unbelievable, 'cause when people think about Ethiopia, I don't think that story is being told, the richness of culture.

I think it's almost at that time.

It's kind of like a musical revolution time.

♪♪ Mengestu: One of the great cultural moments in Ethiopia's more contemporary history has been the rise of Ethiopian jazz.

It borrows from the American jazz tradition, but also really takes from Ethiopia's own music tradition and comes up with this incredibly vibrant, at times mournful but also very rhythmic and beautiful, sounds unlike any other jazz that exists in the world.

[ Up-tempo jazz music plays ] After the overthrow of Haile Selassie, what had been a very rich and burgeoning cultural night life, the music scene, suddenly found itself scattered all over the world.

So, fast forward.

It's 1981.

You get the chance to play in America.

Did you know already that you would stay?

How did this come about?

Well, you know, when I came here I was a band leader.

Then we had a tour for two years almost.

My plan was like maybe to stay about five years.

Once I got here, you know, everything was not the way I expected.

-No.

Back home, I have like somebody who's gonna support me, like a brother or sister.

It's a family life there.

For a rate, or for something, everybody supports each other.

But once I remained here, I'm just by myself.

Welcome to America.

You're on your own.

That's it.

I started driving a taxi in 1989.

So I would just play only the weekends.

-Yeah.

-And then we formed a trio.

What was the band called?

The new band.

-Zula Club.

-Zula Club.

Zula Band.

Okay.

As immigrants, sometimes we have to make do.

Yeah.

Sometimes we have to push our dream aside.

-Oh, sure.

-But you held onto your passion.

But at the same time, paying the bills.

I hear your studio is in the car.

Yep.

Like, where we practice session is in the car.

What is the best car for buying a keyboard?

Is there a brand that is better?

Like, Toyota?

Or a Volvo?

No, it doesn't matter.

I'm looking only at the trunk.

-The trunk?

The trunk?

[ Laughs ] Wow.

I'm getting my Sunday church.

It's beautiful.

-Yeah.

Those notes, for me, are very Ethiopian.

You go between church and Ethiopia the whole time.

-Yeah.

Usually I'm really jumping scale.

You start with the black keys.

-Yeah.

[ Melody plays ] 'Cause this is a nice, good piano scale.

Yeah.

Wow.

♪♪ La-la-la-la-la-la!

It's absolutely fantastic.

♪♪ ♪♪ Samuelsson: The Ethiopian community, like many, started their journey in the urban part of the cities, and then you move out to the suburbs for the better schools, maybe even a backyard.

This is part of that American Dream, and Zene is a great example of that.

Zene is this amazing woman.

She came here as a refugee, as a young woman.

She started her injera business in Adams Morgan, that became a main staple for the Ethiopian community.

One of my favorite dishes is tibs.

And you're gonna show us how to make tibs, right?

So I'm gonna be your prep cook.

You show me the first cut... -Uh-huh.

...and then I want to -- I'm gonna do it.

So, how did you start your injera business?

Yeah.

When we come into this country, I started a job housekeeping.

-Yeah.

But after six weeks, I was laid off and my husband, he didn't have a job.

Me, I didn't have a job.

So you're in a new country, you're not working, your husband's not working... -Yeah.

We didn't have anybody.

-Wow.

So what can we do?

I bought one grill and I started to bake injera.

And who was your first customers?

When we come into this country, we came about 27 people together.

-You came as refugees?

-Yes.

We came as refugees.

So your first customers were really the people you came with?

-Yes.

-Did you call it Zene's Bakery?

Or, what did you call it?

The people called it Zenebech Injera.

Our injera was the best in the town, so we turned our business into a restaurant in 2010.

♪♪ ♪♪ So, we got garlic, we got ginger, we got salt.

This is garlic and ginger together.

-Together.

-This is fatteh.

-So this is kibbeh, right?

-Kibbeh, yeah.

-So we got -- -This is rosemary.

-Rosemary.

Nice.

-Yeah.

Like, when you cook tibs, we have to do it on high heat, right?

-Yeah.

-And this is the spiced butter.

And this smells funky.

Kibbeh.

Mm-hmm.

Nice.

Okay, like well-done.

Yes.

Put a little tomato.

-Tomato.

Not all of it?

-Not all of it.

And there you sort of want the onion and the garlic to break down, tomatoes to break down a little bit.

Yeah.

-Don't put all the -- Put a little.

-A little bit of color?

This is done.

We finished.

-Yeah.

It is done.

-Yeah.

Finished.

[ Speaking indistinctly ] Let's taste together.

I like this idea.

I'm right here.

-Okay.

-I'll be right here.

-Okay.

-I'm just gonna open my mouth.

Mmm.

That is good!

-It is good, eh?

Yeah.

Wow.

I understand why people came to your restaurant and the injera shop.

Very nice, eh?

Very, very nice.

