Yeshimbra Injera: Chickpea Flour Injera

Yeshimbra Dabbo, a bread made with fermented chickpea flour, is the inspiration for this dish. Injeras are Ethiopian thin pancake-like fermented flat breads usually made from flours like t'ef, sorghum, barley, maybe even corn, wheat, or a combination. I like making injeras as it is a great alternative to my favorite Dosai that I grew up with.

The idea behind Dosai and injera seems similar to me - fermented flour, spread thin on a griddle or pan, cooked over medium heat till required done-ness, served with some wonderful sides, torn by hand and relished slowly.

I like to make injeras with buckwheat, rye, spelt flours sometimes. Chickpea flour is another great option for soft fluffy injeras and they are quite tasty.

It does need some planning ahead as the batter is not ready till well-fermented - and that could take up to 36 or 48 hours depending on the season, how warm the place is to allow good fermentation. Usually, if I start the batter tonight, it is fermented and ready for dinner the day after tomorrow.

Ingredients
2 cups chickpea flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp rapid rise yeast
2 cups warm water (more if needed before cooking)

1 tsp baking soda and salt to taste, to be used just before cooking

Preparation

1. Combine the flours, yeast, and water, stir well, cover loosely with a cheesecloth and allow to ferment in a warm place for 24 to 36 hours; stir once every 12 hours or so
2. When it develops a slight pleasant sour smell and bubbles when stirred, it is ready to be made into injeras
3. Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat, brush or spray with oil if preferred
4. Stir in the salt and baking soda, add a little water if needed to make a thin batter like for crepes, which can be poured into the pan and spread around by simply picking up and tilting the pan
5. Holes form on the surface as it cooks; I usually cook only on one side till the raw batter turns color as it cooks through; but, can flip and cook the other side if preferred

Roll up the injera one by one as they come off the pan and stack them for serving. Perhaps lay a few of them flat and overlapping on a large plate and scoop small mounds of sides on top. Serve warm with sides like mesir wat, y'abesha gomen, yekik alicha or bamya alicha, maybe even some Yeqey Sir Qiqqil, some Selatta...

Some of the sides can be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated, and warmed up before serving.