Ethiopian Chicken Stew (Doro Wat) Slow Cooker Recipe

I really like introducing the kids to new flavors, and when I came across Mary Ostyn's Doro Wat recipe in her WONDERFUL book,Family Feasts for $75 a Week (and this is for a family of 12!) I knew I needed to try it.

This is a wonderfully spicy stew/soup, and I'm thrilled to use some of very-neglected spice bottles in the cupboard. I highly recommend giving this a go. Be adventurous! You've only got one Friday, October 22 2010 in your life. :-)

The Ingredients.

serves 8

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

3 large onions, diced (or 3 tablespoons dried minced onion flakes)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and more to taste if you'd like

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 cups water

8 hard-boiled eggs (peeled, to add later)

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Empty the tomato can into your cooker. Put in the chicken thighs, and add the lemon juice. Now add butter, onion, and ALL of the spices. Pour in the water. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 4 to 5. Your soup is done when the onions are soft and translucent and the chicken is cooked through and begun to fall apart. Ladle into a wide-mouth bowl and place a whole hardboiled egg into each dish.

The Verdict.

What great soup. The depth of spices is really unique---you get a powerful punch of tomato and lemon at first, but then the warmth from the spices fills your whole belly. Mary says to make it authentic you should really use 1 TABLESPOON of cayenne instead of 1 teaspoon. Holy toledo, I'm too much of a wuss for that!

Thank you so much, Mary, for sharing your recipe and your wonderful book.

SOURCE: A Year of Slowcooking

How to make Injera Video

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY THE LITTLE FAMILY ON A LITTLE ANGEL

Ok, as a certified Chef I have to say I was equal parts frustrated and embarrassed to admit that I was unable to figure out how to make Injera. I know everyone always says " just buy the injera - you don't make your own bread, why make your own injera!"

However, the truth of the matter is I do make my own bread! I love making bread, my mother loves making bread and my Grandmother loved making homemade bread. It is a tradition in my family that has been passed down, generation after generation, mother-to-daughter. Now that I have a daughter (!) I really want to be able to pass on this tradition to her as well. Of course I will show her how to make French Baguette, American White, Italian Foccacia, and Ethiopian Spiced Honey Bread (which I am happy to report I was able to master)...but I also really want to be able to teach her how to make Injera. It is the staple item of the Ethiopian diet for goodness sake! I want Shibire to grow up and know how to make Injera, as well as Gomen, Wot, Tibs....

If she decides to grow up and marry an Ethiopian man I want her to be able to walk into her mother-in-law's kitchen and surprise her that even though she was raised by a white American family she can still make a kick-ass Ethiopian meal for her family! Who knows, maybe she will grow up and hate cooking, but it won't be because I didn't try to pass this tradition on to her.

So here I sit...greatly desiring to be able to teach Shibire how to make Injera and I can't even figure out how to make it myself! However - I have recently scoured youTube and found a video from an Ethiopian restaurant where they show you how to cook it, and also, a link to the recipe they use. So I guess it will be another 4 day journey of trying to make Injera! Wish me luck! (and if any of you have been successful making Injera, please send me your tips!)

Mesob Ethiopian Eats Injera Recipe

How to Make Injera Video - Mesob Ethiopian Eats with Hot from the Kettle

Shortcut Injera

I haven't tried this yet but I will be soon...

RECIPE COPIED FROM MY RECIPES

A traditional injera batter may ferment for days, but this streamlined version comes together quickly. Yogurt adds sourness, while the club soda creates bubbles for a lighter batter. To use the same amount of whole wheat flour in place of teff flour, add 1/2 cup water to the batter; the characteristic tangy flavor may be subdued.

Ingredients:

• 9 ounces teff whole-grain flour (about 2 cups)
• 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups club soda
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• Cooking spray

Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine club soda and yogurt in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add the yogurt mixture to the flour mixture; stir with a whisk until smooth.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Pour about 1/3 cup batter per flatbread onto pan in a spiral, starting at the center; cook 20 seconds. Cover the pan; cook an additional 40 seconds or just until set. Transfer to a plate, and cover with a cloth to keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining cooking spray and batter, wiping the pan dry with a paper towel between flatbreads.

