The spice traders who have come through Ethiopia since the 1400s have influenced Ethiopian cuisine by introducing nonindigenous ingredients such as chili peppers and ginger. Indian spices have also been introduced, and thus Ethiopian cuisine today involves bold spices and flavors. The mix of Christian and Muslim people there also influences Ethiopian food in that vegetables are a large part of the cuisine, and pork is not used. Rather than utensils, Ethiopians use injera, a pancake-like food, to pick up their entrees. Below are instructions on make injera and wat, the national foods of Ethiopia.
Instructions
1. Make injera by mixing the teff and water in a bowl. Cover with a dishtowel and let stand in room temperature until it bubbles and turns sour. This fermentation process can take three days. When fermented, it should have the consistency of pancake batter.
2. After fermentation, stir in salt to the desired flavor. Typically, stir in a bit of salt at a time until the sour taste diminishes to the point were you can barely detect it.
3. Lightly oil the skillet and heat over medium heat. Pour in enough batter to cover the skillet, about ¼ cup. Spread the batter by rotating the skillet in the air, similar to the way you would when cooking crepes.
4. Cook until holes form and the edges lift from the pan. Remove the cooked injera and set aside to cool.
5. Make the wat by first chopping the onions and the garlic. Add them to the pan, without adding oil or water, and sauté over high heat until the onions are translucent. Add 1 cup of olive oil and lower heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
6. Add the hot paste or the savory paste. Stir until blended. Continue stirring while adding 1 tbsp. salt and curry powder, cardamom, cloves, oregano, basil and cinnamon. Reduce heat to low and simmer another 10 minutes.
7. Add in tomato paste and stir until blended. Simmer another 10 minutes. The wat should have a rich red color. At this point, you can add in cut-up pieces of chicken (bone-in) or beef to braise in the wat until cooked. Allow about one hour for the chicken and 10 to 15 minutes for the beef. Stir the minced beef slowly and constantly to prevent clumping.
8. Place one injera on a plate and scoop wat in the middle of the injera. Using your hands, tear off a piece of injera and use it to pick up pieces of meat in the wat.
Tags: another minutes, Ethiopian cuisine, should have, stir salt, until blended