We have to save some for the others.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Samuelsson: Well, tej... ♪♪ This is homemade, huh?

Yeah.

Cheers.

Oh, I haven't had homemade tej since our wedding.

This is my third time actually tasting it.

I think this is the best one.

This is beautiful.

So you came to America by Egypt, right?

Yes, yes.

We had $150 in our pocket.

Two, four people in one apartment like that.

My husband, he bring the mattress.

We brought the two chairs, one table, two forks, two cups.

Our big problem was how to pay the rent.

-So, Mike, you're the youngest.

-I am.

-You were born here in America.

-Yes.

You went to a big American university.

And knowing that you come from a family that made that happen... -Mm-hmm.

...with $150, right?

In 10 years they created three businesses.

That is an amazing story.

Did that put pressure on you?

"What am I gonna do?"

Or did that give you strength?

Well, yeah, it put some pressure on I would say, just to be honest.

But more strength than pressure, overall.

I mean, you get pretty stressed out about an exam, but then you think about it -- $150.

Don't know the language.

That's not stress.

That's stress.

-That's stress.

And then once I finished college, it was either try to get an office job or try to do something good with the family, you know, work with the family and -- it's fulfilling.

So you work on the marketing side?

Or the business side?

-What I do is just very simple.

I create a Facebook page, create an Instagram page.

It's very basic social-media things.

Right.

How did that feel to be able to help the family business?

It feels really good to help.

I mean, there's a lot of people that enjoy Ethiopian food.

You see that growing every year.

So just to be a part of that, really, just to explain what injera is... eat with the right hand, not with the left.

There's a lot of interesting little details you can always share with people and... it's just a good feeling, really.

♪♪ Samuelsson: "Das" means "tent" in Amharic.

♪♪ It's literally a place where... it's your home but it's also community.

Good evening, everybody.

How are we doing?

-Good evening.

-So far, so good here?

-Yeah.

-I'm so happy.

Samuelsson: DAS is this gorgeous corner restaurant in elegant Georgetown.

Tablecloths... high-end service... Marcus.

How are you doing, sir.

Everything is good, thank you.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

-Cheers to you.

-Nice.

-Thanks for coming.

-Thank you.

DAS...when did this idea, DAS, when did it come together?

We have different names for tents in Ethiopia, and "das" is the largest of the tents.

In general, if you parents are very hospitable, it's always about sharing.

If you pass by somebody's door and they're eating, they will holler and say, "Come and join us... -Yes.

...and share --" you know, to share whatever that they have.

♪♪ -And what have we got?

-A little potato salad.

A little bit of our house salad.

A little of cheese.

A little sautéed shrimps.

-Yeah.

-And there's sautéed mushrooms.

I love that you just cut out the injera a little bit.

It's almost like tacos -- tortillas, you know?

Beautiful.

I think we have become a culture -- a master.

We are trying to do some new things.

For the most part, most people have never had Ethiopian when they come here.

What do you guys think is the future of Ethiopian food?

I think you cannot take too much out of the core essence of the particular dish, if you will.

We're tried to do a lasagna with injera, collard greens, cheese, and... -That sounds delicious.

...red lentils and yellow sweet peas.

And it really was delicious.

-Yeah.

But it was very hard to maintain it.

-Yeah.

-Because it just kept sliding.

I think that core -- berbere will always be the core, and injera will always be there.

-Exactly.

And these are incredible ingredients to hold onto.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

These are the essential part of that whole Ethiopian thing, so you can't really take them out.

That was great.

It is the most valuable commodity that we have, is... Our oldest.

When you left, did you come directly to America?

I came as a student, and I had every intention of returning eventually.

We didn't go back.

When the revolution happened in '74... -Yeah.

-...we were not able to go back.

There was no end in sight at that point.

You have no idea what you're going to do next.

And how do you manage that time?

I needed to make sure to survive.

You'll work as a dish-washer.

You'll work as a waiter.

Whatever came along, you did it, but with the promise that one day you're gonna go back.

Yeah.

Except that one day got extended... -Sure.

-...and... you sort of lost time.

Do you think you will ever retire, as a family, in Ethiopia?

Or, this is home now?

Well, we are almost retired right now, really.

I was just in Ethiopia for about nine weeks.

And no matter what, home is Ethiopia.

No matter what.

Samuelsson: A lot of Ethiopians wanted to move back, but the country was instable, so they stayed.

That actually developed in the diaspora even a stronger love for the home country.

So, today you actually have a reverse migration of young Ethiopians with the desire to move back and go back and work and share their experiences they were taught here, but give something back to the country.

♪♪ So good to see you guys.

Got it?

How's everything?

-Everything is lovely.

-Good?

-Everything is awesome, yeah.

Yared and Bernhanu are NASA scientists, and I can't tell you how proud I am that our country, Ethiopia, is today providing scientists for NASA.

