Fire-roasted Eggplant Gothsu

Gothsu  (Gojju) is a fairly common tamarind-based fire-roasted eggplant dish in south India. As always, there is a general principle on what ingredients to be added in what proportion, but is always adjusted to each family's tastes. Some prefer a sprinkling of brown sugar to bring out the flavors  and add a mild sweetness, while others frown upon brown sugar in any of the spicy tamarind-based sambar and gothsu and other curries.

Fusion cuisine being my specialty, this dish did not confine itself to the bounds of traditional south Indian formula based on sambar powder.

Instead, Mekelesha and Mitmita spice powders from Ethiopia brought in that warmth and spiciness that gothsu is relished for.

It is rather fun to char the eggplant over open flame in my gas stove. For a blend of flavors, I went with fire-roasting some red and yellow bell peppers and pan-roasting cherry tomatoes for the recipe.

Ingredients
2 long Ichiban or Neon eggplant
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
10 cherry tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp finely grated ginger
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Mekelesha spice powder
1 tsp Mitmita spice powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Fire roast the eggplant, bell peppers, and roast the tomatoes in the oven or pan; allow to cool a little and dice finely
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, ginger, a pinch of salt, and turmeric powder; sauté
3. When onions are translucent, add the roasted veggies, tamarind, spice powders and brown sugar, stir to combine; add a splash of water as needed, cover, and allow to simmer till flavors meld
4. Taste and adjust flavors; garnish with scallions and cilantro
5. Serve warm with basmati rice or naan or roti

Beet Lentil Feta Burger Patties

It is comforting to recognize that I've always liked leftovers. Many fond memories surround the "new" foods I tried as a kid-- foods, as it turns out, that were reconstituted and repackaged leftovers, thanks to my mom who is quite adept at making dishes even more attractive each time she "recycled" them. No wastage in her kitchen.

And, no wastage in mine either. Although I tend to primarily serve portioned plated meals most of the time, there are some weekends that call for family-style meals to be savored over a couple of days.

The recent Injera bash with five sides certainly guaranteed some leftovers, which thrilled me to bits as I can find ways to repackage them.

Leftover Mesir wat (lentils), Zelbo gomen (kale), Yeqey Sir Qiqqil (beets) were perfect starting point.

Add in some leftover brown rice, some feta, and already it screams "Veggie Burger".

Since the leftover mesir wat and gomen can be a bit watery, best to strain out the liquids first, then add the brown rice and feta, minced garlic, and a generous sprinkling of berbere spice mix. Gently pulse to a coarse mass.

It still might need a binding agent to hold it all together. While eggs seem like the standard, I don't typically use it in my patties and cutlets.

So, I went with my favorite Coconut Flour.

Mix in just enough coconut flour to be able to shape the patties. Just for fun, some Panko breadcrumbs got pressed in till the patties were happy to hold their shape.

Pan-cooking them first to seal both sides and then baking them till firmly set seems to work well for me, but, if preferred, can grill it or pan cook it all the way through.

Who needs buns? Patties are perfect by themselves.

I can't seem to ignore the kale flowers from my garden, they sneak into every food photo I've clicked since they bloomed. They are short-lived, of course, so, soon there won't be any, but at least I'll have these pictures to make me smile when I miss them.

Ethiopian Spiced Stews with Injera

Much like the various Masala Spice Powders of India, I enjoy learning about the various spice mixes in cuisines around the world.

Having made Ethiopian foods for nearly a dozen years now, my go-to reference has been Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by D.J. Mesfin.

While the book does not have gorgeous food photos, and the instructions are somewhat loose, I like the Society, Culture, Hospitality & Traditions explained in the introduction, as well as the cooking methods and general tips for "doing it right".

And, nothing beats tasting the foods at Ethiopian restaurants and getting a feel for its flavors and presentation.

The three main spice mix that I like to use are Mitmita, Mekelesha, and, of course, the most popular Berbere, which can be made into a paste rather than a powdery spice mix.

Mitmita is fiery hot spice mix that uses super hot chilies, along with the warmth and comfort of cardamom and cloves. A small dash of this goes a long way in stews/wats.

Mekelesha, made with a blend of 7 spices, reminds me of a combination of my favorite South Indian Sambar powder and Northeast Indian Panch Phoron spices. A combination of cumin, Indian cinnamon, cardamom, long pepper (aka pippili), nigella, ajwain/caraway, cloves and nutmeg bring a rich confluence of aroma and flavors to this mix.

Berbere, the staple Ethiopian spice mix, is not necessarily a set-in-stone recipe, much like the Sambar and Rasam powders of South India or the Garam masala and Curry powder that are popular all over India. The bright red color from paprika, plus, some chili powder, nigella, ajwain, fenugreek all add up to a fantastic base to flavor many of the Ethiopian dishes that accompany the soft and spongy injeras.

Every once in a while, I get these as ready-made mixes from Ethiopian store nearby, where I am told it is sold fresh in small batches so they don't sit on the shelf and grow stale. If I run out of store-bought, I make my own, and for sure each batch comes out a bit different from the previous one, and that's okay as I vary the proportions and don't measure out exactly anyway.

For a weekend dinner, Injera with a few sides is quite a satisfying spread. I went with 5 easy sides, along with Yedagussa Injera which is typically made with millet flour, but this time I did equal parts millet + all purpose flour.

Though Injeras are usually made with tef flour, they can be made with chickpea flour, buckwheat, millet, rye, spelt flours, even corn and rice flours. The consistency of the finished pancake will differ in texture and thickness, of course.

Pretty much all of these recipes below are already shared in this blog over the years, so, am just linking to those. Of course, each time, I vary the proportions a bit and the dish comes out just a bit different and that is fine.


Yekik Alicha: Split Pea Sauce. Only, I used split pigeon peas (aka Tuvar dal, in India)

Mesir Wat: Lentils stew using Berbere

Zelbo Gomen: Kale Stew using Mekelesha, cooked much like Y'abesha Gomen

Yeqey Sir Qiqqil: Boiled Beets in Lemon Vinaigrette

Ayib BeMit'Mit'a: Spiced Cottage Cheese, using Mitmita

Doro We't: Ethiopian Chicken Stew

Doro We't (or Wat) is an Ethiopian chicken stew that makes a spicy and delicious accompaniment to soft fluffy home-made injeras.

This recipe for Doro Wat is an approximation as I make it with spices that are handy and get close to the taste I relish from the local Ethiopian restaurants. Also, usually chicken is cut into chunks, bone and all, and cooked in this gravy/sauce till done. Since D prefers only chicken breasts, I have used boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.

Here, I serve it with yeshimbra injera, cabbage and potato alicha and some simple selatta.




Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into quarters
1 medium red onion, cut into slices
1 green or red bell pepper, cut into thin slices
salt to taste
1 Tbsp oil

for the spices to simulate berbere flavor:
4 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp red hot chili powder (more if preferred)
½ tsp five spice (or allspice) powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg (less if you don't like the strong flavor)
1/4 tsp fenugreek powder (sold as 'methi powder' in Indian stores- can be omitted if hard to find)
4 black cardamom in pod
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Preparation

1. In a large cast iron skillet, heat some oil, place the chicken breast chunks without crowding, add the onions, bell pepper, sprinkle some salt
2. Add the spices, enough water, cover and allow to simmer undisturbed till chicken is done

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.

Rye Spelt Injera

Over the last few years, I have started incorporating more of buckwheat, rye and spelt flours in my recipes.

Pizza, injera, and even some earthy breads seemed to turn out fine. The trick was to experiment and find the right balance with all purpose flour and gluten when using spelt or rye or buckwheat flours. Many of my breads and naans with spelt and rye flours turned out a disaster - dense and stiff like cardboard.

Spelt especially can be difficult to work with as it doesn't have as much gluten as whole wheat, so, it won't rise as much and tends to stay dense, but tastes pretty good. And precisely for this reason of low gluten it is preferred by many who have gluten-intolerance.

Even now, I can't say I have any sure-fire way of success... am still experimenting and documenting all the successful ones here :)

A while back, Sig sent me some starter which I have been feeding and using in a few other recipes. This injera recipe is one of them. I started the fermentation on a Sunday night and the batter was ready for dinner following Wednesday.

