In Gur­sha, which loose­ly trans­lates as ​“the act of feed­ing one anoth­er,” chef and restau­ra­teur Bee­jhy Barhany shares the food and cul­ture of Beta Israel or Ethiopi­an Jews.

Born in Ethiopia, Barhany fled to Sudan before mak­ing her way to Israel and, even­tu­al­ly, Harlem. In Gur­sha, she tells that sto­ry through food, bring­ing togeth­er more than a hun­dred per­son­al recipes, from tra­di­tion­al dish­es (Doro Wot, Shak­shu­ka, Lega­mat [Sudanese dough­nuts]) to those of her own cre­ation (Berbere Fried Fish, Injera Fish Taco, Queen of She­ba Choco­late Car­damom Cake). Along­side the recipes, read­ers will also find essays on Beta Israel cul­ture and tra­di­tions, pro­files of the author’s friends and fam­i­ly mem­bers that illu­mi­nate the Ethiopi­an Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty, and more.

While small­er in num­ber and not as wide­ly known as many oth­er groups of Jews, the Beta Israel boast one of the world’s great culi­nary cul­tures, and Gur­sha is the first major cook­book to share it with home cooks everywhere.