Ethiopian Spiced Honey Bread

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY CHARISA ON FOR SUCH AS THESE

Okay friends…here is the recipe!!

As much as I would like to be---I am not an organized, take beautiful pictures baker. I feel a HUGE accomplishment to even bake!!

Recipe:

Yemarina Yewotet Dabo

(Ethiopian Spiced Honey Bread)

1 package of yeast, active dry

1/4 c lukewarm water

1 egg

1/3 cup honey

1 Tbsp. ground coriander seed

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 cup lukewarm milk

6 Tbsp butter melted

4-5 cups flour, all purpose

In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Let stand for 3 minutes, then stir to dissolve. Set the bowl in a warm place for about 5 minutes; mixture should double in volume. If it does not, repeat procedure.

Combine the egg, honey, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a deep bowl, mixing until smooth. Add the yeast mixture, milk , and 5 tbsp of melted butter. Beat until well blended. Stir in the flour 1/2 cup at a time, until becomes to stiff to stir.

On a lightly floured board, knead the dough, adding a small amount of flour when necessary to keep from sticking. Knead for about 5 minutes. Place dough in a large, greased bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and let sit in warm place for about 1 1/2 hours.

Grease a cookie sheet with remaining butter. Punch down bread and knead it again for a few minutes. Shape dough into a round or a braid and place on sheet. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Let bread rise again while oven is preheating. Bake bread for 1 hour or until the top is crusty and light golden brown.

Enjoy!

I found this recipe somewhere but have no idea where now It is a good one!

Himbasha Recipe

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CHARISA ON FOR SUCH AS THESE

Ingredients:
1 cup water
around 4 cups of flour--more or less to make it a dense dough..not real sticky
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup (or more depending on how sweet you want it) honey
2 tsp yeast (don't put salt in next to yeast...put the yeast in with your honey)
2 tsp of black sesame seeds
2 tsp fenugreek
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp cardamom (next time I will probably use 2 1/2 of the cardamom)
Let is rise and then take and put it on a round pan. Make it into a circle and let rise more (not huge) then back at 350 until light golden. I brushed with butter afterward.

It may not look the prettiest…but it tastes good and it makes Ab happy!

Coming up….Doro Tibbs :) one of my faves!

Yataklete Kilkil

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CHARISA ON FOR SUCH AS THESE



A vegetarian dish from Ethiopia—There are various versions. Here is one we made the other night.
4-6 servings

• Potatoes-peeled and cut into chunks 6
• Carrots-peeled and cut--4
• Green beans, cut in half—1/2 pound
• Onion, chopped—2
• Garlic minced—2 cloves
• Gingerroot, peeled & minced—1 Tablespoon
• Chili pepper, minced—2-3 (I omitted this)
• Oil, butter, or niter kibbeh –3 tablespoons (I used niter kibbeh)
• cardamom—1/2 tsp
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Place potatoes, carrots, and green beans in a large saucepan, cover them with water and add 2 tsp salt. Bring to boil over medium heat, then simmer until veggies are done. Drain, reserve water, and set aside.
2. Place the onion, garlic, ginger, and chile pepper in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
3. Heat oil, butter or niter kibbeh in a large saucepan over med. heat. Add the onion puree and saute until the moisture evaporates and onions lose their rawness (6-8 minutes). Don’t let onions brown.


Our niter kibbeh

4. Add cooked veggies, cardamom, salt, pepper, and about 1/2 cup of reserved water. Stir well and simmer on low heat for 15-30 minutes. (mine didn’t take that long) I also added more of the niter kibbeh.

Serve hot or at room temp.

Doro Wat Recipe

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CHARISA ON FOR SUCH AS THESE

Doro Wat is probably the best known food from Ethiopia. It is traditionally very spicy but you can tailor it to your taste.

You can see it in the above photo. It's inthe middle of the plate. Next time I fix it, I'll get a better photo but I like this one. Ab looks so little here! It is just several weeks after bringing Ab home. We had gone to the Blue Nile to get some food he would recognize!

