Injera

Injera(Amharic:እንጀራ,romanized:ənǧära,[ɨndʒəra];Tigrinya:ጣይታ,romanized:ṭayta;Oromo:budeena) is asourfermentedpancake-likeflatbreadwith a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made ofteffflour. InEthiopiaandEritrea,injera is astaple. Injera is central to the dining process inAmharacommunity, like bread or rice elsewhere and is usually stored in themesob.
Traditionally, injera is made with just two ingredients: teff flour and water. Teff flour is ground from the grains ofEragrostis tef, also known as teff, a cereal crop from theEthiopian Highlands.Teff production is limited to certain middle elevations with adequate rainfall and is a low-yield crop,so it is relatively expensive for the average farming household. Manyfarmers in the Ethiopian highlandsgrow their own subsistence grains, sowheat,barley,corn, orriceflour are sometimes used to replace the teff content. Teff seeds are graded according to color, used to make different kinds of injera:nech(white),keyorquey(red), andsergegna(mixed).When teff is not available, injera is made by fermenting a variety of different grains, includingbarley,millet, andsorghum.Teff, however, is the preferred grain for making injera, primarily because of its sensory attributes (color, smell, taste).Teff flour is gluten-free.
To make injera, teff flour is mixed with water. The fermentation process is started by adding ersho, a clear, yellow liquid that accumulates on the surface of fermenting teff flour batter and is collected from previous fermentations. The aerobic microbial flora of ersho contains spores ofBacillusspecies (unable to grow at the low pH of 3.5) and several yeasts (in order of abundance):Candida milleri,Rhodotorula mucilaginosa,Kluyveromyces marxianus,Pichia naganishiiandDebaromyces hansenii.The mixture is then allowed tofermentfor an average of two to three days, giving it a mildly sour taste.
The baking method for injera has changed little since its origin. Traditionally, the flour is mixed with water and fermented. It is baked by pouring the mixture onto a large circular griddle, known as amitad.
The injera isbakedinto large, flat and round pieces. The dough's viscosity allows it to be poured onto the baking surface, rather than rolled out.
In terms of shape, injera compares to the Frenchcrêpeand the Indiandosaas aflatbreadcooked in a circle and used as a base for other foods. In taste and texture, it is more similar to the South Indianappam. The bottom surface of the injera, which touches the heating surface, has a relatively smooth texture, while the top is porous. This porous texture makes injera good for scooping up sauces and dishes.
Baking is done on a circular griddle—either a large black clay plate over a fire or a specialized electric stove. The griddle is known as amitad(ምጣድ) (inAmharic) ormogogo(ሞጎጎ) (inTigrinya).Mitadshave been found at archaeological sites dating back as far as 600 AD.Nowadays,mitadsare no longer always made out of clay, and can also be electric.
Traditional clay stoves can be inefficient in that they consume large amounts of firewood and produce a lot of smoke, creating household pollution and making them dangerous to use around children.In 2003, an Eritrean research group designed a stove for cooking injera and other foods that uses more easily available fuel, such as twigs instead of large branches, crop residues and dung, locally calledkubet.Several parts of this new stove are made in the central cities of Ethiopia and Eritrea, while other parts are moulded from clay by women in local areas.
Many women in urban areas—especially those living outside Ethiopia and Eritrea—now use electric injera stoves, which are topped with a large metal plate, or simply non-stick frying pans.
In Ethiopia and Eritrea, a variety ofstews,salads(duringEthiopian Orthodoxfasting, for which believers abstain from most animal products), and more injera (calledinjera firfir) are placed on the injera for serving. Using one's hand (traditionally only the right one),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 flavors of the foods, and after the stews and salads are gone, this bread is also consumed. Injera is thus simultaneously a food,eating utensil, andplate. When the entire "tablecloth" of injera is gone, the meal is over.
In Ethiopia and Eritrea, injera is eaten daily in virtually every household. Outside ofEthiopiaandEritrea, injera may be found in grocery stores and restaurants specializing inEthiopianandEritreancooking.
Injera is the most important component of food in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is often both the serving platter and utensil for a meal. Hearty stews such aswatare placed on top of the bread and then the meal is eaten by tearing pieces of injera off and scooping up the stews.While injera's literal use as the base and staple of any Ethiopian and Eritrean meal has not changed since its creation, its symbolic value has changed. Different varieties of injera can be found in the highlands vis-à-vis the lowlands of Ethiopia. In the lowlands, injera is often made withsorghumand in the highlands it is more commonly made with barley.Either way, because it is made with something other than teff, its symbolic value has already decreased compared to the symbolic value of injera made with teff. There are symbolic value differences with types of teff as well. White-grained teff is more expensive to buy and thus symbolizes a higher status than its cheaper counterpart, red-grained teff.
There are similar variants to injera in otherAfricancountries, namelySudan,ChadandKenya. The variant eaten inSouth Sudan, Sudan and Chad is known askisra.InKenya, a variant variant of injera is eaten by theBorana,Gabraliving in the Northern parts ofKenya. It is increasingly popular inIsraeldue to immigration ofEthiopian Jews.
Injera became more common in the United States during a spike in Ethiopian immigration in the 1980s and 1990s,largely because of theRefugee Actpassed in 1980.Teff flour is now being produced in the United States by several companies, making teff more accessible to expatriate Ethiopians.In America, it is often cooked on an aluminumlefsegrill.