At Enatye Ethiopian Restaurant allow your taste buds to enwrap in an expert melding of flavors. Upon arrival I asked the server if they use tree nuts in their cuisine. I was thrilled to hear that none of their entrées had any nuts.
I ordered the Doro Wat (chicken stew) and Yebeg Alecha Wot (lamb curry).
When our food came the Injera lay sprawling on a round metal tray. Stews were spooned over it. The focal point of the table was the Injera, a dusky, crepe with tiny sinkholes – much like a thin kerchief, with a sepia tinge of an old photograph. Varied textures of the meats, the rugged earthiness of the cooked vegetables and the novelty spongy flatbread made our mouths water.
As I delved into this exotic cuisine tearing off strips of injera to scoop them up, a welcome heat of the magical mélange of flavors announced itself in every dish.
Chicken drumsticks simmered in ginger, garlic, turmeric and exotic spices came with a hard-boiled egg. The lamb it seemed was left to loll in a creamy and meaty sauce and deliver a gentle, lulling warmth. Nothing on my Injera existed in isolation; the flavors were meant to be interposed.
At the end of the meal — arguably the best part, when all that’s left is injera soaked with the runoff of sauces — the bread still has structure and holds together.
The ingredients are simple, yet it will make a meal like none other. And best of all it was NUT FREE!!