It shows how much our culture has evolved, our ambition, and how much we can add to American culture.

[ Sizzling ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Ooh, tibs.

Perfect.

Nice.

Thank you.

Ahh!

Yes.

That's awesome.

You know one thing that would do very well in space?

Ethiopian food.

Because a lot of it is dry.

-That's right.

-Our shellfish is dried.

Your fuul is dry.

Our beef can be dried.

So we could bring it up and still deliciously... in space.

We should propose this in the International Space Station.

-Yeah, we should.

-To have -- to go.

Are you kidding me?

This could go all the way up.

We'll be fine.

We're having steaks in the penthouse.

Explain to me a little bit about NASA.

Like, how does one go from being a kid in Ethiopia to like, "Hey, I'm going to America"?

Like, how did that happen?

You know, I grew up in the countryside in Ethiopia.

My father was a general during the king regime.

So he basically worked during Haile Selassie's time?

That's correct.

They killed a lot of the high-ranking officials.

The lucky ones, like my father, ended up in jail.

They were thrown in jail for about nine years.

-Oh, wow.

-I hardly saw my dad.

And they allowed us to see him once a year for about 15 minutes.

Did he make it out of jail?

He made it out of jail after nine years.

Yeah?

And then about a year later is when I immigrated to the U.S., in 1984.

How do you then go to work at NASA?

My first job in the U.S., I was essentially a janitor at the parking.

I did a lot of odd jobs, working at a movie theater to working in one of the roughest convenience stores.

The only reason I ended up studying engineering was because my brother passed away.

He studied engineering.

He was a fourth-year student when he passed.

And I was like, "You know what?"

He inspired you all the way to death.

And, Bernhanu, were you born in America?

Were you born back home?

Where were you born?

I came here just right after I finished high school.

In Ethiopia, growing up, we did very rigorous, you know, mathematics and physics, so I applied for grad school.

I got a full ride to do my PhD.

I'm the old geeze', and he's the new lad.

Samuelsson: Both Bernhanu and Yared are thinking about how they can mentor young students here in America, but also how they can give back to Ethiopia.

Yared started a library with books around science, and he gives classes every time he goes back to Ethiopia.

And same thing with Bernhanu.

He goes back, he teaches, and it is very important for him to give back to the country where he was born, but also gave him a lot of his education.

Yared, would there ever be a NASA model, Ethiopian style, out of all this, do you think?

That has actually started already.

-It's already started?

-Yes.

They're thinking to be one of the hubs for doing deep-space science.

Why would that be important for Ethiopia?

10 years from now, what does that look like to you?

The innovation that you will bring out from space study can be used for everyday life.

As humans, you teach the new generation how to build those.

They will be more creative to solve other problems in your country.

You're part of the collective of aspirations.

You're part of the collective of building that brick of our community.

And I'm so proud to be your brother.

Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Thanks, Marcus.

This was awesome.

♪♪ Samuelsson: I always say to people, "If you want to know us, if you want to know Ethiopian community, go to the DMV.

Yes, it is the hub of politics in America, but way before there were republicans and democrats, there was something called Abyssinia and Ethiopia.

♪♪ ♪♪ Ethiopia, for me, is identity and an idea just as much as it is a culture and it is a country.

Ethiopia is always looked at as a place for all Africans, all people of color to come back to at some point.

It's with that identity and pride Ethiopians walk.

Whether they have money or not, they just feel very strong about their sense of history and place and culture.

So when you eat this food, all coated in berbere, it's beyond just eating a meal.

It roots you back to the homeland, to Abyssinia, to Ethiopia.

♪♪ ♪♪ I think it's historical, it's magical.

Ethiopian culture today, in D.C., is stronger than ever, in the togetherness, entrepreneurship, its culture richness, its spirituality.

I think the future is really bright with Ethiopian-American diaspora.

♪♪ ♪♪ A few weeks after we shot this episode, an historic peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been struck.

Eritrea and Ethiopia share so much, and now families can come back together, celebrate each other.

♪♪ This is such a big deal for unity throughout the gas problem, throughout Africa, and, hopefully, throughout the world.

We can now look forward to the future with hope.

Next time on "No Passport Required"... Detroit is the home of one of the largest Arab-American communities in the country.

That's what's so great about America.

A lot of people come and bring their cultures with them.

Food is definitely an economic backbone to this community.

If you squeeze this, you don't get blood -- you get olive oil.

I don't have to choose between being Arab and being American.

-Intertwine them.

Like, this place, this place, these people are my home.

People have to work together.

People have to collaborate.

And from collaboration come diamonds.

Cheers.

-Thank you.

♪♪ And with just... One, two, three, four.

Hand.

One, two, three, four.

Good.

Okay, relax for a little.

Very, like, Janet Jackson/ "Rhythm Nation" now.

♪ We are a part of the rhythm nation ♪ Yeah.

Da-da, yeah.