From injera to roti, Waterloo region offers variety of food from Black diaspora: Andrew Coppolino

At Rade's Restaurant and Bar, an Ethiopian restaurant in downtown Kitchener, chef-owner Okuba Tefsa carries a large platter of freshly made injera loaded with colourful dollops of lentils, cabbage, chickpeas and spinach resembling, perhaps, an artist's paint palette.

The foundation of the platter, a spongy and tasty flatbread, is a staple in Ethiopia and Eritrea and takes several days to prepare and let ferment.

When it arrives at the table, you tear pieces of the injera and use it as a utensil to pick up morsels of the various vegetables, meats and legumes. It's a great dish for sharing.

"Injera is made from teff," Tefsa says of the flour made from the grass variety found in the Horn of Africa.

"It's gluten free and is a special food in Ethiopia and Eritrea," he adds. "We add different kinds of spices and it's eaten with beef, chicken and any kind of vegetable."

Rade's — derived from the first initials of the names of Tefsa's four children — flies under the radar, somewhat in part due to its location in the lower concourse on King Street E. directly across from the Kitchener Market.

The restaurant — specifically noting that it cooks the food of the Habesha people — joins four or five other Ethiopian restaurants in the area, a number that has grown in the last several years.

What also flies somewhat under the radar is the coffee ceremony often served after a meal.

The green coffee beans come from Ethiopia, Tefsa says. They're roasted, blended and boiled and then poured from a goose-necked vessel called a jebena.

"I add a little bit of fresh ginger. Our coffee is very strong and taken with family on Sundays and holidays. Everyone sits together to enjoy," he said.

The ceremony takes place on a small platform flanked by pretty mesob straw baskets (that, traditionally, would hold injera) and carpeted with artificial grass to replicate strewn grass cuttings.

Next to a hot plate, there's an intricately carved and scrolled cabinet holding a tray of a half-dozen demitasse cups; like those used to drink espresso but without handles.

Heady, aromatic incense smoulders as the piping hot coffee, similar to Turkish coffee, is poured. Popcorn, the traditional snack served with the hot coffee, nicely tempers the beverage's strength and moderates its acidity.

Traditionally served by a woman who might wear special garments, the ceremony is, again, a communal one for family and friends.

Tefsa's daughter, Ruta Naizgi, a local high school student, says the ceremony is a way to share her culture with others.

"I want to tell them that the coffee is good. It's very strong and tasty. A couple of friends from school tried it, and they all loved it," Naizgi sayid.

If you love coffee, the Ethiopian style is a treat to try.

Taste of the Caribbean

While Ethiopia and Jamaica are separated by 12,000 kilometres, in Waterloo region that span is only about 150 metres. Step out of Rades, cross the street, head to the upstairs food stands at the Kitchener Market, and you'll find The Caribbean Kitchen.

Started by Esselyne Bell decades ago, the Caribbean takeaway stand is now owned and operated by Nicky Amos.

Formerly in banking, Amos followed her passion for food and cooking. She serves a menu of about a dozen items, including jerk chicken, curry goat, oxtail, curried chickpeas and roti.

"It's a mix of my favourites that I tweak from time to time. Our menu is pretty basic," she says. "But they are the popular and typical items that most people want at a Caribbean restaurant."

And some of the most delicious.

Amos reduced the menu significantly during the pandemic and hasn't gotten to a point yet where she has re-introduced other dishes. But pointing out the complexity of foods and cooking in the Caribbean, Amos says that her rotis, filled with curry chicken, curry chickpeas and potato, or jerk chicken are very popular.

The roti itself represents a melding of cultures, she adds.

"I'm Jamaican and roti is a dish that is more eastern Caribbean. Trinidad and Guyana. Those countries delve more into roti, and it wasn't something I necessarily grew up eating," Amos said.

A roti is a scrumptious package formed by a thin, unleavened wheat flatbread that is pan-fried and folded to hold jerk chicken, vegetables or curries — it also holds a cultural crossover.

"It has a background from people who migrated from India and it was perfected in the Caribbean," she says. "It's a nice quick flatbread to make. It goes with a ton of stuff whether you're vegetarian or whether you love meat. It brings people together ... and it's delicious."

Amos sums up something like the roti and other Caribbean dishes as accessible and food that can be either grab-and-go snacks or a communal meal.

"It gives you a warmth inside when you have it. It's comfort food and flavourful but not too spicy," she says. "It's really tasty and always cooked with love. And laughter. It's always a ball with Caribbean food."