If starter is not handy, I am sure my usual recipe with rapid rise yeast would work just fine.

The only main difference I found between rye-spelt injera and all-purpose flour injera is that I had to make these a little thicker than normal else they fell apart easily. Plus they had a more wholesome earthy flavor than the all-purpose injeras.

This time, I served the injera with some steamed spinach (with spices similar to y'abesah gomen), a mushroom and bell pepper curry, and some kohlrabi dal ... not quite the traditional Ethiopian sides, but, I had them handy and it made a sumptuous weeknight meal.

Ingredients
1 cup yeast starter
1 cup rye flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups water (plus more as needed)
½ cup spelt flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Mix the starter, rye, spelt, all purpose flour with the water, stir well, cover and allow to rise in a warm place for about 2-3 days, stirring once each day
2. I usually mix them in a ceramic bowl, heat the oven to about 175°F, turn it off and leave the bowl in there to start the fermenting process
3. When batter is well fermented, it will acquire a pleasant sour odor and be a little gooey with sort of latex paint consistency, and when stirred, gets quite bubbly
4. When ready to make the injeras, add the baking powder, salt, stir well, add water as needed to make a thin crepe-like batter
5. Heat a pan, brush or spray with oil as needed, ladle some batter and swirl it around to form a thin layer; bubbles/holes will form at the top surface and as it gets cooked the batter will set and no longer look wet; can remove from pan at this time - no need to flip and cook the second side

Yekik Alicha and Yeqey Sir Qiqqil

This Yekik Alicha recipe is adapted from Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by Daniel Mesfin

Yekik Alicha is a mild and flavorful split pea stew. I used Chana Dal and some handy spices from my cupboard, so, this may not be traditional, but it came close to what I had at the restaurant some time back :)

I had started some buckwheat injera batter over the weekend and it was ready by mid-week. So, I decided to make a simple Ethiopian meal again, which my little toddler seems to enjoy as much as we do. This time, I served it with Bamya Alicha, Yekik Alicha and a simple boiled beetroot dish called Yeqey Sir Qiqqil.

Yeqey Sir Qiqqil: boil 1-2 medium beets (or get canned beets), dice or slice, toss with some olive oil, lemon juice and salt; allow to rest for 10 minutes or so till flavors meld.

Ingredients
1 cup yellow or green split peas
1 medium red onion diced
3-4 cloves of garlic crushed
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
3-4 green chilies chopped or sliced
salt to taste
1 tbsp canola oil

spices:
1 tsp nutmeg powder (less if you don't like the strong flavor)
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp allspice powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
½ tsp cardamom powder (optional)

Preparation

1. wash and cook split peas till well- done - still firm not mushy
2. heat oil in a pan, add the onion, ginger and garlic and sauté till onions turn translucent
3. add the split peas, spices, chilies, salt, some water, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes on medium low heat

Serve warm with Injera.

Bamya Alicha

Exotic Ethiopian Cooking by Daniel Mesfin is one of the books D gave me early in our marriage. I like the book. Simple recipes, easy to follow. The only thing I would have liked more is to have pictures of each of the dish along with the recipe on that page. The book does have assorted pictures of dishes spread around the book, though, with the caption and all.

Anyway, I use it as a guide more than following recipes to the letter. So, this recipe of Bamya Alicha, which is a spicy okra stew/side, usually served with Injera, is not strictly traditional and is not per the recipe in the book, thanks to my chronic inability to follow any recipe to the letter :)

Ingredients
½ package frozen cut okra
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1-2 red chilies
2 Tbsp grated ginger
3 cloves of garlic crushed or minced
salt to taste

spice powders:
2 tsp paprika powder
2 tsp allspice powder
1-2 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder (adjust to taste)
1 tsp nutmeg powder (optional)
2 tbsp canola oil
½ cup water

Preparation

1. heat the oil in a pan, add the tomatoes and sauté till soft
2. add the ginger and garlic, sauté till fragrant
3. add the cut frozen okra (no need to thaw - usually it is par-cooked and doesn't take long to cook through), some water, and some salt
4. cover and simmer till okra is tender
5. stir in the spice powders, simmer some more; adjust to taste

Ethiopian meal

I started this batter for Injera last Sunday and it was finally ready today, so I made a simple meal of injera plus a few sides. I had already soaked, pressure cooked and frozen some brown lentils and potatoes over the weekend, so, that cut down on cooking time. This meal was ready within 35 minutes, quite surprisingly, with multi tasking and parallel processing, of course...

