Eritrean Injera
As Asmeret Teklu, from Mendefera, Eritrea, taught Lindsay Sterling, in Portland, ME 2010
Serves 8
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 days for batter, plus 30 minutes to cook.
2 cups sour teff starter
3 lbs. teff flour
water
Mix teff flour and enough water so that it is the texture of melted chocolate ice cream. Let sit on counter top until it rises with bubbles and falls, about 8 hours. Put in fridge for a night and a day (24 hours). Before cooking, add 1 cup boiling water to activate the making of air bubbles. Pour batter onto 495 degree large electric making a ring of batter around the outside and spiraling in until the whole pan is covered evenly. When batter is holey and cooked, remove by sneaking a flat plate (hers woven) under the crepe. Stack as many crepes as you want on top of one another and cover with plastic until ready to reheat and eat. (Store extra batter in fridge, or freezer for later use.)
Spicy Chicken
serves 8
active time: 45 min
cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
3 cups minced yellow onion (about 3 onions), she pulsed it in food processor
1 cup water
3/4 cup berbere spice (mosty chili powder, salt, fenugreek)
1/3 cup ghee, simmered with tumeric and fenugreek
8 oz. tomato sauce
3 whole tomatoes blended with a little water
8 drumsticks
1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic
On medium high heat in a large sauce pan (w/cover) saute onions with enough water to keep them moist, covered for about 10 minutes, then mix in ghee and cover again. While that continues to cook, pull off chicken skins, and in soak them in a in a separate container covered in water and half of a lemon’s juice. Stir berbere spice into onions, making a thick paste. Cover and cook another ten minutes, stirring here and there and adding a little water if necessary to prevent burning. Then add tomato sauce and blended tomatoes, stir and cook covered another 20 minutes. Mix chicken drumsticks and garlic into sauce and cook covered until meat shrinks off anklebone (about 40 min.).
Serve warm injera, holey side up, on the plate with a pile of meat-swamped sauce, and side salad on top.
Please email me with suggestions or comments about this recipe! lindsay@lindsaysterling.com
copyright Lindsay Sterling 2010
