[LSg44PDu]

I was at my parents house last weekend, and my mum made some eritrean food, which inspired me to create this thread

Injera (Amharic, Tigrinya: እንጀራ, pronounced [ɨndʒəra], sometimes transliterated enjera; Oromo: budenaa; Somali: canjeelo) is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally made out of teff flour, it is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea. A similar variant is eaten in Somalia (where it is called canjeelo or lahooh) and Yemen (where it is known as lahoh).

Ingredients and cooking method

The most valued grain used to make injera is from the tiny, iron-rich teff. However, its production is limited to certain middle elevations and regions with adequate rainfall, so it is relatively expensive for the average household. Because the overwhelming majority of highland Ethiopians are poor farming households that grow their own subsistence grain, wheat, barley, corn, and/or rice flour are sometimes used to replace some or all of the teff content. There are also different varieties of injera in Ethiopia, such as nech (white), kay (red) and tikur (black).

In making injera, teff flour is mixed with water and allowed to ferment for several days, as with sourdough starter. As a result of this process, injera has a mildly sour taste. The injera is then ready to bake into large flat pancakes, done either on a specialized electric stove or, more commonly, on a clay plate (Amharic mittad, Tigrinya mogogo) placed over a fire. Unusual for a yeast bread, the dough has sufficient liquidity to be poured onto the baking surface, rather than rolled out. In terms of shape, injera compares to the French crêpe and the South Indian dosa as a flatbread cooked in a circle and used as a base for other foods. The taste and texture, however, are unique and unlike the crêpe and dosa, and more similar to the South Indian appam. The bottom surface of the injera, which touches the heating surface, will have a relatively smooth texture, while the top will become porous. This porous structure allows the injera to be a good bread to scoop up sauces and dishes.

Consumption

In Eritrea & Ethiopia, a variety of stews, sometimes salads (during Ethiopian Orthodox fasting, for which believers abstain from most animal products) or simply more injera (called injera firfir), are placed upon the injera for serving. Using one's right hand, small pieces of injera are torn and used to grasp the stews and salads for eating. The injera under these stews soaks up the juices and flavours of the foods and, after the stews and salads are gone, this bread is also consumed. Injera is thus simultaneously food, eating utensil, and plate. When the entire "tablecloth" of injera is gone, the meal is over.

In Somalia, at lunch (referred to as qaddo), the main meal of the day, injera might also be eaten with a stew (maraq) or soup.

Contemporary use

In Eritrea and Ethiopia, injera is eaten daily in virtually every household. Preparing injera requires considerable time and resources. The bread is cooked on a large, black, clay plate over a fire. This set-up is a stove called a mitad (in Amharic) or mogogo (in Tigrinya), which is difficult to use, produces large amounts of smoke, and can be dangerous to children. Because of this inefficient cooking method, much of the area's limited fuel resources are wasted. However in 2003, a research group was given the Ashden award for designing a new type of stove for cooking injera. The new stove uses available fuel sources (including dung, locally called kubet) for cooking injera and other foods efficiently, saving the heat from the fuel. Several parts are made in the central cities of each country, while other parts are molded from clay by women of local areas.

Outside of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Plateau, injera may be found in groceries and restaurants specializing in Eritrean, Ethiopian, or Somali foods.

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injera

Feel free to add recipes, information, etc. !!

[moopogyOvenny]

do you eat something similar to couscous ?

[EnvellFen]

Tsebhi/Wot

Wat, wet, or wot (Amharic: ወጥ?, IPA: [wətʼ]), known as tsebhi (Tigrinya: ጸብሒ?, IPA: [sʼ�bħi]) is an Ethiopian and Eritrean stew or curry which may be prepared with chicken, beef, lamb, a variety of vegetables, and spice mixtures such as berbere and niter kibbeh, a seasoned clarified butter.

