Restaurant Review: Feast of familiar yet different flavours from Ethiopia

Ethiopia has also been home to a sizable Indian diaspora consisting of traders and artisans who settled there in the latter half of the 19th century. However, the African land has been severely under-represented across the subcontinent. And Abyssinian, the newly-opened Ethiopian restaurant and the country’s first-of-its-kind, brought to food connoisseurs by VM Hospitality that gave the city Meena Tai’s and Batlivala & Khanabhoy, hopes to change just that. 

As we entered the restaurant situated in one of the quaint by lanes of Alwarpet, we couldn’t help but notice how care has been taken to adapt not only the flavours, but also the culture of Ethiopia. This is visible in the décor and the ambience created through earthy colours, original artefacts, cutlery and furniture that have all been imported from Ethiopia. Diverse music from Ethiopia is also played at the intimate space that accommodates 16 to 20 diners. After settling into comfortable stools set around coffee tables, we skimmed through the menu that gives one an overview of the cuisine. While foodies can choose for an a la carte experience, we suggest you opt for a meal. Ethiopian meals are served on a large platter shared by a family and friends, a practice that helps build bonds of friendship and loyalty. Those bonds are often demonstrated in the form of ‘gursha’, a custom of feeding other diners with one’s hands. 

We went for the specially curated messob, a platter lined with large pieces of flat, pancake-like bread called injera. A cross between a dosa and appam, the injera is prepared from fermented batter made of teff, a grass that is native to Ethiopia and Eritrea. Piles of various food items are placed around the platter with rolled up pieces of injera which are torn off and used to scoop the food. Among several portions on the plate is berbere, the most integral part of any Ethiopian meal. Berbere is a fragrant and fiery blend of toasted, dried red chilli peppers, ginger, garlic, cardamom, onions, cloves, cinnamon, basil and salt. Mitmita, a variant of the berbere mixture, made of spicier chilli is used in the place of the latter to vary the spice quotient. If you’re not one for spicy food, don’t go overboard with the berbere.

We started off with doro wot, a chicken stew cooked in a blend of robust spices. Thick, comforting and delicious, the dish was a clear winner. We then tried the yebeg bozena shiro — tender and juicy lamb with powdered chickpeas and seasoned with berbere. While the lamb was perfectly cooked, the powdered chickpea felt a bit out of place. There was also kitfo, a delectable mix of minced raw meat, marinated in mitmita and niter kibbeh (a clarified butter infused with herbs and spices). Although the smell of raw meat might put you off, it’s worth a try. There is plenty of vegetarian food as well, since the country has a large population of Christians, who give up meat during lent season. The red lentils cooked with berbere didn’t quite impress. But, the subtle flavours of curried pumpkin in onion stew make for a refreshingly light treat. For dessert, we tried the nech azmud, an unusual olive oil cake with carom seeds ( ajwain ) topped with honey, a powerful yet soothing treat. However, one of the best things about Ethiopian cuisine is its coffee, that arrived at the end. The strong, aromatic black brew drizzled with nitter kibbeh and a pinch of salt, served as the perfect finale. Feast 

Cuisine: Ethiopian 

Contact: +91 82205 55449 

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars