By Pam Starr, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – The chefs at Tana Ethiopian Cuisine in East Liberty go through more than 200 pounds of onions every week.

Since most of the stews are onion-based, and onions are a big staple in Ethiopian food, it’s easy to see how they can use so much of the pungent vegetable.

Another huge item is berebere, an imported Ethiopian red pepper spice, which is commonly used in just about everything.

“All of our spices come from Ethiopia,” says owner Seifu Haileyesus, who hails from Addis Ababa, the country’s capital. “Berebere gives the dishes their rich color and the spiciness of the food.”

The 92-seat Tana Ethiopian Cuisine opened in January on Baum Boulevard, right down the street from another Ethiopian restaurant. But Haileyesus isn’t worried about the competition.

“Business attracts other businesses,” says Haileyesus, who was a business student at Robert Morris University, then worked as a small business consultant for eight years, then a bank, before opening Tana. “We are creating more jobs. Shoppers have options. I see it as an opportunity.”

It’s a family affair at Tana, with Haileyesus’s older sister, Abebech Haileyesus, working as the head chef. Martha Vasser is his cousin and the restaurant’s manager. She also helps out in the kitchen when needed. There are about 12 employees, and the restaurant serves around 50 to 60 dinners a night on weekends.

“Ethiopian food is eaten with your hands, but we do have forks and knives,” Vasser says. “Our entrees are served on a bed of injera, which is traditional Ethiopian bread. It is made with teff, an indigenous grain, and wheat.”

Injera looks like a large, spongy pancake. It is made by fermenting the teff and water for a few days, then adding wheat flour and mixing until it resembles pancake batter. After sitting a day in the refrigerator, the injera is cooked on a hot skillet for 20 seconds.

“You break off pieces of the injera and scoop up the vegetables with it,” Vasser says. “Most people come here just for the vegetarian meals we have.”

All of Tana’s entrees, including beef, lamb and chicken, are cooked in a hot berebere sauce or a milder turmeric sauce and served on injera or rice. One of the most popular entrees is tikil gomen, which Seifu Haileyesus describes as a “delectable mix of cabbage and carrots, slowly simmered in sauteed onions and fresh garlic.”

Diners also can find collard greens, simmered with minced onions, fresh garlic and ginger.

Tables at Tana are covered in tablecloths with red, green and yellow stripes — the colors of the Ethiopian flag. Authentic Ethiopian artifacts and artwork adorn the bright yellow walls. The hardwood floors gleam from a fresh cleaning.

“I make sure our guests are comfortable,” Haileyesus says. “I feel like you are coming to my home. It’s important to have respect for people.”

He says he doesn’t cook, because, in Ethiopia, only the women learn how to cook from their mothers and grandmothers.

“Outside work is for the men,” he says with a smile. “It’s our culture that every woman knows how to cook. I’m good at washing the dishes and the floor.”

Meal times are very important in Ethiopia, Martha Vasser says, because eating is a communal activity. It’s actually insulting if you’re in someone’s house and you don’t eat what is offered to you.

“Nobody eats alone,” she says. “We have a saying — if you eat alone, you die alone.”

Abebech Haileyesus, who does not speak English, chose to share her famous Misir Wot vegetarian entree with Cooking Class. It is a delicious warm dish made with split lentils, onions, oil, ginger, garlic, water and a whopping 1 cup of berebere, or Ethiopian red pepper.

The dish is very spicy, but is tempered by the injera, which has a more bland taste.

Injera cannot be bought in Pittsburgh, Haileyesus says, but sometimes he sells it from the restaurant to certain customers.

“You can buy injera and berebere in Washington, D.C., but not here,” he says. “But you can order them online.”

Misir Wot

• 2 cups split lentils

• 6 cups water, more for boiling

• 2 cups chopped onions

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable or olive oil

• 1 cup berebere, an Ethiopian red pepper spice blend (see recipe)

• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

• 1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic

• 1/4 teaspoon black cumin (can substitute ground coriander)

•Salt, to taste

ט cups cooked rice

Wash the lentils (see photo 1) and put aside. If preferred, lentils can be boiled for 5 minutes, until tender.

Cook the chopped onions, adding oil (see photo 2) and stirring gently until golden brown (see photo 3), adding a little water as needed to prevent sticking.

Add berbere, ginger, garlic and black cumin and salt to taste (see photo 4). Stir until well-mixed and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add lentils to the pan (see photo 5). Add reserved water, stirring to prevent sauce from sticking to the pan as you let simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve on rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Berebere

Berebere is a chile-and-spice blend used to season many Ethiopian dishes. Because authentic berbere can be hard to find, we developed our own recipe. This recipe comes from Epicurious.com.

Berebere keeps in an airtight container, chilled, for 3 months.

• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek (available at Penzeys Spices in the Strip District)

• 1/2 cup ground dried New Mexico chiles

• 1/4 cup paprika

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Finely grind fenugreek seeds in an electric coffee or spice grinder. Stir together with remaining ingredients until combined well.

Makes about 1 cup.