The Recipe of Love: An Ethiopian Cookbook

Addis Ababa Restaurant
1184 Queen Street West
Toronto

I didn't get any reading done this weekend which is very unusual for me. Friday evening to Sunday was jam-packed with things to do and it was difficult to make time for a book.

One of the highlights of our weekend was the trip to our favorite Ethiopian restaurant in Toronto, "Addis Ababa". We love going there because from the time you enter its doors it feels like you've entered a different world. I love the subtle fragrance of the frankencense that greets us as we enter and the soft African music humming in the background. The walls are covered with gorgeous African art, with each piece telling its own story. Aster Ketsela Belayneh, the owner of this 15-year old establishment greets each guest personally and chats a little while we decide if we want guava, mango or some other exotic juice. I tell her I enjoy some of the spicier Ethiopian dishes because it rests well on my Indian palate and that I just wish I knew how to cook them. To my good luck, she has recently published her own recipe book, "The Recipe of Love: An Ethiopian Cookbook" and I grab the opportunity to take one home.

As usual my family and I opt for the "gebata" or the communal platter with a chicken, beef, lamb and vegetable dish served on "injera", sour dough crepes if you like, which you break off and use to scoop the delicacies into your mouth. The delicacies include the "Dora Wet" (chicken) and the spiced chilli pepper that gives this dish its distinctive flavor is itself a mixture of 11 various spices making for a richly savory and fiery hot dish - my taste buds are on fire, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Our beef dish was called "Ye Tibs Wet' - it's a fiery red dish, again, with berbere spieces, ginger-garlic, nutmeg, cardamom and spiced butter. Along with the meats come a whole host of vegetable dishes - my favorite is the "Keyseir Bedinich" or Beet and Potato Stew with onion, garlic, and ginger, there also the delectable "Gommen Wet" - collard greens with a ginger-garlic mixture. My daughters loved the "Yekik Alicha Wet" (boiled yellow split peas in a mild savory sauce) .

After the dinner I ordered coffee while the kids ordered "Muz Bemar" or fried banana with honey topped with roasted sesame seeds (YUM). Be warned, the "Bunna" or coffee can take a while to arrive because it is roasted and brewed only after the order is placed. I love the coffee roasting ceremony where Aster brings the roasted coffee beans to our table and we breathe deeply enjoying the aroma. When the coffee arrives with Nat, Aster's charming son, it comes in clay pot with a lit resin (probably frankencense) in a clay burner. I savor every drop of the wonderful beverage.

The gracious and beautiful Aster with Moi

My daughters and I with Aster - note the precious cookbook in my hand!

For more information on Aster's cookbook (and sample recipes) please visit her site www.recipeoflove.com and here's a tiny review of the book from NOW Magazine.

I love the cookbook because its recipes are really easy to prepare and also, it has nice glossy pictures which makes it easy for you to see what your dish might look like. Also, it has some wonderful information on Ethiopian culture, history, cuisine and philosophy. Finally, in this month of Cupid, who can resist a cook with the title "Recipe of Love"? I couldn't! :)