Ethiopian Instant Breadchéchébsa Or Kita Firfir Recipes

ETHIOPIAN INSTANT BREAD(CHéCHéBSA OR KITA FIRFIR)

Steps:

• Place the wheat or teff, barley flour and baking powder in a bowl; mix it well; add to the flour a small amount of water, blend it with hand, gradually adding water, kneading it well until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• In a non-stick medium pancake pan, place the dough; make it flat to cover the pan; using fork, make some small holes; cook it in a lower heat on both sides until golden and crusty.
• Melt the butter in a lower heat; mix with chili pepper (berbere), false cardamom, black pepper and salt.
• Remove the pan-baked bread (Kita) from the heat, cut it in very small pieces.
• Mix the melted-spiced butter and the bread pieces until well combined. Serve it hot.

ETHIOPIAN FIRFIR WITH DRIED BEEF (QUANTA FIRFIR)

Steps:

• Place onions in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, covered, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add vegetable oil and garlic paste; cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Stir 1/2 cup water, dried beef, and berbere seasoning into the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and cook until flavors combine, about 10 minutes. Continue cooking, adding 1/3 cup water every few minutes, until beef is softened and sauce is thick, about 20 minutes. Stir in kibbeh and salt.
• Tear 1 injera into palm-sized pieces; fold gently into the sauce. Serve beef and sauce over whole injera.

CHECHEBSA (ETHIOPIAN BREAKFAST DISH)

Steps:

• 1. Heat oil in a large skillet or griddle.
• 2. Whisk together the flour and salt. Add 1/2 cup water and keep whisking, adding 2 Tbsp more water at a time as needed, and whisking until smooth and the consistency is like a thin pancake batter. Pour the batter into the hot skillet over medium heat. Use the back of a wooden spoon to spread the batter into a single layer to form a large pancake. Cook 2 to 4 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned. Flip the Kita, and cook other side another 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through. Set the cooked Kita aside for a few minutes, to cool.
• 3. Tear the Kita into small (about 1 inch) pieces.
• 4. Add niter kibbeh and berbere to a large skillet, and stir until melted. Add the torn Kita to the skillet and stir well with a wooden spoon until all the pieces are well coated with the spicy butter. Cook for several minutes, or until heated throughout. It should be moist but not mashed (more like the consistency of a savory bread pudding or a moist bread-based stuffing). Spoon into individual bowls and serve immediately with a spoon while still warm. (Some like to top it with a spoonful of yogurt and a pinch of berbere sprinkled over the yogurt, but that's purely optional.)

INJERA (ETHIOPIAN TEFF BREAD)

Steps:

• Mix 1/2 cup white teff flour and brown teff flour together in a bowl. Add 1 cup water and whisk well. Pour mixture into a glass container large enough to hold 3 times the original volume. Cover with cheesecloth or other breathable fabric to keep out dust; do not seal with plastic wrap as air circulation is vital. Leave covered container in a draft-free environment; the mixture needs air to be circulated in order to ferment. Stir batter 2 times over 24 hours.
• Check for bubbles and possibly an increase in volume after 24 hours; there may also be a slightly tangy and sour smell. When you notice these things, add 1 tablespoon white teff flour and 1 tablespoon water to the batter and whisk well. Check in a few hours to see if bubbles have again formed, mixture has increased in volume, and the pungent smell is still evident; if so, the batter is ready and you can skip to the cooking process (step 5).
• Leave batter to rest another 12 hours if the mixture has not begun to form or smell sour after the first 24 hours; stir once during this time. Check to see if bubbles have formed, mixture has increased in volume, and a pungent smell is evident; if so, proceed with step 4.
• Mix together 2 tablespoons white teff flour and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl, making sure there are no lumps. Add mixture to the batter, whisking well. Wait a few hours; batter should be bubbly with a noticeable increase in volume and a pungent but fragrant smell, indicating it is ready to be cooked.
• Heat an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil. Pour a scant 1/2 cup batter slowly and steadily into the hot pan in a circular motion from outside to inside. Cover the pan completely in a spiral without swirling. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, allowing steam to cook the top of the bread, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from pan with spatula and transfer to a plate; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.