It’s a bread. It’s a utensil. It’s injera! Experience the unique flavor and spongy texture of this Ethiopian and Eritrean staple.
What is Injera?
Injera is a spongy flatbread, thicker than a crepe but thinner than a pancake, made with a naturally fermented starter. It’s traditionally made from teff, an ancient grass native to the Horn of Africa. Eaters tear the injera into pieces throughout the course of the meal and use it to scoop, wrap, or sop bites of food, making injera both food and utensil, and often, the plate as well. Some sources say injera is Ethiopia’s national dish, while others say it’s part of the national dish alongside the spicy chicken stew doro wat. Either way, injera is an integral part of many dishes that typify Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine.
What does Injera taste like?
Its natural fermentation process, much like the fermentation involved in making sourdough bread, gives injera a distinct sour taste that cuts right through the rich, highly-spiced meat, lentil, and vegetable dishes served with it.
Nutritious teff seeds are high in protein and fiber, and naturally gluten-free. Injera, in addition to being gluten-free, is dairy-free and vegan.
How to cook Injera
Teff flour is mixed with salt and water and fermented overnight (or longer, with some recipes calling for a fermentation period of three or four days). Natural fermentation processes can be influenced by temperature, timing, and airborne particles, so the best indicator of fermentation is a pleasant sour smell and bubbles in the batter.
The thin batter is poured onto the cooking surface, historically a clay plate over a fire, now commonly a skillet or specialized stove. It looks like a crepe at first, but through cooking will become spongy and develop the bread’s signature porous top surface.
Color and texture of the finished flatbread depends on the variety of teff used (from white or ivory, to red, to dark brown), and on the presence of any other flour in the batter. Many injera recipes combine teff with another flour, though adding a flour with gluten will drastically change the texture of the finished product. The Splendid Table offers an injera recipe made entirely with teff flour.
Eating Injera
Traditional meals that include injera are eaten family style, in which a large piece of injera holds a variety of vegetables, salads, and saucy stews. Diners use their right hands to tear portions of the flatbread, which serves as a vehicle for bites of food. The injera’s signature spongy texture and porous top surface makes it ideal for sopping up savory liquids. It would make an excellent accompaniment for our Key Wat recipe, a spicy beef stew common to Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Where to find Injera
Injera is best when fresh, so a trip to an Ethiopian restaurant may be your best bet. Or, try your hand at making your own with simple recipes from Mark Bittman or The Spruce Eats. Just be sure to plan ahead for the fermentation time.
injera, Ethiopian flatbread, typically made from a batter of fermented teff
teff
Teff is a tufted or bunching grass with thin narrow stems and a broad crown. The shallow fibrous roots form a massive root system, and the plant is resistant to both drought and waterlogging. The self-pollinating flowers are borne in open panicles and produce seeds that range in colour from white to deep red-brown.
(Eragrostis tef) flour and known for its spongy texture and sour taste. The word injera is derived from the Amharic word ənǰära. Injera is a staple of traditional Ethiopian cuisine.
Injera is a popular Ethiopian flatbread that's a key component of Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. Made with a fermented batter of teff flour, water, and yeast, it's known for its unique texture and slightly sour taste.
3. It's Healthy. Did you know that the star ingredient, teff, in injera, is not only super tasty but also jam-packed with nutrients? The super grain is filled with complete proteins, fibre, magnesium, iron and calcium (in fact, no other grain on earth has more fibre per serving).
Injera is traditionally made by fermenting teff flour and water, after a day especially if left at room temperature, injera can continue to ferment, causing a white appearance on the surface. This is natural and is generally safe to consume.
Over several days, naturally occurring bacteria and yeast in ersho break down the teff's complex carbohydrates, creating a batter with a distinct sour flavor and a characteristic rise. Fermentation unlocks teff's nutrients and contributes to injera's unique spongy texture, loved by so many.
Injera is not only a kind of bread—it's also an eating utensil. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, this spongy, sour flatbread is used to scoop up meat and vegetable stews. Injera also lines the tray on which the stews are served, soaking up their juices as the meal progresses.
How do you know if injera has gone bad? Injera show visual cues of spoilage like most breads. If white spots start to appear it means the injera is no longer good for consumption.
However, excessive teff consumption may have negative consequences. Teff is rich in fibre, and excessive consumption of fibre may lead to constipation and flatulence. Teff typically contains less thiamine compared to other cereal grains.
Teff Injera and White Wheat Bread have low glycemic index and are recommended to be consumed by diabetic patients, whereas Corn Injera has high glycemic index and is not recommended for diabetic patients.
As a fermented food, a daily regular dose of injera also assists maintaining a healthy balance of gut flora to ward troublesome bacteria away. Ethiopians will eat injera for breakfast, lunch and dinner but one serving a day should suffice for a visitor.
Teff, an ancient grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea, has been growing in popularity across the world in recent years. Huge demand meant prices skyrocketed and the Ethiopian government eventually slapped a ban on exports which it kept in place for six years.
Why is my injera gummy? Injera tends to be gummy while it is warm. If you are heating it on a pan and it is burned on the bottom while gummy at the top, it probably means that the pan is too hot.
If your injera has deep grooves, tears, or cracks in it, this might be because you're using a wholewheat flour. Also, deep grooves can be the result of not properly covering the injera while it cooks. Try using a cover, and notice the difference in the surface texture.
For example, when I first arrived, the only flour we could find to make injera, our fermented bread which is a staple of each meal, was self-rising flour. And that just doesn't work because the injera expands in your stomach after you've eaten it.
“We did a research and 91.5% of Ethiopians say injera is an addiction that they cannot do without”, he went on to explain, “In fact in the Lord's Prayer, we Ethiopians normally say “Give us our daily Injera”.
How long does Injera bread stays fresh? Injera is a perishable item and must be given extra care. Generally, Injera stays fresh at room temperature 7-9 days but it's BEST kept in a refrigerator (can last up to 21 days). You can also store Injera bread in a freezer (lasts up to 3 months).
Teff is a tufted or bunching grass with thin narrow stems and a broad crown. The shallow fibrous roots form a massive root system, and the plant is resistant to both drought and waterlogging. The self-pollinating flowers are borne in open panicles and produce seeds that range in color from white to deep red-brown.
Ethiopian cuisine mostly consists of thick stews made with or without meat – but never pork or shellfish. The stews are either qey (translating “red” to signify spiciness), or they are alicha, or “mild”. Lentils, beans and veggies are some other common elements of Ethiopian cuisine.
In terms of shape, injera compares to the French crêpe and the Indian dosa as a flatbread cooked in a circle and used as a base for other foods. In taste and texture, it is more similar to the South Indian appam.
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