World Food Thursdays

Country No 5. Ethiopia

Date: 01/04/2014

 

Venue: Lalibela, Tufnell Park

 

Attendees: Ben, Lee, Maor, Kim, Ellen, Poppy, Becky, Paul, Chris, Gemma

 

Cost: £20 a head

 

We were joined for tonight’s edition of World Food Thursdays by travellers from a far and distant international dining club; Chris & Gemma have travelled to the very furthest corners of that London in search of international cuisine and have so far clocked up 24 different countries but this was their first time dining with the World Food Thursday crew - would it be their last?

 

For the first time since records began all members turned up on time (on time being a relative concept). Starting off on such a good foot was bound to make a few members nervous and this anxiety was captured by the rush to share interesting facts about Ethiopia from the very start.

 

After an engaging discussion about whether Hailie Selassie was a nice man (he was) we beckoned the waitress to take our order. Taking recommendations from the waitress we ordered two meat platters and one veggie platter to share, as well as a chicken and egg dish and a chickpea and aubergine dish. In what constituted a first for the WFT gang starters were shunned (prompting a discussion about the merits of a starters only restaurant; Lee “I’d happily only ever eat starters”) and there were concerns that we had under-ordered.

 

Following a short wait where tempers frayed (not really) and appetites grew space was cleared on the table for three enormous circular platters laden with the thin, sour, spongy bread called Anjera. A variety of different beef based stews and curries, some using chunks of meat, and some with minced meat, were arranged directly onto two of the platters, with lentil and spinach based curries for the vegetarian platter.

 

No cutlery was handed out, Ethiopian food is eaten with your hands directly from the central sharing platters tearing off bits of Anjera and wrapping it round some of the saucy curry.

 

The Anjera is an acquired taste, the initial reaction from all diners new to Ethiopian food was muted, however the bread is a grower, and when offset by the delicious flavours of the meat it makes for a wonderful paring.

 

About halfway through the meal it was clear that our fears about under-ordering were unnecessary with diners calling an end to proceedings one by one. The feeling of over-eating was possibly exaggerated by the ever increasing temperature inside the restaurant as the staff lit more and more incense candles creating a heavy fog of aromatic smoke at about head height.

 

Once the platters were cleared away Ben, Ellen, Gemma and Becky partook in the coffee ceremony which constituted of the waitress wafting a ladle full of sizzling, smoky coffee beans under our noses before bringing out a ceramic jug filled with steaming coffee which was poured from a height into small cups. The coffee was delicious.

 

The other diners tried the traditional tea, which tasted of cinnamon and apples with a slightly bitter, barky aftertaste.

 

As is tradition in Gemma and Chris’s rival food club they handed out a rating for the meal, a harsh 6 from Gemma, and a fair 7 from Chris. Both Chris and Gemma admitted that if they had rated the meal halfway through their scores would have been higher however the distinctive taste of the Anjera became overpowering.

 

In summary Ethiopian food is delicious, and a novel experience, but probably best left to the occasional visit.

 

Ethiopian facts:

 

• The marriage initiation ceremony in Ethiopia is centuries old. Men are required to run across the backs of 15 – 30 cows to prove their commitment to the marriage, women have it a bit harder though, they submit to being beaten by the village elders with the number of scars proving their devotion to their husband. A truly terrible ordeal.

• Before being taking the name Hailie Selassie the Imperial Majesty, King of Kings of Ethiopia, was called Ras Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, from where the Rastafi religion derives its name.

• There are no family names in Ethiopia, first names are given at birth. To distinguish one Jack from another the newest addition to the family will take their father’s name, if this does not result in a unique name they will also take their grandfather’s. This continues ad infinitum. Consequently on marriage females do not take their husband’s name.

• Ethiopia is the birthplace of anatomically modern man, the oldest discovered remains were aged at 190,000 years but experts suggest that man has existed in Ethiopia for 200,000 years.