Jason King
AmyHuangFekerte's Ethiopian Cuisine
August 7th 2006 09:50
Un 74/ 2 Cape St Dickson 2602 - (02) 6262 5799
Also Trading At Bus Depot Market On Sundays
Oh yeah, Ethiopian. That's right. You haven't got it, and you definitely need it.
Well, to be more accurate, Canberra has it. It's called Fekerte's, and it's good, hearty food which is lightened with spices, herbs, and lemon juice. What I found unusual for such a poor country is the emphasis on meat based dishes. But that may be just the Aussie influence.
So here's the go. As is laid out in the lovely intro to Ethiopian food in the front of the menu, the meal is all about the Enjera. Enjera is a flat bread, which is very porous, and almost reminds me of a thin sponge. It's got a very light, almost lemony flavour. You're meant to put curry or stew into the middle of the bread, leaving bits uncovered on the side. You break off these bits and use them to scoop the curry off the rest of the bread and eat it. Afterwards you're left with sauce soaked bread, which you stuff hungrily into your mouth.
Ignore the rice.
The intro also explains there are two types of stews; hotter ones flavoured with berbere (a red pepper seasoning), and milder ones with more subtle seasoning. There are also vegetarian/vegan dishes using seasonal vegetables and oil instead of butter, which originated for those following the Ethiopian Orthodox Church 'fasts' where they eat only vegan food.
Now bear in mind that choosing is going to be very difficult. Everything does look and sound good, and none of it is very familiar, so you're going to want to try it all.
The meat samosa is very good, much different to what you're used to. As are the cauliflower fritters, which seem to be a cauliflower puree, and come with a green harissa style sauce, and a kind of yogurt-garlic-cum-tzatziki dip. Good stuff.
We had chicken with berbere (remember what that is?) and lemon juice, which comes, as do all the curries, with a bowl of cooling, homemade cottage cheese. The beef with berbere is similar; both are great, hearty stews which showcase a depth of flavour and spices I wouldn't have associated with Ethiopian food.
We love the marinated lamb sauteed with rosemary onions and green peppers. Not a stew, bit with crispy meat, the seasoning and spices are so perfect that this is easily our favourite dish. Unfortunately it disappeared before a photo could be taken.
Also good is the diced lamb and red lentils cooked with tomato and berbere. Similar to the other stews, but more reminiscent of a thick lentil soup, this is also well spiced, and goes well with the cottage cheese and enjera.
Ordering a combination plate is an easy way to combine dishes into flavour combinations which work well together. You're sure to find what you want, and you get all the additions and trimmings, as you can see. But be warned, it's a hard plate to share, because the portions are so individual.
And yes, we had to try the Ethiopian baklava. For purely research purposes, of course. With homemade filo it was the most tempting sounding desert, so how could we not? It's very heavy and syrupy, with pistachios instead of walnuts. But the tea and kabaya flavours weren't obvious. Not matter, it's still good.
Fekerte's is a great experience for anyone wanting to broaden their eating horizons. At roughly $20 per curry or combination plate (less for vegetarian options) it's middle of the range, as the servings aren't huge, but filling enough. But that's a price I'm happy to pay for food which is this good and offers something refreshingly different. Make it a definite stop when in Canberra.
Also Trading At Bus Depot Market On Sundays
Well, to be more accurate, Canberra has it. It's called Fekerte's, and it's good, hearty food which is lightened with spices, herbs, and lemon juice. What I found unusual for such a poor country is the emphasis on meat based dishes. But that may be just the Aussie influence.
So here's the go. As is laid out in the lovely intro to Ethiopian food in the front of the menu, the meal is all about the Enjera. Enjera is a flat bread, which is very porous, and almost reminds me of a thin sponge. It's got a very light, almost lemony flavour. You're meant to put curry or stew into the middle of the bread, leaving bits uncovered on the side. You break off these bits and use them to scoop the curry off the rest of the bread and eat it. Afterwards you're left with sauce soaked bread, which you stuff hungrily into your mouth.
Ignore the rice.
The intro also explains there are two types of stews; hotter ones flavoured with berbere (a red pepper seasoning), and milder ones with more subtle seasoning. There are also vegetarian/vegan dishes using seasonal vegetables and oil instead of butter, which originated for those following the Ethiopian Orthodox Church 'fasts' where they eat only vegan food.
Now bear in mind that choosing is going to be very difficult. Everything does look and sound good, and none of it is very familiar, so you're going to want to try it all.
The meat samosa is very good, much different to what you're used to. As are the cauliflower fritters, which seem to be a cauliflower puree, and come with a green harissa style sauce, and a kind of yogurt-garlic-cum-tzatziki dip. Good stuff.
We had chicken with berbere (remember what that is?) and lemon juice, which comes, as do all the curries, with a bowl of cooling, homemade cottage cheese. The beef with berbere is similar; both are great, hearty stews which showcase a depth of flavour and spices I wouldn't have associated with Ethiopian food.
We love the marinated lamb sauteed with rosemary onions and green peppers. Not a stew, bit with crispy meat, the seasoning and spices are so perfect that this is easily our favourite dish. Unfortunately it disappeared before a photo could be taken.