Injera: same as my all-purpose flour injera recipe except, I used half all-purpose flour, half sprouted ragi flour.

Ragi, aka finger millet, is very nutritious and available readily in India, but, I had some difficulty finding it at Indian stores nearby here - I had to keep checking back to see if they got a new fresh shipment - when it ages it feels stale and I don't like it much.

The sprouted ragi flour we had needed to be used up as I had bought it several months ago planning to make ragi kanji and ragi koozh (porridge of sorts) for my baby... but, since she eats what we eat anyway, and I didn't want any koozh or kanji for myself, the ragi flour just sat there on the shelf, aging not-so-gracefully...

I served it with mesir wat, and cabbage-potato alicha which are essentially the same recipe as I had posted before.

However, the y'abesha gomen is not quite the usual gomen. I had to use up the chard from our garden, so, the recipe is the same as before, just used chards instead of collard greens.

The selatta is just romaine hearts dressed with a simple vinaigrette of lemon juice and olive oil, some salt and pepper.

Also, served yekik alicha, bamya alicha, yeqey sir qiqqil - Ethiopian beet salad, Ayib Bemit'Mit'a - cottage cheese with hot chilies. So, it's a pretty loaded injera...

buckwheat injera

Injera is one of the favorites in my family, almost right up there with Dosai, as my wee one likes it too. I've wanted to incorporate more buckwheat in our diet and this seemed like a good recipe for that.

This is very much like the other all-purpose flour injera recipe I have, with slight difference.

Ingredients
2 cups buckwheat flour
2 tsp rapid rise yeast
4 cups lukewarm water
salt to taste
a pinch baking powder
some oil

Preparation

1. combine buckwheat flour, yeast and water and stir well till no lumps exist, cover and let it ferment in a warm place for 2 days; stir once a day
2. when ready to make, add salt to taste and a pinch of baking powder
3. the batter sort of has the texture of latex paint - it is a bit sticky/gooey, so, adjust water as needed
4. heat a non-stick pan, brush some oil as needed, pour a small amount of the batter and swirl it around till it is in a thin layer
5. remove when holes form on the top surface and injera looks cooked; can also flip and cook the other side if preferred
6. serve warm with mint chutney, or mesir wat, or gomen

mesir wat

Injera without mesir wat feels like Christmas without a caroling, Diwali without fireworks... so, I usually try to plan at least mesir wat with injera, if not any other side.

This recipe is probably not very traditional, as with most of my recipes. I usually make a jar of berbere paste and keep it refrigerated and handy; but as I ran out of berbere paste a few weeks ago and have not had a chance to make some more, this recipe approximates the taste even without the pre-made berbere paste.

Ingredients
for the paste:
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic
4-6 dry red chilies (depending on variety - some are very hot)
1-2 cloves (optional)
---
spices:
4 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp five spice (or allspice) powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg (less if you don't like the strong flavor)
1/4 tsp fenugreek powder (sold as 'methi powder' in indian stores- omit if you can't find it)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
---
2 cups dry brown lentils
2 Tbsp oil
water as needed
salt to taste

Preparation

1. pressure cook the lentils, if you have a pressure cooker; else just boil some water and throw the lentils in and cook till well done, slightly mushy, while some of them still retain their shape
2. combine all the ingredients for the paste and blend them into a fine paste
3. heat a pan, add the dry spice powders and lightly toast them on the dry pan, then add oil and the paste from step 1, stir till well incorporated and raw flavor of onions and garlic is gone
4. then add the cooked lentils, some water as needed, adjust salt to taste and cook till flavors are well-mingled
5. serve warm with injera, along with gomen, cabbage-potato alicha
   

Injera

Every once in a while, I love to cook a simple Ethiopian meal of Injera and a few sides. Last Friday was one such day where we had injera, cabbage and potato alicha plus mesir wat, y'abesha gomen, selatta and a chutney to boot!

