Recent Posts
-
Admin
Apr
9
Wheat Injera
April 9, 2008 | 41 Comments
Injera is the famous African crepe made with teff, an ancient grain grown in the Ethiopian highlands. It grows on an annual grass and is similar to millet and quinoa in cooking, but the seed is much smaller.
Our wheat injera is a rather tasty knockoff.
Injera is not only a kind of bread—it’s also an eating utensil.In Ethiopia and Eritrea, this spongy, sour flatbread is used to scoop up meat and vegetable stews. Injera also lines the tray on which the stews are served, soaking up their juices as the meal progresses. When this edible tablecloth is eaten, the meal is officially over.
Injera is made with teff, a tiny, round grain that flourishes in the highlands of Ethiopia. While teff is very nutritious, it contains practically no gluten. This makes teff ill-suited for making raised bread, however injera still takes advantage of the special properties of yeast. (Source)
Teff is a major draw in gluten-free cooking. More about the flavour and nutritional value of teff HERE. It’s the bedrock of the diet that produces Olympic-level athletes.
Teff is the only grain to have symbiotic yeast. Like grapes, the yeast is on the grain so no yeast is added in the preparation of injera.
Here’s how Ethiopians prepare injera. What’s fascinating is the use of fenugreek seeds (abish in Amharic, methi in Hindi) to aid the rising of the batter. Fenugreek seeds are a wild yeast magnet, like teff, and are also used to aid the rising of Indian naturally leavened flatbreads like dosas.
Giant injera baskets are designed specifically to hold these flatbreads.
So what’s our sorry excuse for not using the real thing? Let’s see.
1. “We couldn’t find teff”. Now, that’s the mother of all tall tales. While poking around the internet, we found that one of the largest manufacturers of teff in the country is situated a 30-minute drive from our home. Yeah, we have fields of teff in our vicinity that we never knew of. Some folks’ neighbours grow marijuana in pots. Ours grow acres of teff. While people pay a fortune in shipping to get teff to their doorsteps, all we have to do is get our lazy butts into the car and drive to the farm.
2. “It’s damn difficult to make”. That’s more like it. We’re the ones who can’t get anything to ferment in our home. Trying to make injera the natural way would be a foolhardy venture.
We read on a couple of sites that while injera made in Ethiopia is still usually 100% teff, in Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants abroad, they use equal portions of teff and wheat flour (usually refined).
On this Eritrean site, the substitute for teff was cited as 1 part maize (corn) to 3 parts self-raising flour.
We used that as the starting point and created our own wholegrain version with sourdough starter.
The result? Soft, spongy, tasty injera.
NOTE: If you don’t want to make sourdough starter from scratch, get it from Friends of Carl. They charge nothing (except postage) and ship internationally.
CHEAT WHEAT INJERA with tomato chutney
Mix together
1/4 cup (2 ounces) stiff sourdough starter
1 cup wholewheat flour
1/3 cup wholegrain fine cornmeal (makke ka atta)
and enough filtered water to make a thin batter (like crepe batter).
Cover and let it ferment at room temperature for about 8 hours. The batter will get a bit bubbly. Even if it doesn’t, it’s fine. This process is to develop flavour.
Just before making the injera, add
salt to taste and
1/2 tsp baking soda.
It will become very foamy.
Heat and oil a non-stick pan. The batter should be thin enough to ensure that when you put 1/2 cup of it on a medium hot pan and twirl the pan around, it should spread evenly.
Cover and cook on medium for a few minutes. It needs to cook only on side side, so make sure that it is not too thick.
Loosen the edges, take if off the pan, and pour the next round of batter. If using non-stick, we use oil only for the first crepe.
Serve with a wot (Ethiopian stew) or chutney.
Wheat Injera is our entry for dear Srivalli‘s Dosa Mela.
Filed Under: Cornmeal, crepe, Ethiopia, injera, Teff, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes
|
41 Comments
OOO I love Injera…perhaps because I stumbled onto an excellent Ethiopian restaurant in DC. My parents went on this complex carbs diet and Injera (store bought) became an every week indulgence. Fee me Injera and any spicy curry, especially Kerala ishtew and I am in foodie heaven :drool: Thanks for sharing the recipe…will definitely be trying it out at home and pass the recipe own to my mom
This looks so fabulous!!! I would love to try this…
What an dish!..thanks for the entry..as usual it looks lovely from you..
These are looking fabulous! Wheat dosa in a new avtar!
Need need need to make this. Looks Really good, and now I don’t have to go searching for the mythical teff.
That looks great. I love injera, but finding sourdough starter in India might prove to be very difficult. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
OOOO, never heard of it.. ;;) looks like a dosa..Yummy!.. :drool:
Siri
I tried making these once, but were crispy instead of being soft. In fact, I let them ferment for 24 hours. Guess I have to start the starter.
Great to learn another new recipe. They look like crepes. I got ur feed now, i too have the same issue with Taste of India from past one month!
new to me :huh: but looks so yumm and delicious :yes:
Hi Jay and Bee,
I have been a silent spectator of your awesome :bow: blog for a while now.
