By: yameral

yameral — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 12:31:07 +0000

I thank you for what you wrote about injera cooking. It is very interesting. Can you pls tell me what the use of ‘absit’ it is an amharic word for injera cooking step.
I am trying to cook injera by your way.

Thank you

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 20:16:34 +0000

wow! I would love to meet you and learn a few Ethiopian cooking tips. Thank you for this wonderful guide to baking Ingera bread

By: Paulina Heiligenthal

Paulina Heiligenthal — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:37:46 +0000

Since 2 months I’m taking very good care of my beloved “daughter” Rahel from Addis Ababa, who got a difficult eye surgery an both eyes, because of her Diabetes I, here in Germany.
To protect her eyes (mow much better), her kidneys(not that good) and more than this her young life, I have a very urgent question about injira.
Who of you can tell me about the KE or BE of tradiotionelly injera????
We keep her values now in a good balance with the big help in a special Diabetes-clinic , but, before leaving to A.A., I want to be sue about this and advice her how to go on in her Home-country………….
Thanks a lot for helping me in this way to save Rahels life! Best regards

By: Zsuzsa

Zsuzsa — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 02:52:00 +0000

Hi
Although I am originally Hungarian, I live in Israel in an Ethiopian “ghetto” with my Ethiopian boyfriend. I am a very curious and open minded person due to my travelings in my life, and I also love to cook, so naturally I immediately started to get involved with the Ethiopian culture, and cooking.
My answer to Charles and Darlene is that there are 3 kinds of Teff – the white one that grows mostly in the highlands of Ethiopia is the best quality but is the lowest in Iron; the brown Teff is a medium quality, and the red one is the lowest quality of all 3 of them, yet has the highest Iron level. Charles, what you need to find out is which kind is available where you are getting it, and you should aim for the white one. Darlene, I assume that what you have is the brown Teff, which does end up a bit darker than these on the picture, and I would even say that it has a greenish color to it – am I right? Anyhow, Injera should NOT be left outside, as heat or dry temperatures will ruin it’s quality, and the Injera will turn dark with white dry spots on it. The longer the Injera dough and bread stand, the more sour the taste will become.
I totally disagree with the above described cooking process of the Injera, but I agree that some people do use this technique. But to get Injera right you should first make a solid dough. The Teff flour and dry yeast powder must be added together with no salt, but with a pinch of “Avesh” which is another Ethiopian grain. Unfortunately I am don’t know what this is in English, but I do know that it helps creating those bubbles in the Injera. The texture of the dough should be like a simple doughnut dough. When you get this texture, you must leave the dough alone for at least a day so it and raise – you will experience a sharp sour smell in your home if you did it right. The next step is to add some more water to the dough until you get a liquid texture, just like the one you’d use for pancakes, but a bit thicker. You leave this for another day or two before you can actually start making the Injera bread. Ethiopians usually use a large plastic container for the “Buho”, which is the correct word for the Injera dough. When you first open the container you will see that your Buho has a black water on the top, and it looks as if it’s boiling – don’t worry, it is a good sign. Just mix it, and you will see that it quickly gets it original texture back, only that there will be many tiny air bubbles in the Buho. You now can get your frying pan, which must be flat, and the larger is the better. NO OIL should be used what so ever, and NOTHING, not even water can be added to the Buho from this point on, as it will ruin the Buho, and there will be no holes on your Injera. The Frying pan should be on the highest flames, and you should at no point cool it down with water. In stead, you need to use the same Avesh powder on your pan, as you did in the dough. Put a pinch on the pan and with a moist but not wet rug rub the entire surface of the pan to get it all clean and spotless and it’ll also help your Injera to get more holes, or “eyes” as the Ethiopians say. You now can apply the Buho onto the pan starting from the edges, going around the pan and covering it’s surface all with the Buho. Do not touch, don’t try to spread it, just watch how the heat will make those eyes pop. I usually wait till almost all the eyes are out before I cover the pan, because many times covering the Injera too early stops the eye popping, and the Injera ends up with flat spots with no eyes on them. You need to prepare a table with a plastic cover so you can lay each Injera one by one to cool down, cause when you get it out the pan it is still very sticky and soft on the bubbly side. You do not turn the Injera in the pan, and it is done well if it slides out the pan on it’s own, without any force or pulling. You should not put the Injera breads on top of each other until they totally cool down, cause they still release steam while hot, and can ruin the whole process of cooling and drying. You can put a fresh and hot Injera on top of one that is already dry and cold. You will know that the Injera is ready, when you can see that it’s edges are no longer stuck to to pan, and if you lift the pan and move it around the Injera can freely slide out of the pan.
That is it. To store the Injera bread you can put the already dry and cool Injeras on top of each other on a plate, but you must make sure to cover them with a plastic rap and some kind of a lid, so the would not go bad. Do not put Injera in your fridge. When you see that the Injera turned dark, greenish or grayish ( some times purplish), or have tiny white dry spots on it, it is a sign that your Injera is no longer good. Fresh Injera should not be sour at all.
Tho those who live in Israel, the Teff flour in Amharic (that is the language Ethiopians use most commonly, along with Tigerish for example) is also Teff, so if you go to any Ethiopian store, you can just ask for it as “Tf” for Buho. It should cost you some where between 12-15 NIS per kilo, but if you get it in an original sack, which is 30 kilo, you should get it for 300 NIS, and that is a common price for the large sack. I know it is a lot of flour but keep in mind that unlike other grains and cereals, Teff is actually disliked by insects and pasts due to its sour taste, so storage is not a problem even in hot areas. Also, you should know that your first couple of times of making Injera will be for sure unsuccessful, as the Buho must “get to know” both the plastic container it is being stored at, and the pan that will be used for making it. I am not sure of the reason and the explanation on why this is like this, but it is one of the first things I was taught when I learned to cook Ethiopian foods. By today I am being refereed to as the white Ethiopian, cause I cam make most of their foods, and I take part in many Ethiopian rituals, like roasting my coffee beans for the blessings of the elder, or having “Kuve” a get together for friends and family. Should you have any more questions, or be interested in more recipes, I am here to share

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:51:44 +0000

Teff can be found in ethiopian spice and grain stores, wherever there is a sizable Ethiopian population. I have made ingera only once with the supervision of my friend so I am no expert. The ingera was a light tan color, not white at all (although it may look like that in the pictures). Ayala set the heat to medium and cooled her pan between each batch by putting it upside down under a running stream of water. It took about 3 minutes for the bread to set if I remember correctly. Next time I am there I should take a video of it. good luck

Comments on: Ingera, Ethiopian Flat Bread

By: yameral

By: Sarah

By: Paulina Heiligenthal

By: Zsuzsa

By: Sarah