If pictures aren't enough to get me excited about trying a new food, then a good story certainly is. That's the situation right now with injera, a crepe-thin bread that is a staple in Ethiopian cuisine. The book Cutting for Stone describes it like this: "The mark of a native is that your fingers are never stained by the curry; you use the injera as your tongs, as a barrier, while you pick up a piece of chicken or beef sopped in the sauce." Mmmm. You had me at curry and now I need to know more.
Turns out there's nothing quite like injera. Sour and spongy from the typical 5-day fermentation process, it also carries a distinct taste from Ethiopia's native teff flour (which is actually gluten-free, too). The batter is poured right on top of a large black clay plate heated underneath by a wood burning oven. This passage from the book describes the traditional three-stone oven and cooking process.
A woman sold bundles of eucalyptus leaves used as cooking fuel for making injera - the pancake like food made from a grain, teff. [She would] pour batter on a huge flat griddle which sat on three bricks with a fire underneath. When the injera was ready, it would be peeled off like a tablecloth, then folded once, twice, and once more, and stored in a basket.
The large clay plate creates a large disc of injera, which curiously enough is often used as an edible tablecloth for dining. Sauces, wats (Ethiopian stews), and gored-gored (seasoned raw meat) are set right on top and sections of the injera are torn off to scoop up and eat the array of prepared proteins and lentils.
The sourness of the bread pairs well with the spiciness of the African spices (such as Berbere). Both flavors working to harmonize each other. Honey-wine and beer are enjoyed as the injera tablecloth shrinks and is eventually entirely consumed - signifying the end of the meal.
Celebrate African cuisine this week by preparing some of your own injera or by visiting an Ethiopian restaurant in your area to enjoy this deeply-rooted cultural tradition.
More on Injera:
• 10 African-Inspired Recipes
• Naturally Gluten-Free: 5 Flatbreads from Around the World
• All about Gluten-Free Teff
(Images: 1. Flickr user LollyKnit 2. Wikimedia Commons 3. Woman's Day )
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i LOVE that you mentioned that most wonderful book.
Now I'm really hungry! It's all delish but the red lentils in the front may be my favorite. Even kids who won't eat "spicy" usually like the slightly sweet cabbage/carrot stew and the fresh cheese. And what kid doesn't want carte blanche to eat with fingers?
The lack of utensils makes Ethiopian cuisine excellent for picnics, too.
I'm glad to hear the bread is fermented and GF. I think that would make my stomach happy.
What are some good dishes to try on a first visit to an Ethiopian restaurant?
I LOVE Ethiopian food! I have had a hard time finding recipes for some of the dishes pictured, like the cabbage stew or the lentils. I’ve also had Qosta (spinach cooked with onions, garlic and spices), Doro wat (chicken and egg cooked in a spicy berbere sauce) and Lebleb tibs (a crazy delicious dish with beef chunks sautéed with onions, green peppers and spices) and if anyone has a good recipie for them I’d love to make it at home!
I suggest ordering a mixed veg platter plus a meat dish to share. The various versions of tibs (lightly cooked or raw) is our favorite. I adore Ethopian food but the kids have a hard time in the restaurants because they smell so heavily of incense and spice.
Mere-Made: lucky you, I just started working at an Ethipian restaurant and have been able to try lots of delicious stuff. So far, my favorite dishes have been engudai tibs (sauteed mushrooms and onions - it may be the way the chef cooks it, but she absolutely transforms humble ingredients into spectacular eats, case in point), duba wot (butternut squash stew), and a few of our appetizers/sides: ayib be gomen (fresh farmers cheese with collard greens, slathered on injera), and yekkik alicha (yellow lentils).
I will say I have YET to try anything I didn't like (other than a dish called kitfo, which was a personal-preference thing since I'm not a huge fan of ground beef). I say dive in!
Living in the DC area, we have always been inundated with Ethiopian food. I love it, but for anyone who is thinking of eating Ethiopian and is gluten free, call ahead and ask about their injera. Oftentimes the soft, delicious bread is made with a 50/50 teff/wheat flour mix to save on cost...even at the most authentic of spots. If that's not a problem, happy eating! Ethiopian food is one of my favorites!
Love injera. The sourness reminds me of sourdough bread which I love.
Interesting cultural note about eating with your fingers. In cultures where eating with fingers is the norm, you use the right hand. The left hand is never used because one uses the left hand for 'other' (i.e. bathroom type) functions.
I'm really liking the African cuisines theme this week!
Yum! These photos made me hungry! In San Francisco, a great place to try injera is at Assab's Eritrean Restaurant on Geary. The veggie combo is the best (and this is coming from a meat eater).
There used to be an Ethiopean restaurant in my city, but it has disappeared. I miss the food and especially the injera...
Addis Red Sea in Boston is the BEST Ethiopian food I've ever had!
@mere-made
I second the veg platter with a side of meat dish suggested by Judiau. I'm vegetarian, but most of my omni friends prefer vegetarian Ethiopian food.
I love Ethiopian food so much. I'm not Ethiopian, but I consider this comfort food, and it's really not bad for you!
MERE-MADE- Just a warning if you can't eat gluten. A lot of Ethopian restaurants use wheat flour as well as teff in their injera (it's cheaper, and more appealing to western palates). Sometimes restaurants have teff-only injera upon request. Be sure to call ahead to ask :-)
If you want to try a bit of heaven at home, here is my hard earned, Ethiopian-friend perfected misir wot. http://scoopingitup.blogspot.com/2012/08/wild-things-and-perfect-misir-wot.html
Also, to the person who suggested Addis Red Sea in Boston is "good" is so watered down American I can't even eat there anymore. Habesha in Malden, is far more authentic as is Blue Nile in JP.
@KRISTEN44
YES!!! Addis Red Sea in Boston has great food! I have interviewed them for a magazine, and they make very authentic Ethiopian dish. I like the atmosphere too :)
LOVE Ethiopian food!!! Drooling.......
MMMMM I love injera! One of my closest friends in my current city is Ethiopian-American and she always makes Ethiopian food for her weeks in a rotating weekly dinner club some friends and I have. Her weeks are almost always my favorite! (Though tonight is Polish food at another friend's house, which I'm pretty excited for).