Ethiopian Flat Bread (Injera) the Lazy Way

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african, african cuisine, african food, bread, breads, cooking, cuisine, ethiopia, ethiopian food, ethnic food, fat-free, fiber, food, health, impatience, injera, patience, quick, recipe, recipes, shortcut, stovetop, stovetop cooking, teff flour, tutorial, vegan, vegetarian

note of caution–
this is an impatient woman’s guide to injera: aka, I use what I can find (wheat flour) and take shortcuts when possible (as little wait time as possible)!

Once, in a pubescent season of mediocre geometry quizzes and short boyfriends, I found myself at an Ethiopian restaurant. I didn’t give a squat for what we were eating–though it was delicious and oh-so-succulent. I was more interested in the people walking down Haight Street; my best friend and I giggled about them, and dropped sugar packets surreptitiously at their feet (don’t ask, we were are weird).

In Oakland the other day, I had to find an affordable and lovely restaurant at which to meet my mommy. (The treasured words, “why don’t we grab a bite to eat while we’re down there?” were all I needed to hear.) Friends recommended Cafe Colucci, a small but celebrated spot on Alcatraz and Telegraph. The friendly staff and mouthwatering aromas provided the perfect excuse to order big, which–for two frugal ladies–is a Veggie Combo.

No silverware, no problem.

The fantastic fillings (kale, lentil, eggplant, potato, cauliflower: all with fantastic and unfamiliar spice combos) sat on a spongy sheet of what is known as Injera–Ethiopian flat bread.

Injera is made with a grain known as teff, which is fermented for some time before being cooked on a griddle much like a crepe (only one side, though).

quick injera at home

1. First, you must create some sort of sourdough starter–you may want to read this fantastic post by Debra at Culiblog for help on that…basically, you let your flour/water batter mixture hang out in a warmish place, either fermenting from wild yeast in the air or you can “cheat” and add some storebought stuff. Either way, things will get sour in a few days to a week.
2. When your starter’s in top-notch sourness, measure out a sizeable amount–1/4 C to 1/2 C–intuit this based upon how many breads you want to make.
3. Whisk together your starter plus water, salt, and more flour to reach a crepe-batter consistency.
4. Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet or griddle, and release 1/4 cup scoop of your batter.
5. Mark Bittman says, “Bear in mind that the first crepe almost never works, even for professionals, so discard if necessary”–this runs true for injera too, so don’t despair!
6. You want to swirl the pan enough so you get a nice thin layer–think somewhere between tortilla and crepe consistency.
7. Cover the bread as it cooks, bubbling a bit and rising a little–then remove from heat and plate!
8. You can stuff these with almost anything–their sourdough tartness is nice, and can be accented with other acidic foods like lime juice and tomato.
9. Try adding potato curry, stir-fried kale, or caramelized onions!

(this is a quickie starter-version for those of us impatient folks: for more in-depth steps and authenticity, check some of these fantastic resources)

• Burakaeyae–probably the best injera guide I’ve found!
• The Guardian: Secret to Cooking Injera
• Making Injera, clarified

(photos by the ever-patient and always-talented Galen Phillips)

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