Injera, Ethiopian sourdough flatbread with a slightly spongy texture used to scoop up meat and vegetable stews.
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Welcome back to how to make Ethiopian food at home.
I've shared with you five Ethiopian recipes so far. How to make Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Spiced Butter), an essential ingredient when making wot or sauce for stew.
Our family favorite, Doro Wot (Ethiopian Spicy Chicken Stew) served with hard-boiled eggs.
Siga Wot (Ethiopian Spicy Beef Stew) and Misir Wot (Ethiopian Spicy Lentils), which can be served with rice or even better, with traditional Ethiopian injera.
Siga Wot (Ethiopian Spicy Beef Stew) 
Misir Wot (Ethiopian Spicy Lentils)
What is Injera?
Injera is a large sourdough flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, originating from the Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
Large pieces of this flatbread are used as a serving dish, placing the different wot or stews on top and tearing smaller pieces to scoop up the food.
The injera soaks up the juices as the meal progresses. When this edible plate is eaten, the meal is officially over.
Ingredients for Injera (Ethiopian Flatbread)
Traditionally, injera is made with two ingredients, teff flour, and water.
Teff is a tiny, round grain that grows well in the highlands of Ethiopia. While teff is very nutritious, it contains practically no gluten.
Teff flour can be found in different health food stores in the US, or on Amazon.
As you can see, teff flour is on the expensive side, for that reason I'm using a mixture of rice and teff flour to make this gluten-free injera.
Note: This year I discovered an Indian grocery store that carries teff and rice flour at half the price from the ones on Amazon. Worth checking it out!
I've been making Ethiopian food for many years using this cookbook, Exotic Ethiopian Cooking, which has a variety of injera recipes with different grains.
Living in South America and not having access to teff for many years, I've tried a few of those recipes.
How to Make Gluten-Free Injera at Home
I've tried making injera at home for many years now.
I make a big Ethiopian feast for my husband's birthday every year and invite our friends to enjoy it with us, and that means, lots of injera (remember? it's used as a utensil!)
To make injera at home you need to plan ahead. If you are starting from zero, meaning you don't have a starter, you'll need about 5 to 14 days.
I haven't been very smart throughout the years and haven't saved some of the sourdough starter, so I usually need to start from zero every time :(.
I start a month before our delicious Ethiopian feast, just to make sure I have a good starter and then I keep it in the fridge.
The steps are simple. But I do recommend that you print out the recipe and mark the steps you've already done.
You'll notice that this is a small recipe, you can use this as a guide and double it as needed.
Day 1: In a small plastic container, o bowl mix: 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, yeast, and 3 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 3 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.
Day 2: With a spoon, mix starter. Add 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, and 2 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 2 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.
Day 3 and 4: With a spoon, mix starter. Add 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, and 2 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 2 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.
Day 5: With a spoon, mix starter. Take 2 tablespoons of the starter and add it to a small saucepan with 3/4 cup water. Cook over low heat until thick (pudding-like texture). Let it cool completely and add it to the rest of the starter. Add 1/2 cup water, mix well and cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.
Day 6: At this point, you can keep your injera batter in the fridge until you are ready to cook. If you see any lumps, use an electric blender and blend it for a minute, or until smooth.
Cooking and Serving Ethiopian Injera
Injera is cooked in a mitad, a big, round griddle like pan.
If you are making injera often, I really recommend you get this griddle.
The reason I prefer this griddle, is because the heat is consistent throughout the pan.
I just recently found this Omni Tawa pan at the Indian grocery store. I got it for $13 or $15 and it works ok for making injera.
But, you can always cook it on a nonstick frying pan.
The trick is to clean the pan with salt and use a paper towel to wipe it before you add batter to the pan.
The other trick is to cook it on high heat.
I've made it using a regular griddle at 400F and that seems to work fine too.
Watch the video on the recipe card!
Once cooked, place injera on a kitchen towel until completely cool, and then you can stack them on a plate.
Use this injera to cover a platter, place your favorite Ethiopian wot on top and serve more on the side to scoop up your food. Enjoy!