Usually I like to make Injera with Tef^† flour, but, all-purpose flour serves as a good substitute. Here's a recipe for Injera with all-purpose flour.
^† A mix of teff and all-purpose flour works better than pure teff flour in my experience.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups lukewarm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp baking powder
salt to taste
2 Tbsp canola oil


Preparation

1. add the yeast to the flour and slowly add the water and stir it well to form a thin batter; cover and let it sit in a warm place for 3 days; stir the batter once a day
2. when ready to make the injera, add the baking powder and salt to taste, stir well
   
3. heat a large non-stick pan/griddle, brush it with some canola oil, set heat at medium-high
   
4. take about 1/2 cup of batter and pour it on the pan and swoosh it around to spread the batter into a thin layer on the pan (sort of like making crepe)
5. bubbles/holes will form on the surface as the batter cooks and gets dry; usually, injera is cooked only on one side, so not necessary to flip it; oil the pan as needed to make sure injera comes off the pan without struggle
   
6. remove from pan; layer a few injera at the bottom of the serving platter, overlapping each other; then, roll up the rest of the injera as they come out of the pan and arrange them on the serving platter; the quantity here makes about a dozen 8" injeras which seems to be plenty for two
   
7. sides are usually served on the bed of injera, but, i enjoy holding a rolled up injera in one hand and taking a piece and dipping it in my plate of sides with the other:-)
   

Cabbage and Potato Alicha

Cabbage and Potato cooked together as a stew or done separately, makes a delicious side to scoop Injera with and enjoy. I like to present cabbage and potatoes as separate dishes to accompany injera because it adds to the number of sides, each with distinct flavor (usually, at least half-a-dozen sides is what i like to aim for :-))

This here is a cabbage+potato alicha, and not too runny - I try to keep it a little on the dry side as Injera soaks it up and falls apart easily - which is not necessarily a bad thing, but, gets harder to scoop up if it is runny...

Ingredients
1/2 medium cabbage, coarsely chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp five spice powder (OR, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
salt to taste
2 Tbsp canola oil
water as needed

Preparation

1. heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan, add the cabbage, sautee, adjust salt to taste; set aside
2. heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan, add the onions, spices and potatoes, stir well; add enough water, cover and cook the potatoes till done; adjust salt to taste
3. if making a cabbage+potato stew, stir in the cabbage from step 1, adjust the water to get a thick stew-like consistency
4. serve warm with Injera, and other sides for injera like y'abesha gomen, mesir wat, cabbage and potato alicha.

y'abesha gomen

I got introduced to Ethiopian food at Queen Of Sheba in downtown Indianapolis back in 1996. The proprietress was a very nice lady, very friendly, and the food was incredibly tasty. The last I heard, unfortunately, this charming restaurant had to close due to rising property taxes.

I *had* to learn how to cook Ethiopian food!

I've tried several recipes from several sources over the past 10 years and I think I've adapted the recipes to available ingredients fairly well.

This is a very simple collard greens dish that usually accompanies Injera.


Ingredients
1 bunch collard green leaves, (usually sold about 8-10 large leaves per bunch)
1 medium red onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
3 green chilies slit lengthwise (omit if you don't like the heat)
1" piece ginger
3 cloves of garlic
2 dry red chilies (less, if you prefer)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
spices:
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp allspice (or 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
1 tsp black pepper powder (optional)
salt to taste

water as needed


Preparation

1. pound the ginger, garlic, dry red chilies into a coarse paste and set aside
2. coarsely chop the collard greens, rinse well
3. heat the oil in a pan; add the onion, slit green chilies, tomatoes and the pounded paste from step 1 and sautee till onions turn translucent; add the paprika and stir it in
4. add the washed, chopped collard greens; add a cup of water and 1 tsp salt to start the greens cooking; stir and check frequently to make sure there is enough water till the greens cook enough to be soft but not mushy; drain any excess water, if necessary; this dish is fairly dry, not too soggy
5. off heat, stir in the black pepper powder and lemon juice; adjust salt to taste
6. serve warm with fresh injera, mesir wat, selatta, alicha and shero wat