Several properties distinguish wats from stews of other cultures. Perhaps the most obvious is an unusual cooking technique: the preparation of a wat begins with chopped onions slow cooked, without any fat or oil, in a dry skillet or pot until much of their moisture has been driven away. Fat [usually niter kibbeh(amh.)/tesmi(tigr.)] is then added, often in quantities that might seem excessive by modern Western standards, and the onions and other aromatics are sautéed before the addition of other ingredients. This method causes the onions to break down and thicken the stew.

Wats are traditionally eaten with injera, a spongy flat bread made from the millet-like grain known as teff. Doro wat is one such stew, made from chicken and sometimes hard-boiled eggs; the ethnologist Donald Levine records that doro wat was the most popular traditional food in Ethiopia, often eaten as part of a group who share a communal bowl and basket of injera.Another is sega wat, made with beef.

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_%28food%29

Tsebhi Dorho/Doro Wat


---------- Post added 2012-06-05 at 21:00 ----------

How do I add pics to the text? The IMG tag button is not here

---------- Post added 2012-06-05 at 21:01 ----------

do you eat something similar to couscous ?

As far as I know, we don't. But couscous is the bomb

[ancexiaepidge]

How do I add pics to the text? The IMG tag button is not here

Did you try using IMGLINK?

[EliteFranceska]

Did you try using IMGLINK?

No I didn't, thank you

---------- Post added 2012-06-05 at 21:52 ----------

Tibs/Kulwa

Meat or vegetables are sautéed to make tibs (also tebs, t'ibs, tibbs, etc., Ge'ez ጥብስ á¹*ibs). Tibs is served normal or special, "special tibs" is served on a hot dish with vegetables (salad) mixed in. The mid-18th century European visitor to Ethiopia, Remedius Prutky, describes tibs as a portion of grilled meat served "to pay a particular compliment or show especial respect to someone."

Preparation of Kulwa

[flowersnewaho]

Shiro

Shiro is a homogenous stew whose primary ingredient is powdered chickpeas or broad bean meal. It is often prepared with the addition of minced onions, garlic and depending upon regional variation; ground ginger or chopped tomatoes and chili-peppers. Shiro is usually served atop injera, however, it can be cooked in shredded taita and eaten with a spoon, this version would be called shiro fit-fit.

Shiro is a part of Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. It is a favorite during the Lent and Ramadan seasons. It is a vegetarian food, however, there is a variation which includes tesmi (a spiced, clarified butter) that makes it non-vegan.



Shiro is my favourite

[lorrieholdridge]

No fish and chips?

[videolkif]

Somali-Bravanese (Muufo and suqaar)

2 c. semolina flour
1/4 c. flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 ts. onion powder
1 ts. garlic; minced
1/2 ts. instant yeast
1 1/4 c. warm water
salt to taste

1. Combine the flours, sugar, onion powder, yeast, garlic, and salt in a bowl.
2. Add the water and knead to make a dough.
3. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 6 hours.
4. Work the dough gently with your hands and set aside to let rise a second time.
5. Using wet hands, divide into 6 pieces.
6. Roll with the palm of your hands to form a thick patty cake.
7. Place on an oiled baking pan, spacing them 2 - 3 inches apart.
8. Cover tightly with foil and place on the lower rack of the oven for about 15
minutes or until the bottom is golden in color.

the soup or "suqaar" can be invented by you.

[occalmnab]

No fish and chips?

I'm afraid not

[MannoFr]

this ?

[UJRonald]

Injera looks yummy, kind of reminds me of a fermented rice flatbread we eat in India called "Appam". Does it taste sour?

Oh nvm I saw its reference

[iouiyyut]

Injera looks yummy, kind of reminds me of a fermented rice flatbread we eat in India called "Appam". Does it taste sour?

Oh nvm I saw its reference

i know about appam it's sour, it's simmilar to injera or (lahooh) by looks not taste. lahooh is somewhere between pancake and bread.

many somalis i have seen eat it during breakfast, with ghee or honey with a cup of tea

[ProomoSam]

No I didn't, thank you

---------- Post added 2012-06-05 at 21:52 ----------

Tibs/Kulwa

Meat or vegetables are sautéed to make tibs (also tebs, t'ibs, tibbs, etc., Ge'ez ጥብስ á¹*ibs). Tibs is served normal or special, "special tibs" is served on a hot dish with vegetables (salad) mixed in. The mid-18th century European visitor to Ethiopia, Remedius Prutky, describes tibs as a portion of grilled meat served "to pay a particular compliment or show especial respect to someone."

