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VEGAN FEAST SUBSCRIBERS' COOKING AND RECIPE FORUM>
Discovering new ethnic food
Debbie
1462 posts
Mar 10, 2008
9:28 AM
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We discovered a new ethnic food: Ethiopian food. It was so delicious. We found this family restaurant tucked in Anaheim that is so good. The restaurant is plain with lack of decor but we don't mind. The food is very good though.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tana-ethiopian-restaurant-anaheim
There is a picture of the food above that look like South Indian Thali. The restaurant is not vegetarian but it provides 1 vegetarian delights in the menu that we ordered.
It's good for people allergic to gluten since the bread, called injera, is made of Teff. The crepe-like bread is fermented like dosa or sourdough. We ate our meal in a traditional way with our fingers, tearing up the bread and picked up the food with it.
There is a vegan Ethiopian restaurant in L.A. area that I want to check out:
http://www.rahelveggiecuisine.com/
Hhhhmmm....I've been thinking about how to make injera lately.
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Debbie
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
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Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
2295 posts
Mar 10, 2008
11:08 AM
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It is delicious, isn't it? There are several Ethiopian restaurants in Vancouver, too. Their lentils are to die for!
Here are a few recipes I have adapted, but they don't taste as good as the real thing1 There are not many Ethiopian cookbooks-- I have one.
Here is a recipe for the authentic injera that I found online:
INJERA
Ingredients:
3/4 cup teff, ground fine (this may be done either in a flour mill or in a
blender after moistening in 3 1/2 cups water)
salt
sunflower or other vegetable oil
1. Mix ground teff with 3 1/2 cups water and let stand in a bowl covered with
a dish towel, at room temperature, until it bubbles and has turned sour. This
may take as long as 3 days. The fermenting mixture should be the consistency
of pancake batter (which is exactly what it is).
2. Stir in salt, a little at a time, until you can barely detect the taste.
3. Lightly oil an 8- or 9-inch skillet (or a larger one if you like). Heat
over medium heat. Then proceed as you would with a normal pancake or crepe.
Pour in enough batter to cover the bottom of the skillet. About 1/4 cup will
make a thin pancake covering the surface of an 8-inch skillet if you spread
the batter around immediately by turning and rotating the skillet in the air.
This is the classic French method for very thin crepes. Injera is not
supposed to be paper thin so you should use a bit more batter than you would
for crepes, but less than you would for a flapjack.
4. Cook briefly, until holes form in the injera and the edges lift from the
pan. Remove and let cool.
Yields 10 to 12 injeras.
I experimented with injera recipes for my fiber book, but, alas, we had to cut this one out:
BRYANNA'S INJERA (ETHIOPIAN FLATBREAD) (Makes 24 /10” injera; serves about 6
Injera are similar to crepes and always served with Ethiopian meals. They are made out of many different types of flour, but these are made with teff flour, a very small, nutritious grain that is preferred for these breads in Ethiopia. I found teff flour in a box in my health food store. If you can’t find it, substitute millet flour (which can be made by grinding millet in a DRY blender) or stoneground cornmeal. Traditionally, injera are made with a fermented dough that stands for several days—- this is a faster version.
Injera are traditionally made on a very large griddle, but I found them eaasier to handle when made on a 10” cast iron skillet or 12” griddle. Injera can be made well before the meal is served, as they are served at room temperature.
4 and 1/2 c. warm water
2 tsp. regular baking yeast
1 tsp. sugar
3 and 1/2 c. teff flour, millet flour or stoneground cornmeal
1 c. wholewheat flour
1T. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water and let stand 10 minutes. When bubbly, stir in the teff or millet flour, or cornmeal. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 4 hours. Add the flour, vinegar, salt and baking soda. It should be like a crepe batter.
Heat a 10” cast iron skillet or 12” round heavy griddle over medium-high heat (or use a large electric griddle or frying pan) until drops of water bounce on it. Keep a paper towel wadded up and handy to grease the pan between breads. Lightly oil the pan with the towel. Stir the batter each time before you measure it out. Pour about 1/4 c. of batter into the pan and tilt the pan (using potholders) in all directions to cover the bottom evenly with the batter, about 10” across. Cover the bread with a large pot lid and cook 1 minute, until the injera is dry but not crisp on the bottom (if it’s crisp, turn the heat down a little), and full of tiny holes on the top. Remove carefully from the pan with a large pancake-turner and lie topside-down on a platter. (Do not turn it over and cook the other side.) Repeat, stacking each injera on the last one. When finished, keep some injera flat to line each diner’s plate with before adding the food, and roll up the rest fairly tightly. Cut the rolls in half. These are served with the meal to scoop up stews, etc.. Cover with plastic wrap until serving time.
