Parading Injera, Griddle Omelet and cheesy Hash with Wasabi Mayonnaise!

Susan of "The well-seasoned cook" is hosting a "Pancakes Parade" event this time. Pancakes? We do have thousands of those in India, don't we? I thought why not try a new pancake I have not tried before. So here it is, a Ethiopian Injera with two side dishes and salad! Enjoy Susan, thanks for hosting!:)


A little note: This is my last post at "Aroma" blog for events this month until the end of August. I will miss cooking for your events but it's time to take a break and rest a bit!
I still have 3 more posts ready to go at my "Foodie's Hope" blog until July 9th. After I post them there, I will be taking a vacation in the cooler Smoky mountain and a long Summer blog break. If you need any recipes from this blog, please type the words in the search engine you see on the sidebar or go to my Recipe Index to search by category or ask me, I will still be moderating the comments here anyway. Enjoy these for now! :)

About Teff:
Teff is staple grain of Ethiopian cuisine and the smallest grain in the world. It takes about 150 teff seeds to equal the weight of a kernel of wheat, so you can imagine how samll! Teff grain is very high in fiber, iron and calcium. It has a sweetish nutty flavor, is completely gluten free ( just like rice flour we use for Neer dosa,) , so you have to mix Teff flour with other flour to make Injera to prevent it breaking into pieces. Teff comes in different colors ie reddish, brown and very creamy color. Injera is eaten with spicy meat (Doro wat+chicken stew) and vegetable Wat (stews) placed on huge Injera on the plate and eaten by hand, tearing and scooping the stews and with a Salata (salad)! Of course they have coffee, homemade Beer called Tela and Tej is a homemade Wine! Ethiopians make many spicy sides dishes, place on the Injera itself and eat them by hand tearing a piece of Injera and scooping the side dishes with it, just like we Indians do! Desserts are not usually served with every meal.

Ethiopian Injera, Yegomen Wat, Yataklete Klikil and a Salata!
Yegomen wat is a side dish with spiced greens like Collard, Kale etc, Yataklete Kilkil is mixed vegetable stew (I used just beets) and a salata/salad of Cucumber, lemon juice, green onion, cilantro and salt. Injera can be made as big as 10-12" in diameter!
Injera, a Ethiopian pancake like dosa, is the national bread of Ethiopia and these can be made in various ways. Just mix Teff flour with water and salt, pour like neer(rice flour) dosa or mix with wheat or plain flour to make pancakes or ferment the batter overnight or longer up to 3 days to make very sour pancakes too. I chose to ferment Teff+wheat flour (atta) batter for just 1 day like we ferment to make our own rice and Urad dosa we south Indians are famous for! :D

How to make Injera:


This is how I made Injera:
1. Mix 1 cup Teff flour, 2 cups slightly warm water, pinch of sugar, 2 tbsp yogurt or 1 tsp yeast, ferment overnight to make them next day.
2. Next morning, add little salt, 1/2 cup plain flour or wheat flour, mix well. Make the batter thin enough to spread itself on the tawa, leave it for 1 hr. A pinch of soda can be added before making Injera.
3. Heat a non-stick Tawa on medium high heat, spread the batter as big as you can, cover with a lid. You cook only on one side as you do Neer dosa but if you can manage flip once.
4. When cooked take it out on a plate, repeat with others.
5. Serve with side dishes, salad and coffee.



Two side dishes:

To make Yegomen wat:
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add 3 chopped garlic, 1/2" grated ginger, few red chilly flakes or few green chillies, saute for a minute.
2. Add 1 chopped onion, saute until soft. Add in 6 cups of cleaned and chopped Greens like collard, kale or Spinach. I used homegrown red chard, pinch of salt and pepper, 1/4 cup water and cook until soft with very little gravy. You can sprinkle 1/8 tsp of Cardamom pd or Nutmeg pd. Adjust the spices and serve.

To make Yataklete Kilkil:
1. You need 4 cups of mixed vegetables. I used just Beets, peeled and cubed.
2. You cook the same way as above but you can add spicy Berbere spice mix if you like this to be different from Greens. It's a mix of various spices similar Indian curry masala.
3. You can also use Niter Kebbeh/spiced butter to season instead of just oil, gives it a great aroma and taste.




Perfect Ethiopian Injera/African Dosa! :D

Enjoy, we certainly did!:)

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KayKat from "Cooking from A to Z" blog is guest hosting "Think spice..Think..." event this month with her of spice "Wasabi"! Ooh, scary spice isn't it? ;D
This event's creator is Sunita of "Sunita's World". My contribution to this event is "Wasabi Mayonnaise on griddle Omelet and cheesy Hash". Enjoy and my thanks to KayKat and Sunita!:))



Wasabi:
Wasabi is used in mostly Japanese cuisine like Sushi, Sashimi etc. The real Wasabi is a root which is to be grated or ground to use. Poor little people like me use the generic Wasabi which comes in little tubes and boxes like this you see below. Click on the Wasabi title link to learn more.
My first experience of eating Wasabi was at a restaurant, not Japanese but in a Italian one. It came as big coin sized green blob on the side of the plate with appetizers. I thought it was some fancy green Mayo and scooped 1/4 tsp and put in my mouth. Next thing I know I was literally seeing stars, my brain started tingling, felt like needles all over my skin and I thought I was going to drop dead right there. It was nothing like I have experience before, specially when your's truly loves her Jalapeño chutney with ghee and Ragi rotti people!! I ran to the rest room to wash of me off ASAP! :D
Well... they had served me the pure kind of root Wasabi. Hurray for them!! I am going to give you a milder and American style Wasabi Mayonnaise, so you can relax. My kids ate this Wasabi Mayo with Omelet and Hash, that says something, ain't it? ;D

Not so authentic Wasabi/greenish Horse Radish powder in a box!!

To make Wasabi Mayonnaise:
Mix 1 tbsp of powdered Wasabi, 5 tbsp regular good quality Mayonnaise from the store, 1 tsp Lemon juice, pinch of salt, 1 tsp honey or sugar (optional), 1 tsp water only if needed and if it's too thick to pour or drizzle on these. Whisk all these and pour into a plastic bottle with spout. Best chilled in the fridge or keep at room temp if using quickly but not for too long, got Mayo in there, remember?

Omelet and Cheesy Hash drizzled with Wasabi Mayonnaise:
This recipe serves two. I have already posted these combo before here. These are similar but simpler way of making these. Once done, plate them and drizzle the Wasabi Mayo on top and serve immediately. Tastes wonderful, enjoy!:)

Make Hash:
Hash takes longer to cook, so start that first. Hash is nothing but grated Potato, cooked with spices and vegs until crisp, a southern US classic.
Coarsely grate 2 medium peeled potatoes. Heat some oil or butter in a non-stick skillet, spread the grated Hash thinly, sprinkle salt, let it get reddish brown on the bottom. Gently flip.
Add any spices and herbs. When done, sprinkle cheese on top, cut into half and take them out on a plate.
Omelet:
Make Omelet with 3 eggs, add salt, spices of your choice on a griddle or a non-stick pan. Push the eggs to the center while it's cooking to make the Omelet thick and fluffy. Cover let it cook on gentle heat, sprinkle cheese on it and take out on a plate. Drizzle Wasabi Mayo and serve with Hash on the side!!

Have a wonderful fun filled Summer, will see you at the end of August or September here again at Aroma!