Eritrea - Zigini and Injera Bread

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Ingredients:

2 lb stewing beef, in cubes

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large onion, chopped

4 clove garlic, crushed

2 can tomato, with liquid

salt, pepper

fresh coriander (cilantro) (optional to garnish)

Berbere Pepper 3 tbsp (If you would like a milder stew, use 1/3 of the Berbere in the recipe.)

A child friendly version can be made by leaving the black and hot peppers out of the spice blend until after
the stew is prepared and dished out for the kiddies (or those who don’t like spicy food). This will give the
aromatic quality of the stew without the fire. If you take this route, make sure you toast the peppers
separately and add them to the stew giving another 5-10 minutes for the flavors to incorporate before
serving.

Recipe for Berbere

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground fenugreek

1/16 teaspoon ground cloves

1/16 teaspoon ground allspice

1/16 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 tablespoon salt

1 1/4 tablespoons cayenne pepper

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

For the Berbere, combine the spices and roast in a dry skillet on low to moderate heat, stirring constantly,
for about 5-10 minutes, or until roasted.

To store extra spices place in an air tight jar.

For the stew, fry the meat on high heat until brown, add the onion stirring for 3-5 minutes till translucent,
and eventually add the garlic and 3 tbsp Berbere Seasoning.

Add the tomatoes with their liquid and boil slowly until the meat is tender and the stew has thickened
(30-60 minutes).
Garnish with coriander and serve hot on Injera (Ethiopian flat bread).

Injera Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup teff flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (1 cup of all purpose if you don’t have teff)

1 cup water

a pinch of salt

peanut or vegetable oil

a mixing bowl

a nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet

Tip

If you have teff grain instead of flour, first grind it in a clean coffee grinder, or with a mortar and pestle.

Tip

Many Ethiopians in America use square-shaped, electric, nonstick pans. These heat evenly and make it
easy to remove the Injera once it is cooked.

Did You Know?

Teff is extremely high in fiber, iron, and calcium.

Preparation

Put the teff flour in the bottom of a mixing bowl, and sift in the all-purpose flour.

Slowly add the water, stirring to avoid lumps.

Stir in the salt.

Heat a nonstick pan or lightly oiled cast-iron skillet until a water drop dances on the surface. Make sure
the surface of the pan is smooth: Otherwise, your injera might fall apart when you try to remove it.
Coat the pan with a thin layer of batter. Injera should be thicker than a crêpe, but not as thick as a
traditional pancake. It will rise slightly when it heats.

Cook until holes appear on the surface of the bread. Once the surface is dry, remove the bread from the
pan and let it cool.

What’s Going On?

If you’ve ever cooked pancakes, making Injera might seem familiar. In both cases, tiny bubbles form on
top as the batter cooks. Keeping an eye on these bubbles is a great way to see how close the pancake or
Injera is to being ready without peeking underneath.

These bubbles come from the carbon-dioxide produced by the leavener—usually baking powder or soda in
the case of pancakes, “wild” yeast in the case of Injera. Neither batter contains much gluten. Most pancake
recipes tell you not to mix the batter too much. If you do, gluten will develop, making them too chewy.
Teff, the grain used to make Injera, contains very little gluten to begin with. In both cases, the result is the
same: With no gummy substance to “blow up,” most of the carbon-dioxide from the leaveners rapidly
escapes into the air, leaving the little popped bubbles that contribute to the distinctive textures of these
breads.