Idli (Steamed Rice and Black Gram Bread)
10h 43m · Medium
Baking · Ethiopia
Injera (Ethiopian Teff Flatbread)
Injera is a flatbread eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is made with teff flour. Teff is a tiny round grain that is grown in the highlands of Eritrea and highlands of Ethiopia. While teff is very nutritious, pure teff flour contains no gluten, and little else in the way of binding proteins. This makes teff ill-suited for making raised bread; however injera still takes advantage of the special properties of fermentation, which gives it an airy, bubbly texture, and also a sour taste.
EST. TOTAL TIME12h 14m
DIFFICULTYMedium
SERVES6–8
Time and difficulty are editorial estimates; allow extra time for your equipment and experience.
What you’ll need
Tap an ingredient as you get it ready.
Let’s make it
- Step 1
Mix the flour with the water, and the salt. Add your fermentation starter if using one.
- Step 2
Set aside to ferment overnight, or at least 12 hours. There should be bubbles on the surface from fermenting, before you use it.
- Step 3
Heat a large, flat pan until it is hot enough to make a droplet of water sizzle. Oil it very lightly, just enough to make the pan shine.
- Step 4
Pour or ladle some batter onto the pan, spiralling outwards from the centre. Only a thin layer is required—a little thicker than a crêpe but not by much.
- Step 5
As it cooks, the surface of the injera will become covered in holes or pits. When the entire injera has changed colour and the edges start to lift from the pan, remove it and set aside, then pour the next injera and repeat until finished.
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