Injera Al La American Recipes

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.

INJERA

Steps:

• Mix the teff and 1 cup of the self-rising flour with water in a large container and make a thick dough the consistency of bread dough. Cover with water and let it ferment for 2 to 3 days.
• In a separate container, mix the barley flour with enough water to make a thick dough. Cover with water and let it ferment for 2 to 3 days.
• On the third day, throw the water from both containers. Mix 2 cups of the teff mix with 1 cup of the barley mix, the remaining 1 cup self-rising flour and 4 cups of cold water. Put the mixture in a blender and blend until you get the consistency of a thin pancake batter. Let it stand for 1/2 to 1 hour.
• Heat a griddle over medium heat. Pour 4 ounces of batter on the griddle, spread it by turning the griddle around and let it cook for about 1 minute. Remove the injera from the griddle and put it in a tablecloth to cool down. Repeat with the batter until you have about 4 ounces left. Keep that in the fridge as a starter for your next batch.

INJERA

Steps:

• Combine flour and baking soda in a large bowl.
• Add club soda, stir well to form a thin batter.
• Heat a large well-seasoned or non-stick griddle until hot. Brush lightly with oil or ghee.
• Using a large cup or ladle, begin on the outside of the griddle and pour in a circle around the inside edges until the center is filled. Quickly tilt the griddle back and forth to fill in any holes and spread evenly. As if making crepes.Cook for 1-2 minutes, until surface is spongy and filled with tiny air bubbles. Do not flip the bread - just slide off griddle onto a large plate. Continue cooking injera until batter is used, transferring them to the plate as they are done. Arrange them around the outside edges of the plate so that the centers overlap. Serve immediately with a meat or vegetable stew.

INJERA

Steps:

• Begin by making a sponge or yeast starter: In a large non-reactive bowl or plastic jug with a lid, sift a generous 2 cups (9 oz/250 g) of the flour and, using your hands, begin slowly working in about 1 cup (250 ml) of water until you have a very moist, squishy dough without any lumps-it should take about 5 minutes. Pour over½ cup (125 ml) water so that the mixture is entirely submerged, then tightly cover and let it rest for four days at room temperature.
• The mixture will have separated into two layers: a thick, yeasty sponge on the bottom and a watery layer on the top. Carefully pour off and discard the watery top layer so that only the sponge underneath remains. You will need only a portion of this sponge to progress. You can use the leftover sponge to make successive batches of injera; it will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for several days.
• In a large non-reactive bowl, measure out 1 cup (250 ml) of the sponge. Using your hands, mix in the remaining 41/s cups (1 lb 2 oz/500 g) of flour and½ cup (125 ml) of water. When you start smelling a pleasantly sour aroma, gradually add a generous 1 ½ cups (375 ml) of water. Once the mixture is smooth, with no lumps, pour about 1 % cups (400 ml) of water on top; do not stir in this layer of water. Cover tightly and let the mixture rest for three days at room temperature.
• After three days, remove the lid and take a look. The batter may bubble and smell sour-these are good signs. However, if you see any bits of mold develop on the surface, scoop out and discard. Pour off and discard the watery liquid layer on top and reserve what is left: this is the base batter.
• Make the absit. In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup (250 ml) of water to a boil. Whisk in ½ cup (125 ml) of the base batter and½ cup (125 ml) of water. When this mixture begins to thicken and bubble, remove it from the heat. It should have the consistency of thin cooked oatmeal. Let it cool to just warm. This mixture is called absit.
• Mix the absit into the bowl with the base batter to create a final batter. The mixture should have a consistency mid-way between a crepe and pancake batter. If it is too thick, stir in a little additional room-temperature water. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it rest for about 2 hours, until bubbles have begun to form on the surface. The bubbles are the sign that the final fermentation has occurred and that the injera batter is ready to be cooked.
• To cook the injera, use a non-stick crepe pan or skillet, or large, traditional mitad. Moisten a paper towel with oil and wipe the surface, then place the pan over medium-high heat.
• When the pan is hot, use a spouted measuring cup to scoop ½-1 cup (125-250 ml) of the batter, depending on the size of the pan (a standard 11 inch/28 cm crepe pan will take about¼ cup/175 ml of batter). For a large mitad, use about twice as much batter. Work quickly and carefully in order to pour the batter evenly around the pan. Starting at the outside edge of the cooking surface-going clockwise if you are right-handed or counterclockwise if you are left-handed-pour the batter in a thin stream and in one continuous motion in a spiral formation, without overlapping, until you end at the very center. There might be some batter left over in the scoop. While not traditional, if using a crepe pan, swirl the pan if needed to evenly distribute the batter.
• Cook undisturbed until bubbles have begun to form on the surface of the injera and the batter begins to set. When about 75 percent of the surface batter has changed color, 45 seconds-11/2 minutes, cover the pan with a large lid. (A glass lid is helpful here as it allows you to check the doneness of the injera without uncovering.) Cook until the edges of the injera begin to curl, the top is quite dry, and the injera has released from the bottom of the pan, from 30 seconds-l 1/2 minutes (it might be longer with a larger mitad). Do not flip the injera.
• When cooked, use a long thin spatula and a thin plate or piece of cardboard to transfer the injera to a flat basket or a large plate lined with parchment paper without breaking.
• Remove any stray dough from the cooking surface, and then apply more oil as necessary and reheat. (After the first few injera, lower the heat to medium-low.) Continue making them in the same way, layering each injera on top of the last on the basket or plate as they are finished. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before placing another on top, and allow all to rest for at least 30 minutes before serving. Cover any leftovers loosely with plastic wrap and they will keep for about 2 days.

INJERA AL LA AMERICAN

Steps:

• Combine the flour pancake mix and baking soda in a deep bowl. Stirring constantly with a whisk or spoon pour in the club soda and water in a slow stream and continue to stir until the mixture is a smooth thin cream.
• Strain the batter through a fine sieve set over a clean bowl pressing down hard on any lumps with the back of a large spoon. Cook the injera in a 10 inch skillet or omelette pan with a non-stick cooking surface or a well-seasoned 10 inch cast iron skillet.
• Warm the ungreased pan over moderate heat until it is just hot enough to set the batter without browning it. To test the heat pour 1 tablespoon of the batter into the centre of the pan. The bottom surface should solidify immediately without becoming brown.
• For each injera remove the pan from the heat and ladle in 1/4 cup of the batter. Then quickly tip the pan back and forth to cover the bottom evenly. Cover the pan partially and cook the bread over moderate heat for 1 minute or just until the top is spongy moist and dotted with tiny air holes. The bottom should be smooth dry and somewhat shiny.
• Do not let the bottom brown; otherwise the edges may become too crisp. Remove the pan from the heat and use a spatula or your fingers to lift the injera gently out of the pan. Lay it on a plate to cool and ladle another 1/4 cup of batter into the pan tipping and spreading the batter evenly.
• Repeat the cooking process and when the next injera is done transfer the cooled bread to a platter and place the hot injera on the plate. Continue making the breads in the same fashion with the remaining batter.
• To serve spread 7 or 8 injera out in a shallow or flat basket or on a large platter letting them overlap each other and rape over the edge of the container. Fold the rest of the injera into quarters and arrange them attractively in the centre. To eat them tear off a small piece and use it to scoop up food.
• In Ethiopia injera is served with almost every meal and is a traditional accompaniment to such dishes as doro wat sik sik wat and zilzil alecha.