The restaurant market in Chennai has evolved tremendously in the last couple of quinquennials. When once anything beyond South Indian cuisine was considered a luxury, it has spread it's arms to cuisines across India and extended it's range globally to a diverse portfolio of cuisines from Pan Asian, Italian, Mexican, American, Russian and a host more. The oeuvre has widened further with the introduction of Ethiopian food from the African continent. This is like really a landmark step in opening of boundaries and a shot in the arm for the food exploring lovers of the city always on the prowl looking for something radical and off the cuff.
Abyssinian is a part of a troika of restaurant's in Venus Colony down the Poes Garden alley sharing it's footing space with brothers in arms Meena Tai (Maharashtrian cuisine) and Batlivala & Khanaboy (Parsi cuisine). It's located in a small room on the upside with a seating arrangement of around 20 pax. The place is intriguing in it's surroundings with capsules of Ethiopia captured via it's interiors. Most of the stuff have been directly imported from the land of Africa to ensure that the essence of Ethiopia is encapsulated. You have portraits of traditional Ethiopian hermits depicting the wide ranging cultures, armoury and weaponry used in wars, wide ranging Christian cross symbols showcasing the predominant religion, big sized traditional instruments, story boards highlighting folklore telling stories of King Solomon, Queen Sheba, origin of coffee and the like. The lamps are ingrained with drawings of it's tribes and you even have a board consisting of the script of the Ethiopian language 'Amharic'. If you subtly notice even the mild music playing along in the background are the rustic folk tunes from the Ethiopian diaspora.
Ethiopia emphasises on communal harmony and eating together. Along those lines is how the concept of Abyssinian works too. People congregate in large sets coming to eat from a single plate. This characterises the bond of friendship and loyalty and this whole coming together as one is termed as 'Gursha'. The entire plate is spread over with a large flat pancake bread called 'Injera'. Rolled up pieces of injera are kept on the edges of the plate and on the middle are stacked right royally with plenty of food items to be eaten along with the pieces of the Injera. For the layman, the Injera is like an intermittent version of a dosa cum appam. It resembles a Neer Dosa mildly in texture and softness. And the ideology of the food is based on the platter fare where a series of different curries are laid out for you to pick and choose with your Injera and eat along with your respective folks. A platter is usually for 4 people and can extend based on the size but the key takeaway is that this is a one of a kind bonding and eating experience which is really interesting. Another feature worth noting is that Ethiopians do not use utensils and all the eating work is placed exclusively for the hands to do it's job.
As we were a bunch of 4 veg denizens, our large plate was festooned with a beguiling potpourri of veg curries comprising of different spices and flavours. There was the 'Dinch Wot' which is a curried potato enhanced with berbere and spices, 'Yedinich Alicha' - a stew of potatoes and carrots. (This incidentally resembles the similar curry I have with my curd rice), 'Yatakilt Wot' - a curried vegetable stew of cauliflower, carrot, potatoes, cabbages and the like, 'Yeduba Wot' - pumpkin curried and simmered with spices, 'Indubay Tibs' - Sauted mushroom with essential ingredients, 'Fir Fir' - pieces of injera crushed and tossed up with spices (you can relate this to your kothu paratha), 'Shiro' - powdered chickpeas stew flavored with spices (somewhat akin to paruppa mixed with rice in local households). We also got the traditional version of a slightly spicier Dal served along. It was an absolute delight to consume the pieces of injera with the galactic spread of curries. The unique feature about it was that each of the curries were different in their own way with aromatic spices and flavours. The best of the lot was the curried potato which was simply sensational and so was the fiery lentils which seemed pretty addictive as a combination with the softish Injera. And additional condiments were laid out in the form of 'Ayib' - a mild cottage cheese to top along in order to reduce the spice content a notch and the 'Mitmita' which essentially is the spicier version of the cottage cheese consisting of birds eye chilli peppers, cardamon seeds, other spices and salt. A dollop of this is to enhance the spice quotient. Also in the fray was the 'Awaze', a raunchy spiced olive oil and berbere dip for that little extra for you to customise your food.
