Injera. The delicious, slightly sour tasting, spongy flat bread which forms the base for many Ethiopian recipes. Also found in Eritrea and other East African cuisines injera is a big, round, soft cushion of pancake-like goodness that is torn off to scoop up an array of tasty, often spicy, stews. I was first introduced to East African cooking years ago when I started seeing a guy from Somalia. We would go to a couple of the local Ethiopian restaurants, The Abyssinian or The Addis Ababa Cafe quite often and I found some recipes online to try at home. The relationship didn’t last but my taste for East African dishes remained. My favourite being injera.
So my introduction to this delicious, exotic flat bread happened in about 2004/2005. Ten years later I have finally managed to make what is a pretty good injera. Granted, there were a few years in between where I completely gave up and didn’t give the making of my own injera another thought. I put it in the too hard basket. First of all, traditional recipes call for the use of Teff flour. Being that I am in Adelaide, South Australia with a comparably smaller population of East African immigrants than the rest of the country, this was impossible to find. I could have ordered in online I guess, but once again, too hard basket.
After moving back to the southern suburbs the drive to pick up injera from anywhere became a little too far to be considered practical. Who really wants drive across town for at least half an hour to pick up dinner? (I have done it on occasion. You know those “I-have-a-craving-that-must-be-satisfied” occasions). So I have continued to try to make my own injera with many, many failed attempts. I could never seem to get the texture right and getting it to cook through without it sticking to the pan was evading me. Like most things in life, it turns out that one of the simplest recipes I stumbled across and a little more patience was all that was needed. Some recipes call for cooking the injera on a mitad, a large cast iron cooking pan. I don’t have one of these but have found using a large non-stick frying pan does the trick. When making this up the first time I didn’t really get that sour taste, but if you save some of the batter mixture and keep it like any other sour dough starter this can be achieved next time. I also think the flour used would contribute to this but as I said before, I couldn’t find Teff flour.
So, without further a do, here is my injera recipe. I believe it is close to the one in Dorinda Hafner’s book “A Taste of Africa”.
Makes approx 15 Flat Breads
Ingredients
1-1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast (equal 1 tablespoon fresh yeast) 4-1/4 cups lukewarm water 2 cups self-rising flour
Method
Soak the yeast in 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water and let stand to froth, about 10 minutes. Stir gently to ensure the yeast has dissolved.
Using a large, nonstick skillet or frying pan, dry roast the flour over low to medium heat, stirring continuously to prevent burning. It takes patience, but it is worth it. It helps the yeast work better and makes the injera smell so good!
Roast the flour for about 10 minutes, and tip in into a large bowl. Allow the flour to cool a little, then stir in the yeast mixture and the 4 cups of lukewarm water. It is important that the temperature of the mix is only lukewarm, or the yeast will die and the injera will not work. Use your hand or a fork to mix into a smooth batter.
Cover the injera batter with a clean dish towel and set aside for 20 minutes. It is normal for the dough to smell slightly “fermented”.
Heat a large, non-stick skillet or frying pan on medium heat to high heat. It is important to use an absolutely clean, unblemished skillet to keep the injera from sticking. You do not need any oil. Stir through the “proved” injera batter to mix any sediment that has gathered at the bottom of the bowl while the batter was “proving”. Scoop a medium-sized soup ladle of the batter, and gently pour it into the hot skillet. Swirl the batter gently in the skillet to totally cover the base, like a pancake batter.
Decrease the heat to medium and gently cook the injera. Allow it to firm similar to a pancake. Unlike a pancake, however, injera does need to be tossed or turned. Instead, use a spatula to gently lift the edges as they firm to the state of readiness. Cook each injera for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the injera cooks and sets (it sometimes takes a little longer and requires some patience), you will be able to see a slight change in colour. The consistency should be lacy, chewy soft, and pliable. Carefully lift out the cooked injera and place it on a flat tray or large plate.
Wipe the skillet clean with a damp cloth, reheat it, and continue the cooking process with the remaining batter until all the injera is made. You can place sheets of waxed paper between the rounds of injera as they are made, to separate and keep them from sticking together but as they cool I find them pretty easy to manage. Save a ladle of uncooked batter for the next batch.
Can be served immediately or when cooled. Injera is usually eaten with stews such as Doro Wat (Spicy Chicken Stew), Lamb or Beef Tibs, or any of the wonderful vegetable and lentil recipes easily found online.
Depending on how you like to serve it you can eat it off a large communal plate which is traditional or serve up separately where your guests can help themselves to an array of dishes. Delicious!
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