Recipe to make quick Ethiopian flatbread similar to Injera with Teff flour. Serve them with delicious lentil and vegetable sides for a filling, wholesome meal.
Today I have a recipe to make quick Ethiopian Injera style flatbread. Authentic Injera batter takes about 4~5 days to ferment. Whereas this quick version needs just about an hour to rise.
Ethiopian food is one of my favorites. I have been looking for a quick Injera recipe for quite some time. This recipe is from Vegan Eats World cookbook.
Teff is a Millet
This recipe is for blogging marathon’s theme ‘millet recipes’. Teff is a small millet and belongs to the same family as finger millet (aka ragi) and proso millet (varagu).
Whole teff looks very similar to ragi in color and shape, but they belong to different biological genus. They are both gluten-free and very nutritious.
Teff has been grown in Africa for centuries. It is a staple in Ethiopian diet and accounts for about two-thirds of the daily protein intake. Read more about Teff and millet article by whole grains council.
Quick Injera
I have another Injera recipe on the blog which is made with sourdough starter. There the batter needs to rest overnight.
But this quick recipe which is not authentic by any means, uses a small amount of yeast and needs only about 1 hour rising time.
Ingredients
A combination of all purpose flour and teff flour is used in this recipe. If you can’t find teff flour, buckwheat flour is a good substitute to use in this recipe.
The flatbread is leavened with a small amount of instant yeast.
The reaction between apple cider vinegar and baking soda helps in giving these quick flatbreads the characteristic injera texture.
Instructions
Start by combining all purpose flour and teff flour, in a medium size bowl.
Add instant yeast, baking soda, salt and mix well.
Stir in warm water, apple-cider vinegar and whisk vigorously until a smooth batter forms.
Cover the bowl and set aside to rise for about 1 hour.
When ready to make the flatbread, preheat a non-stick or cast iron skillet on medium-high heat for at least 5 minutes.
Lightly spray the pan with cooking spray.
Mix the batter once or twice and then pour about ¼ cup of batter on the outside of the hot pan and work in a spiral toward the center. Swirl the pan to evenly distribute it in the pan.
Cover and cook for about 2 minutes. The bottom of the flatbread should be completely cooked through and the top should be dry to touch.
Transfer the cooked injera to a plate and cover immediately with a kitchen towel or a plastic wrap.
Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve them warm or at room temperature.
How to serve?
Traditionally side dishes are placed right over the flatbread and served. It is more or less like a plate in itself.
If you want to experience a complete Ethiopian meal, then go ahead and make mesir wat and tikel gomen.
But if you don’t have the time, then a simple dal (like this Bengali dal) and a stir fry curry (like this aloo-gobhi) will also be great. If not make this potato lentil stew and enjoy the meal.
Quick Ethiopian Flatbread | Injera Style
Ingredients
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- ½ cup Teff flour*
- 1 teaspoon Instant yeast
- 2 cups Warm water
- 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously into a smooth batter, cover and set aside for 1 hour in a warm spot.
- Preheat a 9″ non-stick or cast-iron skillet on high heat for 5 minutes.
- Lightly spray the skillet with cooking spray.
- Pour ¼cup of the batter on the outside of the hot pan and work in a spiral toward the center. Tilt the pan to fill in any holes. Immediately cover the pan with a loose-fitting lid and let the injera cook for 2~3 minutes.
- Injera is done when the top is no longer shiny or wet and feels firm to touch. Transfer the cooked injera to a plate and cover immediately with a kitchen towel or a plastic wrap.
- Stack the injera on top of each other. Keep them covered to keep them moist and soft.
Notes
- Buckwheat flour can be used instead of Teff flour.
- Apple cider vinegar can be substituted with either white vinegar or lemon juice.
Nutrition
Let’s check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today for BM# 113.
vaishalisabnani
Yes, I do remember your previous Injera bread, a quick version is wonderful .
Gayathri Kumar
I made injera once and yes it takes a lot of time. This quick version also looks amazing. Love your spread..
Mireille
I had this once at an ethiopian restaurant and hated it to the core – it is so sour and the spongy texture….ugh but as long as you liked it, I am sure it was good but I think the teff flour is more sour than buckwheat
sapana
Ethiopian style bread looks so soft and delicious.
Suma Gandlur
Those injera have come out soft.
Rajani
Injera is in my todo list for a long time now. Quick version is of course great when you may not feel like waiting. The whole platter looks delicious!
Suma Gandlur
The injera picture with the side dishes look inviting.
Sushma Pinjala
Wow, very nice Pavani. I have had this flatbread sometime ago at an Ethiopian restaurant. We loved the dishes they served. Bookmarked ur recipe to try it soon.
Lizet Bowen
I will definitely be trying this quick version of the Ethiopian injera. I usually make mine with sourdough and it takes a few days like you said, and keeping the starter alive.
Looking forward to making it 🙂
cookshideout
Do try. We love these quick Injeras.
Meera
Can I use ragi flour?
cookshideout
Hi Meera, Yes, you can use it because it is very similar to teff. I have not tried this combination myself but I am confident it will work. Please let me know if you try it. Thank you.
Meera Mehta
Thanks…will definitely get back to you
Ashley Marie Lecker
I love this quicker version of this flatbread. This looks delicious, and I love that I can have it ready in a just an hour versus a few days!
Erika
This Injera style flatbread looks so good. I’ve never worked with Teff flour before, but I think I can easily get my hands on some buckwheat flour to give this a try!
Srivalli Jetti
The new pictures are so well taken pavani, though I remember the previous ones were good too..:)
Harini Rupanagudi
I haven’t used teff flour but heard about Injera and you have made it beautifully.
Diana
Is the measurements for the flour correct? My batter was basically liquid. Is it supposed to be 1.5 cup of all purpose flour?
I tried cooking it anyway and it didn’t work out but the flavor was good. So I’m hoping there was an error in the recipe so I could try again
cookshideout
Hi Diana, sorry to hear that. But the recipe as written is correct and the batter is supposed to be liquidy. If you see the video in this post, the batter is poured onto the hot pan and swirled to evenly coat the pan. Can you please let me know which part did not work for you? Did it not set as shown? Please send me an email, so I can figure what might have gone wrong.
Emmett
Hi cookshideout,
Unfortunatly I have found just like Diana, the recipie has a consistancy not much thicker than water. I doubled the flower in small batches to get a thin batter. It worked ok, the taste was great but think the ratio’s need looking at again. Thank you for posting, It’s a great addition.
cookshideout
Hi Emmett, I am so sorry to hear that you had trouble with the consistency. I am planning to retest this recipe and update accordingly. Thank you so much for taking time to let me know.
Shelli
The first ones were way too thin. I added more flour and it worked ok.
William Livernois
This was great! It didn’t taste like injera I’ve had in restaurants but maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. We managed to do the whitest thing and eat them with butter and marmalade. That was unexpectedly delicious…
Lisa
These turned out really well! Thank you!