About
Our Story:
Hailu & Bersi
Achieving our ambitious goal of opening an Ethiopian Restaurant, is accomplishing a dream that years in the making.
We first began our injera business in 2015, serving quality Injera to the Ethiopian-Eritrean community in NYC. Our injera quickly gained a respectable and loyal customer base, consisting of multiple Ethiopian restaurants, weddings and the local Orthodox church, like Madhanailem.
After 8 years in the injera business, our established reputation and community recognition, enabled was to finally open our own restaurant. Our business’ success, offered us the financial ability to achieve our long held American dream.
We have expertly selected unique ingredients to craft bold flavors, such as our distinctive Berbere recipe, an essential Ethiopian spice. Our infamous NYC injera, freshly made every morning, is our brand icon. Our logo features a Sefed, an injera tray, woven from palm leaves and grass.
Our dishes will all be vegan and plant based. Ethiopia has a long history of veganism, due to coptic fasting dietary regimen, known as the Fetha Negest. There are roughly 252 days of fasting in the Ethiopian calendar, where the faithful follow a vegan diet. We our proud of this cultural legacy, and are excited to bring these millennia old vegan culinary history to your plate!
Teff:
Teff is an ancient grain from Ethiopia, cultivated more than 6,000 years ago. It's considered to be the smallest grain in the world and a superfood, having five times the fiber, and 25 times more calcium than brown rice. Teff is also high in protein with a great combination of the eight essential amino acids needed for the body’s growth and repair. It is also a great gluten free alternative.
There are two primary varieties of teff, white and brown seeds. Grown in the Ethiopian highlands, a mountainous range, providing a cool, crisp climate for Teff to grow. Teff takes anywhere between 45-55 days to grown and be cultivated for consumption.
Teff is then grounded up to make the spongey, sourdough flat bread, known as Injera. The flour of teff is mixed with water and must be fermented for at least a day and a half. The mixture is poured onto a circular griddle, known as a Mitad.