Injera Ethiopian Sour Flatbread Recipes

INJERA (ETHIOPIAN SOUR FLATBREAD)

Steps:

• Repeat until all of the batter is used, spraying the pan with cooking spray as necessary.

INJERA (ETHIOPIAN FLATBREAD)

Steps:

• Teff flour is available from a whole foods store or Northern African markets. Nancy's yogurt is best because of its tartness. You want not-sweet yogurt.
• Whisk (or stir together with your largest fork) the flours, salt & baking soda in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk the yogurt into the club soda, then stir this in the flour mix making a thin, smooth batter. Strain to make sure there a no lumps.
• Pam your largest skillet & heat over medium high heat. Pour about 1/2 cup of batter into the skillet starting in the center & spiraling out. Cook for 20 seconds. (The bread should have a gajillion tiny pinholes in it at this point.) Cover for 30 more seconds. Remove it to a warm platter & cover with a cloth to keep it warm while you cook the rest of the flat breads.
• Lay a piece of the flat bread on the hugest plate you have. In the center of it put a dipper of your finest, zestiest, most mouthwatering thick stew. Now, eat the stew, tearing off pieces of the bread from the sides & scooping up the stew. (Look Ma, no fork!) Need another piece of injera?! Sure you do! It could take 2 or 3 pieces to scoop up all that wonderful stew.
• Once you have gained confidence with this & know your mama isn't going to come make you use a fork, add 2 or 3 more dippers of food. Veggies. Green beans & carrots & maybe a wilted spinach salad. Of course, you'll need more injera to scoop all that up. But what the heck -- .

ETHIOPIAN FLAT BREAD (INJERA)

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Cover and let set an hour or longer until batter rises and becomes stretchy.
• The batter can sit for as long as 3-6 hours if you need it to.
• When you are ready, stir batter if liquid has settled on the bottom.
• In blender, whip 2 c.
• of batter at a time, thinning it with 1/2-3/4 c.
• water.
• Batter will be quite thin.
• Heat a 10-inch or 12-inch non-stick frying pan over medium to medium-high heat.
• Pour batter into heated pan (1/2 c. if using a 12-inch pan; 1/3 c. if using a 10-inch pan) and quickly swirl pan to spread batter as thin as possible.
• Batter should be no thicker than 1/8 inch.
• Do NOT turn.
• Injera is cooked through when bubbles appear all over the top.
• Lay each Injera on a towel for a minute or two then stack in a covered dish to keep warm.
• (VERY important to rest on towel before stacking!) For those not familiar with Injera, serve it as the"utensil" when serving thick stews.
• Use pieces of injera to scoop or pick up bites of stew-- no double-dipping-- eat your"utensil" each time.

AUTHENTIC INJERA (AKA ETHIOPIAN FLAT BREAD)

Steps:

• Mix ground teff with the water and let stand in a bowl covered with a dish towel at room temperature until it bubbles and has turned sour; This may take as long as 3 days, although I had success with an overnight fermentation; The fermenting mixture should be the consistency of a very thin pancake batter.
• Stir in the salt, a little at a time, until you can barely detect its taste.
• Lightly oil an 8 or 9 inch skillet (or a larger one if you like); Heat over medium heat.
• Pour in enough batter to cover the bottom of the skillet; About 1/4 cup will make a thin pancake covering the surface of an 8 inch skillet if you spread the batter around immediately by turning and rotating the skillet in the air; This is the classic French method for very thin crepes; Injera is not supposed to be paper thin so you should use a bit more batter than you would for crepes, but less than you would for a flapjack pancakes.
• Cook briefly, until holes form in the injera and the edges lift from the pan; Do not let it brown, and don't flip it over as it is only supposed to be cooked on one side.
• Remove and let cool. Place plastic wrap or foil between successive pieces so they don't stick together.
• To serve, lay one injera on a plate and ladle your chosen dishes on top (e.g., a lovely doro wat or alicha). Serve additional injera on the side. Guests can be instructed to eat their meal without utensils, instead using the injera to scoop up their food.