The main course apart, we did begin proceedings with 'Thej' which is the official drink of this land. It consists of honey, sugar and water and is fermented in closed circles to remove the bacterial element. It tasted very similar to wine sans the kick element and were served in a tube kind of glass to ensure the flavors dissipate at the bottom. In the soup section, we got to slurp the 'Adengare Shorba' which is a light soup comprising of kidney beans along with onion and tomato. The presence of kidney beans was stimulating and it felt like a really home made boiled soup. The starters foray had Mandasi with Abe. The Mandasi were in the nature of your usual bhajji but the twist was it had Ajwain and heavy hitting garlic flavour. The Abe is a dip made with coriander and green chilli. The two of em tangoed beautifully and went jocularly well with each other. In the dessert draw, we were served 'Kita' a flat bread infused with honey, a 'Nech Azmud cake' - a sweetened essence cake but which lacked the sweetness and didn't appease much and the 'Sweet Sambussa' which were spring rolls inset with sweetened carrots, dates, nuts and honey. The Sambussa was luscious and has the necessary ammunition to give your sweet tooth a delightful workout.
We ended our sojourn with the highly rated Ethiopian coffee. This was truly a mind blowing experience. You are supposed to have this black coffee with butter and a pinch of salt and sugar and for accompaniment you have popcorn to boot. This decoction was certainly invigorating and I've never tasted a coffee anything like this before and it truly stole the show. It was all class and finesse and the most perfect way to signal the end of a traditional wholesome Ethiopian veg meal.
The decor feels a little uncomfortable and the seating is low but heck you want to ignore that as they have accustomed it as per custom. Feels a little odd when compared to the usual fine dining places but infusing the culture of Ethiopians usually sitting in low kind of stools makes it apt and you really wouldn't mind it. The service was exemplary with all questions put forth being answered in a detailed manner. It is a good sign to see the staff being well aware about the place and even with the timing of the dishes they were spot on bringing the stuff in regular interval with no delays whatsoever. The price point appears seemingly high but their signature Messob's (sharing plates) are for 4 people and considering that seems par for the course. Even otherwise shelling out a little extra buck for this Ethiopian escapade is certainly worth it.
The erstwhile Ethiopia was formerly called Abyssinia and that's how the restaurant gets it's name. Also there is an interesting connection between Ethiopia and India as the 2 countries used to trade in spices centuries ago and spices form a major feature of the cuisines of both these countries. I am a complete abecedarian when it comes to do with anything relating to the history of Ethiopia but visiting Abyssinian was quite an educative and enlightening event as I got to know many interesting facts not only about the cuisine but also about the history in general.
In essence, it was truly a remarkable experience not only getting to consume Ethiopian food but also taking cue of it's culture and tradition and chalking out a similar experience in a virtual hinterland like Chennai which has no tracings whatsoever to do with Ethiopia and it's environment. It was such a unique and one of a kind episode which I'll remember fondly. The experience in toto was truly self affirming and rewarding. Abyssinian brings to itself a distinctive dimension and it's a restaurant I strongly recommend all passionate food lovers to explore.
Abyssinian is a part of a troika of restaurant's in Venus Colony down the Poes Garden alley sharing it's footing space with brothers in arms Meena Tai (Maharashtrian cuisine) and Batlivala & Khanaboy (Parsi cuisine). It's located in a small room on the upside with a seating arrangement of around 20 pax. The place is intriguing in it's surroundings with capsules of Ethiopia captured via it's interiors. Most of the stuff have been directly imported from the land of Africa to ensure that the essence of Ethiopia is encapsulated. You have portraits of traditional Ethiopian hermits depicting the wide ranging cultures, armoury and weaponry used in wars, wide ranging Christian cross symbols showcasing the predominant religion, big sized traditional instruments, story boards highlighting folklore telling stories of King Solomon, Queen Sheba, origin of coffee and the like. The lamps are ingrained with drawings of it's tribes and you even have a board consisting of the script of the Ethiopian language 'Amharic'. If you subtly notice even the mild music playing along in the background are the rustic folk tunes from the Ethiopian diaspora.