I really liked your red curry and green curry recipes which have now become staples in our house. I always learn so much on your blog..Its like a blog version of Alton Brown.
Additionally, please let me know if it would be okay to include your blog in my blog roll.
Thanks!
:bow: something new to learn ….everytime… from ur blog!
Injera, looks like soft-soft dosai!!!
Wow!!! Now, that’s a mind blowing entry! You guys rock with your creativity! :bow:
I was beaming when I saw this post until I came to the ingredient stiff sour-dough starter – I guess I can’t make the injera as soon as I want it. I have never had luck with making Injeras – I’ve tried it with AP, buckwheat flours, using instant method and fermentation, but it’s been a disaster everytime. I hope I can kill 2 birds with this recipe – both the sourdough starter (again, no luck there) and the injera. Thanks!
I always wondered why fenugreek was used in making idlis and now I know why.
get the sourdough starter mailed to you by friends of carl. we’ve added the link to this post. -b.
Excellent use of the starter! BTW, I have a (kannadiga) aunt who uses her electric heating pad to coax idli batter to ferment / yoghurt to set and other such southie endeavors.
Smita
we tried that stupid pad as well. does nothing.
our house is spehshul. at the next house we move to, before making an offer, we’re gonna test idli batter.
I could eat these if I made with Teff. Thats funny about nothing fermenting at your house. Things seems to ferment very quickly at mine!
It looks like wheat dosa, wonder how it will taste. Kudos to both of you for exploring such exotic recipes.
I usually ferment my idli batter by turning on the oven for 10 minutes and place the vessel inside the oven immediately. The idlis come out very well. Or I plan accordingly to grind for idli/dosa on the same day when I’m gonna bake something or atleast prepare store bought frozen french fries. By doing this I need not waste electricity just to turn on the oven to ferment the batter. I prepare the idli batter before baking and soon as done with baking, I place the batter inside the oven. This also works fine.
What a wonderful idea to use the sourdough starter! I constantly struggle with the fermentaion part too. Tried many things but it’s a hit-or-miss kinda thing. It mainly works on prayers, I think!
Love injera but never knew about teff! Thanks for a nice post!
I have always wanted to make injera. One Indian grocery here sells this bread fresh and it looks similar, but a little thicker. I ought to ask whether they use teff exclusively. The wheat version looks great — esp. that first photo with all the holes. Sourdough helps in the rising, for those of us in cold climates.
Yum
Fascinating all around! I never knew of the rising properties of fenugreek, let alone even heard of Teff. You guys are right smack in the middle of some agricultural goldmines…pot & teff. Hmmm, I’m actually more excited about the teff!
This looks very much like a soft version of a Vietnamese crispy crepe, called banh xeo. For the rising agent in this batter, we use beer. As a matter of fact, this was our dinner !
Ooh, that injera looks amazing. And I was so intrigued to hear about the use of fenugreek. Thanks for the lesson!
I *just* ate. And now I’m hungry again. Wonder who is to blame.
:devil:
I’ve been craving injera ever since some friends had an ethiopian cookout a few weeks ago. And now you’ve given me the perfect cheat recipe. Yay! :dance:
Thanks for the information, I had no idea about injera,dish looks very tempting and healthy too !!!.
Using sourdough starter to make dosas is such a Jugalbandi-ish thing to do.
:bow:
Those were fabulous Bee! They look like soft appam’s. When we were in Cuddalore my grandma used to ferment the appam batter using “kallu” (palm wine) and the appams would look like exactly these. As u have problem with fermenting, in my home the yeast makes me wild by not at all rising
how abt Friends of Food bloggers (read Jugalbandi) sending me a pack of starter sans shipping and packaging cost :angel: :bruised:
u both rock :yes:
New to me, but then one learn always.
new name, new dish and new recipe to me
Hi… This is a very different recipe…
Looks perfect and YUMMY!…. Love the idea….
Had heard of Injera, but didn’t know what went into it. Your posts are always so informative…. Thanx!!
What a lovely – and brave!- idea to make injera from scratch. I love this bread, but the only times I’ve eaten it is in restaurants. Your version looks beautiful.
Thanks for the Friends of Carl link Bee.
Bee, you made injera from scratch? that s just insane!
Oh I love injera’s, back in CA we often use to go to this Ethiopian next to my place. I never found a decent Ethiopian resturant in my va.
I love Injeera! One block away from my home, there is an Ethiopian restaurant.
looks so tempting
Wow – I’ve always just kind of assumed that I just wouldn’t be able to make inerja at home. Thanks for posting this!
I coudnt find teff. Wanted to make injera for a long time.
Hi,
I saw that you also had problems with the feeds appearing on TOI but i guess now thats not an issue. Could you pls let me know whats the soln for this since my feeds have also suddenly stopped apearing on TOI
k
Hi Bee: I recently made a cross between Injera and Dosa. I part Teff grains, 1 part raw rice rice , 3/4th urad daal and a 1 tbs of Methi seeds. Soak, grind , ferment just like for regular Dosas. Salt before turning out into Injesa or Dora LOL
Came out pretty amazing I must say.
Love your blog!