The First Ethiopian Restaurant in Edgewater
Serving you since August 1996

Dining in Ethiopia is characterized by the ritual breaking of injera and eating from the same plate, signifying the bonds of loyalty and friendship. These bonds are often demonstrated in the form of gursha - that is the placing of food in the mouth of another diner from one's own hand.

Injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread, is part of every entree. It is pancake-like bread on which the various stew dishes are served. The traditional way of eating it is with your fingers, which in itself is a delicate art. A bite sized piece of the injera is broken off to pick up a mouth full of the chosen dish.

Ethiopian dishes are characterized by the variety of spices from which they get their exotic taste. Watt is a stew that comes in the form of beef, lamb, chicken, fish and vegetables. These range from hot and spicy watt to very mild. The mildly seasoned watt is called Alicha.

Vegetarian dishes are also very popular in Ethiopian cuisine especially during Lent, the fifty-five days before Easter. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are prohibited from eating meat and meat by-products during Lent and most Wednesdays and Fridays. The variety of watt and alicha made of lentil, peas and other vegetables are just as popular and tasty as those containing meat.

At Ethiopian Diamond Restaurant, their injera is made from self-rising wheat flour and teff flour (Teff is a grain that is only edible in Ethiopia.) Like their mothers and grandmothers they never use baking powder, baking soda or processed yeast in making injera.

At Ethiopian Diamond Restaurant all dishes are free from artificial coloring, artificial flavoring and artificial preservatives and vegetable oil is used in all vegetarian dishes. No butter, no eggs, no milk, no honey!