Injeera

Any Ethiopian meal will be always be accompanied by injeera, a fermented sour dough flatbread / pancake. Despite traditionally taking three days to prepare it was a relatively straightforward method. The end result was a spongy pancake with a distinctive flavour from the Teff flour and the fermenting process.

Ingredients
makes 12 

250g teff flour
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp dried yeast
water
50g injera ‘starter’ from a previous batch. (optional)
veg shortening or butter (optional)
Method

Sieve the plain flour into a large bowl. Combine with the baking powder and yeast. Slowly add some warm water, mixing well as you go, until you make a thin batter, like you would for pancakes. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and set it aside.

Then into another large bowl sieve the teff flour and slowly add just enough warm water to form a thick dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes before placing it back into the bowl. Press it down flat then cover with just enough water.  Cover the bowl with clingfilm.

Leave the two bowls at room temperature for the next three days to allow them to ferment nicely.

Between three or four hours before you're ready to cook your injeera give the contents of both bowls a good stir, then combine them into one bowl.  The consistency should be a thick batter.

Bring 150ml of water to the boil then add to it about 75ml of batter. Whisk until the mixture thickens.

Pour the heated batter back into the large bowl and whisk thoroughly. Leave it to rest for three to four hours.

When it's time to cook heat a large frying pan to a medium-high temperature. Place a lid on it to heat it all up.  Add a small knob of  butter or veg shortening to grease the pan or if you are using a non-stick pan then could could do without it.

Stir the batter then pour about 200-250 ml into the frying pan, making sure the whole base is coated. A bit more than you would for a thin pancake. It will expand when cooked. Cover immediately with the lid and leave to cook for around three to four minutes.

Lift the lid and have a look at the edges of the injeera. It will be cooked when the edges have dried and lifted. The injeera will not need to be flipped over. It only gets cooked on one side, the top gets cooked by the steam generated keeping the lid on.

Give the pan a shake and in all likelihood the injeera can be slipped out onto a plate with ease. Otherwise use a spatula to gently release any sticking points.

Repeat until all the batter is cooked. (If you remember you can keep some of the batter to use as a starter for next time. Keep it in an air tight container in the fridge.)

Serve rolled up and cut into halves or thirds. Also serve it as the base for a selection of Ethiopian stews.