Injera (Ethiopian oil less, egg less Pancake Of 'Tef')

Stack of Injera

Injera is a type of pancake without egg and oil. It is staple food of Ethiopians and is eaten with all vegetarian and non-vegetarian savories. The specialty of this bread is that it is made from a grain endemic to Ethiopia which is known as ‘Tef’. Tef is of two types Red Tef and White Tef. Red Tef is extremely nourishing as along with being rich in protein and carbohydrates it is very rich in iron also. Taste wise white Tef is preferred over Red Tef. Injera is made by fermenting the Tel flour for 3-5 days thus it is extremely sour in taste and those who have intolerance for fermented food should partake it with care as it can cause flatulence. In Ethiopia no meal is served without Injera. Along with vegetable, meat and Injera, fresh homemade bread is a great preference. My friend Rakhee Rungta Sonthalia wanted to know how Injera is made as she loves Injera. Hope this post serves her requirement. As usual all these Ethiopian food are made for me By Aleminish. Thank you again Aleminish for all you do for me.

Preparation Time: 20  min

Fermentation Time 3-4 days

Cooking Time:8-10 min. / Injera

Servings 10 large size Injera.

Ingredients required For making Injera:

White Tef

Red Tef

• 500 gm. Tef Flour

White Tef Flour

• 4-5 Teaspoons mustard powder

• Water

Directions for Making Injera:

Preparation Of Batter For Injera (Lith Mekadath)

• Make dough from Tef powder by adding water in little proportions and kneading continuously as it is done for the dough of roti/parantha (http://jyotsna-pant.blogspot.in/2012/12/making-dough-for-roti-and-paratha-dough.html). The dough should be soft. The dough of Tef is called Mabukath.

• Cover it and keep for fermentation for 12-24 hours.

• Place the fermented dough in a deep container (bucket) and cover it with excess of water( 4-5 liters of water). Do not make any efforts to mix water and the dough.

• Cover and allow it to stand without disturbing it for 24 hours.

Scum over mabukath after 24 hours

• Gently decant the water and throw away the decanted water. Add 4-5 liters of water again. Cover and allow it to stand for 24 hours.

Scum and water being decanted from fermented Mabukath

Mabukath after 24 hrs. fermentation

• Repeat the process of changing the water allowing it to stand for 24 hours 3-4 times.

• In this process in three to four days the Tef dough will absorb water and become thin like a thick solution. It will also get fermented with each passing day.

• After 3-4 days the batter of fermented Tef will be formed.

• Boil two (300-400ml.)cup water in a pan. Take the 1 cup (100-120 ml.) batter of fermented Tef flour and slowly add to the boiling water with continuous stirring. Cook with continuous stirring to avoid lump formation.

• After 3-4 min. of cooking the mixture will become it will become transparent.It is called Abasith in Amharic.

• Cool the cooked mixture(Abasith) and mix it to the fermented mixture of Tef batter. Now the batter is called Lith Mekadath.

• Cover and keep for 30 min. Make Injera on Hot Matat.

Making Injera:

• Injera is made in a coal/ wood / electrically heated appliance called Matat.

Matat

• Matat is first heated like any tawa / flat iron plate.

Hot matat

• Put 1/4Teaspoon mustard powder (Mashesha) on hot matat and spread it on the matat with the help of cloth. This they call cleaning the Matat and is done after every Injera is made.

Mashesha on hot matat

•  The batter is brought to pourable consistency by adding required amount of water and mixing.

Aleminish Showing the consistency of batter

• Take 200-250 ml. batter in a jug and start pouring from outer edge to the center in a circular path till the whole hot plate of matat is covered with one layer of batter.

Batter being spread from outer edge to center(Stage 1)

Stage 2

Batter spread on hot Matat(Stage3)

Injera just before matat to be covered

• Cover and cook for 6-8 min.

• The edges will start coming free from the base, and the upper side will change the color from white (in case if white Tef, red in case of red ted) to transparent. This is the indication Injera is cooked.

• Remove the Cooked Injera with the help of safed. (A round thin cane woven appliance)   

Injera ready to be removed from matat

Injera being removed from Matat by safed

• Please remember Modification is the requirement when the entire appliances are not available. For matat flat thick big / small iron plate (Tawa) can be taken, but it has to be absolutely flat like the one taken for Dosa. For    flat nonstick / wooden spatula with broad end from where picking will be done can be taken.

• Injera can be placed one over another. They will not stick to each other. 

Stack of Injera

• Once the Injera are made and they become cold they are individually rolled and cut to 3-4 equal size roll. Serve these Injera with any veg/non-veg savory.

• Injera are made in Ethiopia in large amount like 30-40 at one time and store in Mosab a cane container with lid.

Mosab

Injera in Mosab

• Injera are stored for 4-5 days some times for a week also.

• If Injera start going bad they are dried under the sun and made to Fir-Fir another Ethiopian Savory which a complete meal by itself.

Tips:

• Do not mix the mabukath with water just pour water on it enough to cover it 10-12 cm. above its surface.

• Decant the water slowly so as not to disturb the batter at the bottom.

• Throw away all decanted water with the scum at the surface.

• Matat should be very hot else the Injera will become hard.

Suggested Variations:

• Red Tef can be mixed with wheat / rice flour in 3:1 proportions and then used for making the mabukath (Dough).

• Wheat or rice flour can also be taken in pure form to make Injera.