4-6 Servings

• chicken legs & thighs –2 pounds
• lemon, juice only—1
• salt—2 tsps
• onions, chopped—2
• garlic, crushes—3 cloves
• gingerroot, peeled & chopped, 2 tbs.
• oil, butter, or niter kibbeh—1/4 cup
• paprika—2 tbsp
• Berbere –1/4-1/2 cup
• water or stock—3/4 cup
• red wine—1/4 cup (optional)
• cayenne pepper—1/2 to 2 tsp
• salt and pepper—to taste
• hard boiled eggs—4

Mix together chicken pieces, lemon juice, and salt in large bowl (non reactive) and marinate for 30 minutes. While chicken is marinating---puree the onions, garlic, and ginger in a food processor or blender. Add a little water if needed.
Heal the oil, butter, or niter kibbeh in a large pot over medium heat. Add paprika and stir. Cook for 1 minute. Do not burn! Stir in berbere and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the pureed mixture and sauté until most of the moisture evaporates and the onion cooks down. About 5-10 minutes. Careful not to burn!
Pour water or stock and wine in and stir in the chicken pieces, cayenne, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add water as necessary to maintain a sauce like consistency.
Add whole hard boiled eggs and continue to cook for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and very tender.
Adjust seasoning if you need to and serve hot with injera or rice!
I have also cooked this by adding it in the crockpot after sautéing the mixture and that does well also!

Tej - Ethiopian Honey Wine

From Ethiopian Restaurant.com: Tej is pronounced as in T'édge, and is the generic name for Ethiopian traditional Honey Wine or Mead.

Tej is one of the special elixirs only available in Ethiopia. Be careful though - this sweet wine packs a punch. Tej is served in tej bet (Téj House, similar to Coffee House), or special bars set up strictly to sell tej either by the glass(glass is called Berele Be-re-lé) or by the bottle to take home. Several restaurants serving traditional Ethiopian fare also offer tej on the menus. The distilling ritual, with glass beakers reminiscent of high school chemistry lessons, is fun to watch.

Ethiopians purchase gallons of honey at a time to produce the mead and the taste can be as individual as the imagination of the person making it. The same recipe can vary from mother to daughter, for the mead is made from instinct as much as from a recipe. The extract of a native Ethiopian tree, the Gesho (similar to Hazel) imparts a bitter quality to the T'ej making it the ideal drink to complement the spicy food of the Ethiopians. The honey- sweet, bitter, dry tone of T'ej is enhanced by the food.

Alicha Siga Wat

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CHARISA ON FOR SUCH AS THESE

This is a recipe for a mild beef stew. This is great for kids or people who don’t like the spicy flavor of Berbere! I started with recipe from EthiopiaSpices.com and made it my own. :)

This will serve 10.

3 pounds of beef cubed

3 large onions chopped

5 tsps minced garlic

vegetable oil to simmer onion & garlic

2 tsps minced or powdered ginger ( I prefer minced!)

1-2 tsps of turmeric

2 tsps of Alicha Kimem (I purchase mine from EthiopianSpices)

2 tsp salt

Enough water (depending on how much meat you use) to make it a thick stew.

In a large pot, simmer onion and garlic with oil till lightly browned. Add turmeric and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes at low heat. Stir occasionally. Add beef and water and let simmer until beef is done. When done , add Alicha Kimem and salt. Serve hot with injera!

Next time I make it, I’ll add a picture!

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

From Ethiopian Restaurant.com:
Ethiopian coffee ceremony is one of the most enjoyable event you can attend at an Ethiopian Restaurant. The coffee is taken through its full life cycle of preparation in front of you in a ceremonial manner. Coffee is called 'Bunna' (boo-na) by the Ethiopians.

The ceremony starts with the woman, first bringing out the washed coffee beans and roasting them in a coffee roasting pan on small open fire/coal furnace. The pan is similar to an old fashioned popcorn roasting pan and it has a very long handle to keep the hand away from the heat. At this time most of your senses are being involved in the ceremony, the woman will be shaking the roasting pan back and forth so the beans won't burn (this sounds like shaking coins in a tin can), the coffee beans start to pop (sounds like popcorn) and the most memorable is the preparer takes the roasted coffee and walks it around the room so the smell of freshly roasted coffee fills the air ...