Frequent questions
Yes, you can make injera with all purpose flour. The amount of water might be a little different, but the method is the same.
If you already have a batch of starter: bring it to room temperature. Add 2 tablespoons of teff flour, 2 tablespoons of rice flour, and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix well and let it rest overnight. The next day, add 1 cup teff flour, 1 cup rice flour, and enough water to make a runny batter. Let it rest overnight and use the next day.
Before cooking your injera, reserve 1/4 cup of the starter. Keep it in a container in the fridge. If you are not using it often, once a week remove it from the fridge. Let it come to room temperature, remove 1/2 of the starter (throw it away) and add 1 tablespoon teff flour, 1 tablespoon rice flour, and 1 tablespoon water. Mix it, leave it at room temperature overnight and then place it back in the refrigerator. Do this every week.
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Injera (Ethiopian Flatbread)
Ingredients
- Day 1
- 2 tablespoons teff flour
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- a pinch of dried yeast (half of 1/8 teaspoon)
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons water to cover the dough
- Day 2
- 2 tablespoons teff flour
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons water to cover the dough
- Day 3
- 2 tablespoons teff flour
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons water to cover the dough
- Day 4
- 2 tablespoons teff flour
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons water to cover the dough
- Day 5
- 2 tablespoons injera dough
- 3/4 cup water for cooking
- 1/2 cup water to make a batter
Instructions
- Day 1: In a small plastic container mix: 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, yeast and 3 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 3 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.
- Day 2: With a spoon, mix starter. Add 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, and 2 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 2 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.
- Day 3 and 4: With a spoon, mix starter. Add 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, and 2 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 2 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.
- Day 5: With a spoon, mix starter. Take 2 tablespoons of the starter and add it to a small saucepan with 3/4 cup water. Cook over low heat until thick (pudding-like texture). Let it cool completely and add it to the rest of the starter. Add 1/2 cup water, mix well and cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.
- Day 6: At this point, you can keep your injera batter in the fridge until you are ready to cook. If you see any lumps, use an electric blender and blend it for a minute, or until smooth.
- Cooking injera: Place a shallow, nonstick pan over high heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan, use a paper towel to scrub the pan (gently). Wipe the salt from the pan (you can keep it in a small bowl and reuse it). Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the pan, making sure it covers the whole pan. It should start bubbling. Let it cook for about 20 seconds and cover with a lid. Cook for another 20 seconds. Lift up the lid and cook until edges start to curl up (about 1 to 2 minutes). Remove injera from pan and place them on a kitchen towel (don't stack them yet) until completely cool.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Emily Annand
hello 🙂 do you have any advice on how to make this recipe with less days for making the starter? is it possible to combine some of the steps? thanks!
Lizet
Yes, you can make it in 3 days. It won't be as sour. Double the amount of flour and water every time.
Stacey
Good morning Lizet. I use sourdough so I am familiar with the initial process of fermentation. Please tell me the purpose of step 5 where you cook the starter. Thank you.
Lizet
Hello Stacey, what I read is that it helps form more bubbles or eyes in the injera when it's cooking. For many years I didn't do this step, but once I started, I could see the difference.
You can try it both ways. I don't think the flavor is affected by cooking some of it first.
I hope it works for you.
Amy Liu Dong
This sourdough bread ( injera ) looks so delicious and easy.
I am so excited to make this at home!.
nancy
this looks like a really awesome recipe - where can i find teff flour?
Lizet
Amazon has it, or many health stores.
Keri
We went to an Ethiopian restaurant and had injera. I loved it so much, I looked for a recipe, and came across yours. I followed the directions step by step and it came out perfectly. Thank you. The taste is so unique and it was fun to make!
Megan
Oh, I love the sound of this =. I love using teff flour and seeds. I will let you know how it goes.
Chris
So I have tried this and followed the recipe to the letter. Got the starter all ready but when it came to cooking it went all wrong.
Used a non stick skillet. Use the salt and threw it away. Threw the 1/4 cup batter but the Injera burned the bottom before actually cooked.
While removing it, it was still gooey.