Ethiopia emphasises on communal harmony and eating together. Along those lines is how the concept of Abyssinian works too. People congregate in large sets coming to eat from a single plate. This characterises the bond of friendship and loyalty and this whole coming together as one is termed as 'Gursha'. The entire plate is spread over with a large flat pancake bread called 'Injera'. Rolled up pieces of injera are kept on the edges of the plate and on the middle are stacked right royally with plenty of food items to be eaten along with the pieces of the Injera. For the layman, the Injera is like an intermittent version of a dosa cum appam. It resembles a Neer Dosa mildly in texture and softness. And the ideology of the food is based on the platter fare where a series of different curries are laid out for you to pick and choose with your Injera and eat along with your respective folks. A platter is usually for 4 people and can extend based on the size but the key takeaway is that this is a one of a kind bonding and eating experience which is really interesting. Another feature worth noting is that Ethiopians do not use utensils and all the eating work is placed exclusively for the hands to do it's job.
As we were a bunch of 4 veg denizens, our large plate was festooned with a beguiling potpourri of veg curries comprising of different spices and flavours. There was the 'Dinch Wot' which is a curried potato enhanced with berbere and spices, 'Yedinich Alicha' - a stew of potatoes and carrots. (This incidentally resembles the similar curry I have with my curd rice), 'Yatakilt Wot' - a curried vegetable stew of cauliflower, carrot, potatoes, cabbages and the like, 'Yeduba Wot' - pumpkin curried and simmered with spices, 'Indubay Tibs' - Sauted mushroom with essential ingredients, 'Fir Fir' - pieces of injera crushed and tossed up with spices (you can relate this to your kothu paratha), 'Shiro' - powdered chickpeas stew flavored with spices (somewhat akin to paruppa mixed with rice in local households). We also got the traditional version of a slightly spicier Dal served along. It was an absolute delight to consume the pieces of injera with the galactic spread of curries. The unique feature about it was that each of the curries were different in their own way with aromatic spices and flavours. The best of the lot was the curried potato which was simply sensational and so was the fiery lentils which seemed pretty addictive as a combination with the softish Injera. And additional condiments were laid out in the form of 'Ayib' - a mild cottage cheese to top along in order to reduce the spice content a notch and the 'Mitmita' which essentially is the spicier version of the cottage cheese consisting of birds eye chilli peppers, cardamon seeds, other spices and salt. A dollop of this is to enhance the spice quotient. Also in the fray was the 'Awaze', a raunchy spiced olive oil and berbere dip for that little extra for you to customise your food.
We ended our sojourn with the highly rated Ethiopian coffee. This was truly a mind blowing experience. You are supposed to have this black coffee with butter and a pinch of salt and sugar and for accompaniment you have popcorn to boot. This decoction was certainly invigorating and I've never tasted a coffee anything like this before and it truly stole the show. It was all class and finesse and the most perfect way to signal the end of a traditional wholesome Ethiopian veg meal.
The erstwhile Ethiopia was formerly called Abyssinia and that's how the restaurant gets it's name. Also there is an interesting connection between Ethiopia and India as the 2 countries used to trade in spices centuries ago and spices form a major feature of the cuisines of both these countries. I am a complete abecedarian when it comes to do with anything relating to the history of Ethiopia but visiting Abyssinian was quite an educative and enlightening event as I got to know many interesting facts not only about the cuisine but also about the history in general.
In essence, it was truly a remarkable experience not only getting to consume Ethiopian food but also taking cue of it's culture and tradition and chalking out a similar experience in a virtual hinterland like Chennai which has no tracings whatsoever to do with Ethiopia and it's environment. It was such a unique and one of a kind episode which I'll remember fondly. The experience in toto was truly self affirming and rewarding. Abyssinian brings to itself a distinctive dimension and it's a restaurant I strongly recommend all passionate food lovers to explore.
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