The roasted coffee is then put in a small household tool called 'Mukecha' (moo-ke-ch-a) for the grinding. Most restaurants at this time incorporate modern coffee grinders into the process, this is to save time and it does not take much from the ceremony. For those interested mukecha is a heavy wooden bowl where the coffee beans are put and another tool called 'zenezena' which is a wooden/metal stick used to crush the beans in a rhythmic up & down manner (pistil and mortar).

The crushed fresh roasted coffee powder then is put in a traditional pot made out of clay called 'jebena' (J-be-na) with water and boiled in the small open fire/coal furnace. Again the boiling coffee aroma fills the room, once boiled the coffee is served in small cups called 'cini' (si-ni) which are very small chinese cups.

As you sip your first cup of coffee, you've gone through the full process of watching seeing the coffee beans being washed, roasted, grinded, boiled & now the culmination you're drinking them. By now the process is finished at most restaurants, but traditionally Ethiopians stick around to get at least a second serving of coffee and sometimes a third.

The second and third serving are important enough that each serving has a name, first serving is called "Abol"; second serving is "Huletegna"(second) and third serving is "Bereka". The coffee is not grinded for the second and third serving, a portion of coffee powder is left on purpose for these two ceremonies.

Kik Pea Alecha (Chick Pea Stew)

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY HUBBY ON OUR LIFE UPSTATE

So, you want to make a traditional Ethiopian meal? Well, you've come to the right place. It doesn't get more traditional than the crepe/pancake-like sour bread, Injera, topped with Doro (Chicken) Wat and Gomen Wat (Ethiopian Greens). The only thing missing would be Kik Pea Alecha, which is what we will tackle right now. Enjoy!

Kik Pea Alecha (Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans Stew)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Onion, minced
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
2 cups cooked Chick Peas (garbanzo beans)
1/2 tsp. Tumeric
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Ginger
1 1/2 - 2 cups Water

Steps:
1) Cook Onions in Oil until clear.
2) Add Chick Peas, Tumeric, and 1 1/2 - 2 cups Water
3) Cook for 20 minutes
4) Add Garlic and Ginger
5) Cook until soft
6) Mash (or use blender or food processor to process until smooth)

Thanks so much to betumi.com for providing lots of parts of this recipe!

Eating with Injera

Injera is the Ethiopian staple bread. Its a thin crepe like flat bread that the dishes such as Wots, Tibs and Fitfit are served on. To eat the dishes pieces of injera are torn off and used to scoop up mouthful.

Injera is unique to Ethiopia, from its distinct taste and main ingredient the Teff cereal. Teff is the tiniest cereal and used as a staple food only in Ethiopia (in other parts of the world its associated with common grass). Teff is believed to have originated in Ethiopia between 4000 and 1000 BC. Teff seeds were discovered in a pyramid thought to date back to 3359 BC.

Injera preparation usually takes two to three days, the teff is milled into powder then mixed in water along yeast and small quantity of flowers. This mix is set aside at room temperature for 2 days so it ferments and raises. During the second day it starts to give tangy aromas as the fermentation releases air bubbles; this is where the Injera's slight tangy taste comes from.

After the fermentation process is finished the mix is cooked on hot flat iron pan called 'Mitad'. A circular motion is used to achieve thin consistency. When the hot pan and the fermented teff mix/batter contact thousands of tiny air bubbles escape, creating thousands of tiny craters/eyes - creating the familiar look of Injera.

The side touching the hot mitad pan gets its flat look, while the one facing away towards the air has the a porous structure with thousands of mini craters. This porous structure allows the injera to be a good bread to scoop up sauces and dishes.

Restaurants will serve your dishes on injera and they bring a side dish of injera for scooping purposes either rolled up or folded. When you are about to finish your side injera attentive wait staff will bring your more free of charge.

Teff - tiniest cereal
Teff is one of the smallest grains in the world, measuring only about 1/32 of an inch in diameter. Approximately 150 grains equal the size of a kernel of wheat. Teff is considered to have an excellent amino acid composition and lysine levels. One cup of cooked teff contains 387 milligrams of calcium (40 percent of the USRDA, which is more than milk), 15 milligrams of iron (100 percent of the USRDA and twice as much iron as wheat and barley). Teff is high in protein as well as fiber. A rich source of boron, copper, phosphorus, zinc.

