Alice Eaton gets a taste of some traditional Ethiopian cuisine from one of the stars of UKTV Food's The People's Cookbook

IT is a quiet Tuesday afternoon and I am sitting in a London restaurant happily tearing off strips of chicken with my fingers, dipping the succulent meat into its rich dark sauce and getting pretty messy in the process. If my mother could see me now.

But before you begin questioning my upbringing, this is an Ethiopian restaurant offering traditional Ethiopian cuisine and there is only one way it should be eaten - with your fingers and not a knife and fork in sight.

My host is Sefanit Sirak-Kebede, cook and owner of the Tobia restaurant, a popular little eatery tucked away from the main Finchley Road in West Hampstead. Visitors to Tobia should not be put off by its rather unimposing entrance, that at first glance appears to be the entrance to a garage store room, as once inside, a culinary feast awaits you.

Sefanit is the powerhouse behind the establishment, and is as passionate about cooking Ethiopian food as she is about sharing it with her clientele, many of whom, like herself, left their homeland for a life in the UK many years ago. Sefanit came to England at the age of 15 to study at a boarding school, but when the Ethiopian revolution began three years later, her parents were caught on the wrong side and it was too dangerous for her to return.

"My parents' land was confiscated and my mother lost seven of her brothers in just one night," explains Sefanit.

"They lost everything and there was such turmoil that it was impossible for me to return home."

Sefanit went on to study hotel management in Germany, sponsored by the Hilton group, and did eventually return to Ethiopia to work at the Hilton in Addas Ababa.

"Ethiopia was a different place from the country I remembered as a child and I didn't like what I saw. Our family was still not welcome and you had to be very careful what you said otherwise they would get rid of you. I just didn't like it any more."

Sefanit eventually settled in London and, four years ago, opened up her own restaurant, turning a much-loved hobby into a way of life.

"My mother taught me to cook traditional Ethiopian cooking," says Sefanit.

"I didn't have a choice, as a young lady from a good family had to be able to cook. Luckily, I found it interesting and really enjoying the cooking process. My daughter, thankfully, is the same - she loves the food so she has learnt to cook it."

There is no compromise in the food Sefanit serves up to diners - it is fiercely traditional and, for Western palates, the flavours might take a little getting used to. On my visit, Sefanit has prepared a chicken stew called Doro Watt, a typical Ethiopian speciality that "no respectable Ethiopian restaurant can open its door without". The chicken is cooked gently with red onions and clarified butter (a concoction of butter, red onion, coriander, garlic and ginger that is reduced then sieved) until the sauce is thick and dark in colour. The dish comes with a boiled egg and a scoop of spiced cottage cheese with coriander, chopped spinach and more clarified butter, served on a soft and spongy Ethiopian flatbread called injera which is fermented with yeast to give it a slightly sour taste. Under Sefanit's encouragement, I scoop up the food with the flatbread, tearing off a section and picking up a little each of the chicken, sauce and cream cheese. The flavour is intense and not dissimilar to an Indian curry, but without the hot spiciness.

Despite its popularity, the dish is actually very labour intensive as the chicken needs to be soaked in lemon and then frequently washed as part of its preparation.

"A pregnant woman could give birth by the time I've finished preparing the chicken," laughs Sefanit.

"If you have dinner guests and you cook a chicken, it shows that you respect them as you have gone to so much trouble cooking their food."

Sefanit's dish, and her story, caught the eye of the producers of The People's Cookbook, a series on UKTV Food that tells the story of people's lives through their love affair with food. Viewers saw Sefanit at her restaurant demonstrating the intricacies that go into creating the perfect Doro Watt and her recipe can now be seen featured in a spin-off recipe book, priced £14.99 and published by Infinite Ideas. www.infideas.com

If you fancy trying tasting this traditional Ethiopian Dish yourself, book a table at Tobia by calling 020 7431 4213 or visit www.tobiarestaurant.co.uk

Image: The traditional coffee ceremony (coffee originated in Ethiopia) which lasts around 30 minutes and includes roasting the beans in front of the participants and burning frankincense to eliminate bad spirits peacefully. Sefanit pictured left

9:37am Monday 10th December 2007

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