Also good is the diced lamb and red lentils cooked with tomato and berbere. Similar to the other stews, but more reminiscent of a thick lentil soup, this is also well spiced, and goes well with the cottage cheese and enjera.
Ordering a combination plate is an easy way to combine dishes into flavour combinations which work well together. You're sure to find what you want, and you get all the additions and trimmings, as you can see. But be warned, it's a hard plate to share, because the portions are so individual.
And yes, we had to try the Ethiopian baklava. For purely research purposes, of course. With homemade filo it was the most tempting sounding desert, so how could we not? It's very heavy and syrupy, with pistachios instead of walnuts. But the tea and kabaya flavours weren't obvious. Not matter, it's still good.
Fekerte's is a great experience for anyone wanting to broaden their eating horizons. At roughly $20 per curry or combination plate (less for vegetarian options) it's middle of the range, as the servings aren't huge, but filling enough. But that's a price I'm happy to pay for food which is this good and offers something refreshingly different. Make it a definite stop when in Canberra.
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by edward
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Comment by Anonymous
and "......... flavor and spices I wouldn't have associated with Ethiopian food"
Why????
U know, Poor people do eat good food, it's just a matter of having to eat "good food" every day!!!
Do your researches properly before you try to write about cultures other than your own.......please!!!
Comment by edward
Rocky's Running Diary
Who said poor people don't eat good food?? The best food in the world comes from poorer communities having to make do with what they have. There are countless examples, my favourite being the wonderful food of Isaan in Thailand; but for example the whole idea of slow cooking, braising and stewing wouldn't exist otherwise - they were invented as a means of tenderising and making the most out of tough meat by farmers.
As for the Ethiopian example, I don't pretend to know that much about Ethiopian food, I'll be the first one to say I've never eaten it before. But because of my interest in running, I've read a bit about what people in Ethiopia eat, and I know there is a sizeable vegetarian proportion. Thats not to say they don't eat mea; but the menu at this restaurant was certainly not representative of the proportion of meat to vegetarian, as far as i understand it. Thats all im saying. And they certainly dont east as much meat as people do in Aus, and im just saying a restaurant in Aus may be influenced by that, as the people they're feeding are Australian.
So relax!
If you've got something interesting to add, then it'd be great to hear another opinion, but save your little over-the-top unnecessary rant for somewhere else.
Comment by Geronimo
I found it's about good food and mostly meat, meat and more meat - preferably RAW!!! It's common to see beef carcasses hanging in "kitfo beats" (restaurants specialising in kitfo [sort of an Ethiopian version of steak tartare]) and your meal shaved directly from the animal - this shows how fresh the meat is and allows you to select your cut (I do admit that there are other options but I'm a ravenous carnivore and always sought out the places serving traditional kitfo!)... There's something magical and atavistic about selecting which part of the carcass you will eat - I'm sure that my fellow raw meat fanatics will understand. If this grosses you out too much there are several other vegetarian options and you can always ask for your food to be "betam leb leb" which means "cooked through" or something like that... Also no Ethiopian meal is IMHO complete without a glass of tej - a kind of homemade honey wine not unlike mead. You know it's not genuine if there's no weird floaty bits in it - the best stuff is served in rough earthenware decanters! Also I don't know if you can get it here in Australia but Bati beer is also very drinkable...
I recently moved from London where there are numerous Ethiopian restaurants and it's possible to order kitfo as it's meant to be - raw! I used to go out for an Ethiopian at least once a month. I am in Sydney now and I'm having withdrawral symptoms: my nearest Ethiopian restaurant is apparently in Canberra and I'll bet that raw meat is totally against OH&S rules here... If anyone knows of a decent Ethiopian restaurant in Sydney please let me know! Unfortunately there aren't many Ethiopians who have emigrated to Australia - I'll bet they stayed home because of the good food and our stupid food hygeine laws!
BTW I tried a couple of Somalian restaurants in London and the food was terrible - not badly coooked but pretty tasteless - maybe something to do with the muslim exsanguination ideal.
Comment by Anonymous
Unfortunatley there are no Ethiopian Restaurants in Sydney.
Fekerte's in Canberra is definately worth the trip though!!!
And to explain the veg to meat ratio...its actually a religious thing.
The majority of Ethiopans follow Orthodoxy and in this particular Ethiopian strain of the faith, it is customary to fast every Wednesday and Friday as well as during Easter, Christmas and other religious celebrations. During these sessions of fasting, Ethiopians go completely vegan for the length of the fast. As such, there is a very well developed Vegan menu in the cuisine.
I have previously lived in Ethiopia and have found Fekerte's restaurant to be VERY authentic and to also offer a great variety. There is no raw meat on the menu and when I asked why it was explained that health and safety is a serious consideration but that predominantly it was a result of lack of demand for Kitfo. This lack of demand meant that the meat tha was marinated for Kitfo was often sadly wasted so it was eventually taken of the menu!
Please go and try the food...it'll blow your mind!
And the staff are very helpful and well informed on the cuisine!