Eating with Injera - Handling Instructions
Starting Note:
- Side A = With Holes
- Side B = Flat & Without Holes
- Use one hand (left/right - ok)

1. Tear of a small piece (size of your palm)
2. Side A - side with holes is the one that contacts with the sauce/meat
3. Scoop/Grab sauce or meat with the injera (similar to Indian/Middle Eastern eating)
4. Use your fingers to control; so pieces won't fall down as you put the scoop your mouth
5. It's ok to grab/sample more than one sauce or dish on each scoop-trip
6. Finally you can proceed to eat the bottom/table cloth injera where the sauce was first served, by now it soaked with all the tasty juices and is full of flavors

Source: Ethiopian Restaurant.com

_____________________________________

Get the recipe for injera here.
Read about gursha, the act of hand-feeding another, here.

Here is some additional info and resources regarding injera from some IAN families:

"We buy injera at 10 pieces at a time and freeze it (this was suggested to us by

our ethiopian friends). When you want to use it thaw it out and then just steam
it in the microwave. I usually tear into big pieces and steam it in my pampered
chef steamer but I big bowl covered with wet paper towel or saran wrap will work
too."

"We have found rolling the injera before freezing to be a bad idea. It seems to

defrost better when folded into 'pie' shapes."

Teff flour is available on Amazon.

Websites that sell injera and spices:

• http://www.zelaleminjera.com/
• http://www.ethiopianspices.com/
• http://brundo.com/

Gursha

Gursha means "mouthful" in Amharic and is the Ethiopian tradition of hand-feeding another. It's basically an act of kindness and respect towards the other person. Gursha is exchanged between husband and wife, parents and children, relatives and friends.

From Ethiopian Restaurant.com: Ethiopians (less practiced outside Ethiopia) often hand feed their guests, or guests of honors during dinner/lunch. This is to show respect(often it grabs foreigners by surprise) sometimes the person receiving the Gursha responds in kind and in turn feeds his feeder. Often gurshas are much larger than the regular scoop due to tradition, so you might find your mouth full from front to back. It's ok to decline a Gursha if you are uncomfortable, people won't take offense from this.

Gomen Wat (Ethiopian Greens)

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HUBBY ON OUR UPSTATE LIFE

So far on this blog, we have passed along a great recipe for Injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread. Injera tastes a little strange and sour and, so, there are 3 amazing recipes that you can cook to dump on top of it. We've also given you the first of the 3 recipes, Doro (Chicken) Wat. The other 2 recipes are Gomen Wat (Ethiopian Greens), and >Kik Pea Alecha (Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans Stew). We're going to tackle the Gomen Wat this week and, coming up in the next few weeks, we've got some Latin American recipes as well as a great FettuciniAlfredo recipe for you. Enjoy!

Gomen Wat (Ethiopian Greens)

Ingredients:

1 lb. Green Kale, chopped fine
1 Medium Onion, finely minced
1/2-1 tsp. Garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp. Ginger, ground
1/2 tsp. Tumeric
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 Jalapeno Pepper, chopped
1/2 cup Water
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil

Steps:
1) Saute onion in oil until clear.
2) Add garlic and spices.
3) Cook 3 minutes.
4) Add chopped kale.
5) Add water.
6) Cover and cook kale until tender (about 30 min.)
7) Add jalapenos and cook for 5 min. on low heat.
8) Add more salt to taste (serves 6).

Thanks so much to betumi.com for providing lots of parts of this recipe!

Recipe for Doro Wat (Chicken)

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY HUBBY ON OUR UPSTATE LIFE

Last week, I passed along a great recipe for Injera, the traditional Ethiopian bread, eaten at many, many Ethiopian meals. Once you've got the Injera made (or if you're looking for a unique and very yummy tasting chicken dish), it's time to make the wat, the stuff that goes on the injera. There are 3 recipes that my family and I ate while we were in Ethiopia: Doro Wat (Chicken), Gomen Wat (Ethiopian Greens), and Kik Pea Alecha (Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans Stew). They are all placed on the table together so diners can pick and choose how much or how little they want of each. So good! While injera itself takes kind of sour and, well, strange, these recipes bring out the best and truly make it an amazing meal. In upcoming weeks, I hit up the other recipes, as well as some of our favorite Latin American recipes, and, for toppers, a great Fettucini Alfredo recipe. But, right now, here is the recipe for Doro Wat. Enjoy!

