- 1.unisys.com (Gayle Koszegi)
10 Sep
Someone requested a recipe for injera. I found this recipe in the Lassen
Family Natural Foods newsletter of August 1993; I haven't tried it yet, but it
looks like fun. Judging from the source, I would guess that you can find the
main ingredient in health food stores.
Text and recipe copied/paraphrased without permission.
Teff is the staple grain of Ethiopia. The grain yields a seed much smaller
than the size of a wheat grain, but is the basis of Ethiopian traditional
cookery. Teff flour is the main ingredient of the pleasantly sour pancakelike
bread known as injera, which literally underlies every Ethiopian meal.
To set an Ethiopian table, one lays down a circular injera on top of which the
other food is arrayed, directly, without any plate. Other injeras are served
on the side and torn into pieces to be used as grabbers for the food on the
"tablecloth" injera. Eventually, after the meal is finished, you eat the
tablecloth, a delicious repository of the juices from the food that has been
resting on it.
Nutrition-minded Americans have turned to teff as a source of calcium, fiber,
and protein. It is also an alternative grain for people allergic to the
gluten in wheat. It has an appealing, sweet, molasses-like flavor, and it
boils up into a gelatinous porridge.
INJERA
3/4 cup teff, ground fine
blender after moistening in 3 1/2 cups water)
salt
sunflower or other vegetable oil
1. Mix ground teff with 3 1/2 cups 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. The fermenting mixture should be the consistency
of pancake batter (which is exactly what it is).
2. Stir in salt, a little at a time, until you can barely detect the taste.
3. Lightly oil an 8- or 9-inch skillet (or a larger one if you like). Heat
over medium heat. Then proceed as you would with a normal pancake or crepe.
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.
4. Cook briefly, until holes form in the injera and the edges lift from the
pan. Remove and let cool.
10 to 12 injeras.
