Amel & Anwar
27 November – 4 January 2026
This winter, Amel & Anwar bring the flavours of Ethiopia and Eritrea to Plein. Warm up with the deep, aromatic dishes of the Habesha kitchen.
On the menu you’ll find injera, a light, slightly sour flatbread made from gluten-free teff flour, served with dishes such as addes (a red lentil stew), fragrant kulwa, hamli (with kale), or other spiced vegetables. You’ll also taste himbasha, a lightly sweet festive bread, and tesmi: butter infused with spices and a deep, nutty flavour.
The buna ceremony
After a meal, it’s common to follow with a traditional coffee ceremony. Buna means both coffee and ceremony. The beans are roasted and ground on the spot, then brewed in a jebena (coffee pot). Traditionally there are three rounds served: abol, tona and baraka - the last meaning “blessing.”
Eating with your hands
Injera tastes best when you eat it with your hands. You scoop the dishes using a piece of flatbread. Before and after the meal you wash your hands, it’s part of the ritual. You can also offer a bite to the person next to you: gursha, a gesture of love, respect or friendship.
Habesha flavours in Rotterdam
Since the 1980s, the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities in the Netherlands have grown, especially in Rotterdam, The Hague and Amsterdam. Food became a way to hold on to identity and build community. Restaurants turned into gathering places, and slowly more people in the Netherlands discovered the richness of the Habesha kitchen.
Did you know there is now a Rotterdam-made tesmi? Made with Dutch butter, this tesmi is so well-loved that it’s used by Habesha communities across Europe, and even in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
And around Genna (Orthodox Christmas), you’ll often find panettone on the table in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Italian festive bread arrived during colonial and occupation periods, and stayed. Today, you can find it in shops in Asmara, Addis, and now also in Rotterdam.
On the 1e Middellandstraat, Amel & Anwar run their own Habesha Store. A cultural and culinary treasure trove, and a meeting place for the community.
About Mooncake
Mooncake.nl is the platform of food journalist and writer Jonneke de Zeeuw. She celebrates the flavours of the street, the city and the world – and shines a light on food cultures and the stories behind them through videos, TV segments, books, essays and articles. Her work reveals just how rich, surprising and super-diverse the culinary landscape of the Netherlands has become.
Mooncake's Jonneke de Zeeuw © Mitchell van Voorbergen