Preparation of Kulwa

Good looking food, and awesome handles on those pans.

[Dildos]

Somali Halwa



1 Cup of Corn Starch
1 teaspoon of orange food color powder
4 cups of Water
3 Cups of Sugar
1 Cup of Light Brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of Cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg
1/2 Cup of oil
1/2 Cup of Butter or Ghee
1/4 Cup of Peanuts (optional)


In a bowl mix 1 cup of water with the corn starch and food coloring. mix well until smooth. In a pan on medium high (7 on the stove) add the remaining water, white sugar and brown sugar. Stir well until sugar is fully dissolved. Once small bubbles have started to form (not a full boil) add the corn starch mixture.

Stir constantly until it just starts to thicken then add the oil. Stir well. Reduce heat to low (about a 3 on the stove). Stir every 15 minutes adding 2 tablespoons of butter/ghee. It will take about 1 hour and 30 minutes or so for the Halwo to become very thick and a lot of tiny bubble form. At this time add the cardamom powder, nutmeg and nuts (if using). Stir well and pour the Halwo into a dish/cake pan. I use a very small cake pan that is 6" X 9". The Halwo will fill the pan to the top. Let cool on the shelf. Once fully cooled, turn pan upside down and the Halwo will slide out. Cut and Serve.

The hardest part is not to stir the Halwo too often. I put it on low so that I don't have to stir it as much. Also, if you think the Halwo is too oily when you pour it in a pan, take a paper towel and dab it to soak off the oil.

[ElegeExcest]

Somali Halwa



1 Cup of Corn Starch
1 teaspoon of orange food color powder
4 cups of Water
3 Cups of Sugar
1 Cup of Light Brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of Cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg
1/2 Cup of oil
1/2 Cup of Butter or Ghee
1/4 Cup of Peanuts (optional)


In a bowl mix 1 cup of water with the corn starch and food coloring. mix well until smooth. In a pan on medium high (7 on the stove) add the remaining water, white sugar and brown sugar. Stir well until sugar is fully dissolved. Once small bubbles have started to form (not a full boil) add the corn starch mixture.

Stir constantly until it just starts to thicken then add the oil. Stir well. Reduce heat to low (about a 3 on the stove). Stir every 15 minutes adding 2 tablespoons of butter/ghee. It will take about 1 hour and 30 minutes or so for the Halwo to become very thick and a lot of tiny bubble form. At this time add the cardamom powder, nutmeg and nuts (if using). Stir well and pour the Halwo into a dish/cake pan. I use a very small cake pan that is 6" X 9". The Halwo will fill the pan to the top. Let cool on the shelf. Once fully cooled, turn pan upside down and the Halwo will slide out. Cut and Serve.

The hardest part is not to stir the Halwo too often. I put it on low so that I don't have to stir it as much. Also, if you think the Halwo is too oily when you pour it in a pan, take a paper towel and dab it to soak off the oil.

heart attack waiting to happen, i seen it before i refuse it to eat it

[diegogo]

heart attack waiting to happen, i seen it before i refuse it to eat it

Actually it tastes pretty good, usually served as a small dessert. You are only supposed to eat a small bit of it.

[melissa]

Actually it tastes pretty good, usually served as a small dessert. You are only supposed to eat a small bit of it.

i thought you were supposed to eat quite a lot of it, i am not aware of somali sweets

[Liaiskelile]

The Somali Halwa looks Gelatinous(Like a harder Jello). I wonder how it tastes and what's the texture is like.

[Gosxjqum]

My absolute favorite food is Fata Moos - made of kibis or sabayd (similar to jabati) mashed with banana and some melted butter.

I can't seem to find an image of it though.

[diemeareendup]

has anyone ever tasted camel meat yet?

and how do you post pictures on this thread?