MY VERSIONS OF THE TWO MOST POPULAR ETHIOPIAN VEGETARIAN RECIPES ( Ethiopians would use lots more oil or butter than I do):
BRYANNA’S ETHIOPIAN VEGETABLE STEW (ALECHA) Serves 8 as part of an Ethiopian meal
Serve this delicious stew with Spicy Ethiopian Lentil Stew and Ethiopian Flatbreads or brown rice for an exotic company meal.
1 c. minced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. paprika
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil or expeller-pressed Chinese peanut oil
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 –1 tsp. dried red chile flakes
a pinch EACH of ground ginger, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek (optional), nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and allspice
1 c. large seeded green bell pepper, sliced
2 scrubbed carrots, chopped
3 medium thin-skinned (unpeeled) potatoes, diced
1 lb. green cabbage, diced
3 c. vegetable broth
1 c. (drained) diced canned tomatoes
1/4 c. tomato paste
salt and chopped parsley to taste
In a medium, heavy pot, heat the oil until hot. Add the onions, garlic, paprika, chile flakes, vinegar, and other spices and saute for 2 minutes. Add the peppers and carrots and saute over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, broth, and tomato paste, stirring well. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring once in a while. Taste for salt and sprinkle with parsley before serving.
BRYANNA’S YEMISER WAT (EHIOPIAN SPICY LENTILS) Serves 8 as part of an Ethiopian meal
Serve this delicious lentil stew as part of an Ethiopian meal with Alecha (Ethiopian Vegetable Stew, above ) and Ethiopian Flatbreads (Injera, above). Or just serve it with steamed long grain brown rice.
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil or expeller-pressed Chinese peanut oil
1 c. dried brown lentils
1 c. minced onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/2-1 tsp. dried red chile flakes
pinch EACH of ground cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, coriander, fenugreek (optional), and nutmeg
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 c. vegetable broth
1/4 c. tomato paste
1 c. frozen green peas
salt to taste
Rinse the lentils, cover them generously with water in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes, adding water if necessary. Don’t let them get mushy.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the onions and garlic and saute over medium heat until they are soft. Add the paprika, cumin, vinegar, chile flakes, and other spices and saute for several minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, and tomato paste and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the peas and taste for salt. Simmer 10 more minutes.
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Debbie
1463 posts
Mar 10, 2008
1:33 PM
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Wow, Bryanna, I don't know you have recipes. Were they hidden? :-) Were they published anywhere yet?
Yes, I think they used butter or ghee but I wasn't sure when I ate it because it is so flavorful. There was one dish with a small patty in it and covered with a red sauce. That one was really good. I was told that the patty was made of chickpea flour. There was also a lentil dish that was made and mixed with mustard. Mitchell like that one.
Thanks for the recipes, Bryanna.
I was looking for recipes and found this site:
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/ethiopia.htm
The spice mix is called Berbere and the spiced butter is called Niter Kebbeh. I am sure we can veganize it with Earth Balance. It would be easy to veganize it.
The lady at the restaurant said that Ethiopian loves baklava . Ethiopian coffee and baklava are popular in restaurants there. But this restaurant didn't have baklava.
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Debbie
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
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Debbie
1464 posts
Mar 10, 2008
1:34 PM
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BTW, Bob Red Mill has Teff flour and it is sold in my HFS.
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Debbie
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
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Debbie
1465 posts
Mar 10, 2008
3:15 PM
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I think I may try making those recipes above, Bryanna! Now that I know what they look like and how they taste, it is easier to make them. :-)
I'll let you know. I am busy right now so I may not try it right away.
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Debbie
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
Last Edited on 10-Mar-2008 3:24 PM
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kourtney
185 posts
Mar 14, 2008
12:10 PM
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I have found whole teff, ground with the water in the recipe, ferments better than teff flour. Bob's Red Mill sells whole teff, too.
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