Injera
A large, spongy, slightly sour flatbread with a bubbly surface, made from fermented teff batter. It is both the plate and the utensil: stews are served on top and torn pieces are used to scoop them up.
Injera with eight kinds of stew: Artem.G, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Where it comes from
Injera is the everyday bread of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Teff, a tiny native grain, is fermented for a few days and cooked on a large clay or metal griddle called a mitad.
Explore the cuisine of Ethiopia, Eritrea.
Recipe
Make Injera at home
Ingredients
- 2 cups teff flour
- 2 1/2 cups water, plus more for thinning
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup starter from a previous batch (optional)
- oil for the pan
How it's made
- Whisk teff flour with 2 1/2 cups water (and starter, if you have one) into a smooth batter.
- Cover loosely and ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days, until bubbly and pleasantly sour.
- Stir in salt and enough water to reach a thin crepe-batter consistency.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and brush lightly with oil.
- Pour the batter in a spiral from the outside in; cover and cook 2-3 minutes, until the surface is full of holes and set. Do not flip.
- Cool on a clean towel in a single layer, then stack and serve.
Variations
- Mixed-grain injera: teff blended with barley or sorghum.
- Quick injera: made with self-rising flour and club soda for a same-day version.
Cook’s tip: The batter should be thinner than pancake batter; if it is too thick, the injera will be dense instead of spongy.
Related dishes
Doro watMain dishes · Ethiopia
ShiroMain dishes · Ethiopia
KitfoMain dishes · Ethiopia
LavashBreads · Armenia
NaanBreads · India
About this page
Description and method written by Intercontinental Chef. Home-style method; quantities are a starting point, so adjust to taste.
Photo credit
- Injera with eight kinds of stew: Artem.G, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)