Doro (Chicken) Wat

Ingredients:

2 lbs Chicken Pieces
2 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 tsp Salt
4 Tbs Vegetable Oil
2 cups Onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp Ginger (ground)
1/4 tsp Fenugreek, (crushed)
1/2 tsp Cardamom (ground)
1/8 tsp Nutmeg (ground)
2 Tbs Berbere
4 Tbs Paprika
(for a spicier Wat, use 4 Tbs Berbere and 2 Tbs Paprika)
2 Tbs Tomato Paste
1 cup Water (or more, as needed)
2 Tbs Butter

Steps:
1) Traditionally, a whole Chicken is cut into 8 pieces.
2) Sprinkle chicken with Lemon Juice and Salt
3) Let Chicken stand while preparing other ingredients
4) Heat Vegetable Oil
5) To Oil, add Onions, Minced Garlic, and Ginger.
6) Cover and cook on low heat until Onions are just browned
7) Add Fenugreek, Cardamom, and Nutmeg and stir well
8) Add Berbere, Paprika, Tomato Paste, and Water
9) Bring to a boil and cook slowly, stirring often for about 45 minutes (should be the consistency of heavy cream) - add a small amount of water if necessary
10) Add Chicken pieces to the sauce, turning to coat
11) Add Butter
12) Lower heat and cook chicken for about 1 hour, turning often to prevent sticking and to cook evenly
13) Serve with injera and enjoy!

Thanks so much to betumi.com for providing lots of parts of this recipe!

Injera (Traditional Ethiopian Bread) Recipe

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY HUBBY ON OUR UPSTATE LIFE

My family and I were recently in Ethiopia bringing home our youngest child. Now that we are home, we have decided that it would be a lot of fun to incorporate some traditional Ethiopian recipes into our everyday American lives. A staple food in Ethiopian meals is Injera. It's a sour, thicker-than-a-crepe but thinner-than-a-pancake bread that the Ethiopian folks eat at almost every meal. Why? It's cheap and you can put lots of yummy tasting sauces, meats, or anything else that you can think of right on top. It's eaten with your hands and used to scoop up, soak up, and clean up your plate and, for as strange and sour tasting as it is on its own, it is fantastic with almost anything on top. Traditional Injera is pretty long and then rolled up. When we make it, the best we can do is to find our biggest skillet and go from there. This week, we tackle Injera. In the next few weeks that follow, we'll tackle a couple of different kinds of Wat (that stuff that I said goes on the Injera). This past Little Christmas (Epiphany), my family went multi-cultural, eating Ethiopian and Guatemalan food (with some Fettucini Alfredo thrown in for good measure). So, after the Injera and the Wat, we can tackle, Tamales, Arrepas, Empenadas and, well, Fettucini Alfredo. Enjoy!

Injera

(read recipe carefully - its takes a few days to make)

Ingredients:

2 cups Teff Flour (we found it in the natural food section of our supermarket)
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
5 cups Luke Warm Water

Steps:
DAY ONE
1) Mix Teff Flour, All Purpose Flour, and Salt well.
2) Add Water, stirring constantly until combined.
3) Let stand, covered with a dish towel, undisturbed, at room temperature overnight.

DAY TWO
4) In the morning, stir with a wooden spoon (should already be slightly bubbly at the surface, with the fermenting water rising to the top, and should be beginning to smell sour).
5) Cover again and let stand overnight.

DAY THREE
6) Stir again.
7) Cover and let stand overnight.

DAY FOUR
8) Check your batter. If it is very bubbly and sour smelling, your ready to go. Otherwise, cover and let stand for one 1 more day.
9) Stir the batter until it is combined well.
10) Heat a large, lightly-oiled skillet over medium high heat.
11) Add 1/3 cup of the batter to the skillet.
12) As the batter cooks, I gently rocked the skillet, moving the batter around - when the batter stopped moving, I knew it was cooked through.
13) Using a metal spatula, without cooking the other side of the batter, remove the Injera from the skillet (you can fold it, roll it, or leave it flat - in Ethiopia it was rolled).
14) Repeat until all of the batter is used (adding more oil to the skillet, if necessary)
15) Serve with almost anything - chicken, vegetables, meat or, of course, Wat.