Where did I go wrong 😔
Lizet
So sorry! That has happened to me so many times until I found the right pan to use, and the right amount of heat.
You can try reducing the heat just a little bit. And covering it with a lid while you are cooking it.
If the salt method still doesn't work, spray some oil. I know it's not the "proper" way of doing it, but it saves batter.
And don't give up! Make a double batch next time and try with all your pans, and different temperatures until you get it right.
Debra Stogdill
I could only find teff grain. So, I ground it myself. Up side, it wasn't expensive at all! Thanks so much for the recipe. I'm a Sunday school teacher, starting a unit on Global Exploring. Ethiopia is our first stop. The kids loved eating the lentil stew with the injera. 2 thumbs up!
Lizet
You are a brave SS teacher. I'm so glad the kids liked it. And I'm sure eating with their hands was fun too.
Elizabeth
I love injera!
Especially injera and saga wat,perfect!
And true teff flour is so expensive,I just mix rice flour and all purpose flour
Lizet
Yes! Mixing flours seems to work well, and it's much cheaper. 😅
Mary
I love the idea of using rice flour with the classic teff (you're right it's expensive!). This is so good!
Carrie Robinson
I don't think I have ever had Ethiopian flatbread before! Going to have to make this soon. 🙂
Priya Lakshminarayan
This was such an interesting recipe! Love trying recipes from the world cuisine.
Noelle
Yum! This was delicious! It was a very easy recipe to follow with your instructions, saving to make again over the Holidays!
Sarah James
Your Ethiopian Flatbread sounds delicious, I love the idea of using them as a platter. Plan to make some in the Christmas holidays, thanks for such a detailed recipe.
Emily
I would like to try this. I’m confused at he end though. Question: after you leave the 1/4 do you start feeding it all over again from the day 1 process? And go through every day to be able to cook it after day 5?
Lizet
Sorry! I should edit this post 😅
Once you have your injera starter: bring it to room temperature (I would pull it out when I get up), feed it 1 tablespoon teff + 1 tablespoon water. Let it rest overnight.
The next day, mix 3 cups of flour, starter and enough water to make a runny batter (if you've made injera before, following this recipe, you know how runny it should be). Let it sit overnight.
At this point, you can use it the next day. I like it sour, so I let it sit on the counter for at least 3 nights (without feeding it).
I hope that is helpful!
Chris
Hi there
When you say "3 cups of flour" is this 100% Teff or half/half
Lizet
Hi Chris, if you can afford to make it with 100% teff, go ahead and use it. Otherwise, use 1.5 cups rice flour, and 1.5 cups teff flour.
Becky
Hi there! I’m on day 5 of my starter, and looking ahead it says to save 1/4 cup of the starter for the next batch. How do you maintain it?
Lizet
Hi, so happy you are making this recipe.
I put mine in a jar or plastic container and keep it in the fridge. At least once a week I pull it out (when I get up), let it come at room temperature, feed it 1 tablespoon flour + 1 tablespoon water. Let me rise, and before I go to bed I put it back in the fridge.
Are you using teff flour or white flour?
Becky
Thank you! I’m using 100% teff flour because I can’t eat gluten and didn’t have rice flour on hand 😊
Lizet
Great!
Caz mclaughlin
Hi! I haven't made this yet but I DO have a lovely Ethiopian family who live directly opposite me. They can't always access teff either and have said in the past that they use spelt flour on the odd occasion with the rice flour. It depends on whether the final dish it is used with is sweet or savoury, because in some recipes you can use farina mixtures while in others you can use potato flour. The husband and wife are both great cooks - - - he has told me that even though it isn't necessarily a mans place to cook, nomadic lifestyles in the past and a large family make it a necessity. I hope this helps. Love your recipes, by the way. 🙂 Caz
Lizet
Hi Caz, thanks so much for stopping by.
I guess when you leave your country, you find ways to make your food.
I think it's awesome that your neighbors are from Ethiopia. I hope they let you watch how they make their dishes.
I've never had any sweet Ethiopian dishes. If you know the name of those dishes, let me know and I'll give them a try.