Ethiopian Orthodox fasting (Tsom)

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians observe approximately 180 mandatory fasting days for laypeople and up to 252 days for clergy and the particularly observant, not exactly 250 ^[1]. During fasts (tsom), all animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) are excluded, making meals vegan ^[1][2]. Common fasting dishes include shiro (a chickpea or broad bean stew), misir wat (spiced lentil stew), gomen (collard greens), and atkilt (vegetable stew) ^[2]. These dishes are typically served on injera, a sourdough flatbread made from teff ^[2].

Regarding LA Ethiopian restaurants in Little Ethiopia, the provided sources contain no information about how these restaurants handle fasting periods, such as offering year-round fasting menus. Therefore, this question cannot be answered from the given sources. To address this, one would need restaurant-specific data, such as menus, interviews with owners, or local reviews.

Mexican-origin ingredients such as chili peppers (in berbere spice blend) and beans (in shiro and misir wat) are opportunistically noted as part of Ethiopian cuisine ^[2].