Thanks so much to Ashley Skabar at About.com for providing lots of parts of this recipe!

The Soul of a New Cuisine

The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa by Marcus Samuelsson

From Publisher's Weekly: Born Ethiopian, raised Swedish, and now one of New York City's top chefs, Samuelsson (Aquavit: And the New Scandinavian Cuisine) has written an exotic yet accessible book that will hasten the coming of the African fusion cookery he envisions. His 204 recipes and 258 color photos are enriched with personal and political history; as in his many condiments and sauces, the balance is right. While he stresses the diversity and bounty of the second-largest continent, he repeatedly describes African cuisine as poor people's cooking, crafted with simple tools and necessarily emphasizing starches, vegetables and big flavors. Whether it's rosemary for Honey Bread or turmeric, ginger and cinnamon in his Vegetable Samosas, herbs and spices are always sauteed in oil or tossed in a hot dry pan, to intensify and mellow. He even proposes toasting the cinnamon for the whipped cream accompanying his Ethiopian Chocolate Rum Cake. The recipe for the cake is typical: the batter is prepared in a single bowl, mixed with a spoon, and bakes up moist and gingerbread-like, with great keeping properties. Toasting the cinnamon takes seconds and is impressive in the complexity it delivers.

From Connie, an IAN mama about to travel: We received the most amazing cook book for Christmas. To even call it a cookbook is sort of an injustice. The recipes are amazing and remarkably simple, but the stories, photos and journalism about Africa are even more impressive. The author is Marcus Sameullson, an ET adoptee from Sweden and he now owns a number of successful ET restaurants in NYC. The book is called "The Soul of a New Cuisine". I haven't been able to put it down since we received it.

Adventures in Ethiopian Cooking...

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CAREY ON LIFE IN THE CARPOOL LANE

Scott and I were required to bring an Ethiopian dish to our international adoption class' potluck. Though I am a lousy cook and have never made Ethiopian food before what concerned me most about this request was the fact that there were not one, but two, Ethiopian women in my class. So, I have to make Ethiopian food for Ethiopians?!?!?!?!

After looking over some recipes, I decided to try and make dabo kolo, a small bread type snack. It appealed to me as it only required one exotic ingredient and looked like something the whole family, Jack and Logan included, could make together.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
2 cups wheat flour
2 tablespoons berbere*
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons butter, softened (room temperature)

• In a clean mixing bowl, combine and mix dry ingredients (flour, berberé, sugar, and salt).

• Slowly add the water and mix so as to form a thick paste. Remove the mixture from the bowl and knead it on a lightly-floured surface for a few minutes to form a thick dough. Add the softened butter and knead for an additional five minutes. Let the dough rest in a cool place for ten minutes.

• Divide the dough into handful-size pieces and roll these into long "pencils" not quite as thick as your small finger. Cut these rolls into pieces (scissors can be used), each piece no longer than the width of your finger. (Jack and Logan loved helping for this part.)



• Heat an ungreased skillet over a medium heat. Place enough of the uncooked dabo kolo in the skillet to loosely cover the bottom. (They may have to be cooked in batches.) Cook over medium heat, stirring periodically, until they are lightly browned on all sides, -- OR -- Arrange on a baking sheet. Bake in a hot oven (350 degrees) for twenty to thirty minutes, stirring or shaking the pan a few times to prevent sticking.
• When done, remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Store in dry air-tight containers.

* Berbere is a collection of finely ground spices including hot cayenne pepper, garlic, sweet paprika, ginger and cloves. I bought mine at a local Ethiopian merkato (market) but you can substitute cayenne pepper if you don't happen to have berbere in the spice pantry.

(This recipe is from Recipe Zaar.)

Luckily, when I was at the merkato buying berbere I bought some pre-made dabo kolo. We had never had it before so it was our control subject. The store bought varieties were very crunchy. Unfortunately, the ones we made were hard on the outside but a bit doughy in the middle. Next time we will try making them a lot skinnier.

We were told by one of the Ethiopian women in our class that she makes them without berbere and much much smaller. Knowing how Scott likes to experiment in the kitchen, I'm guessing there are some cinnamon dabo kolo in my future.