THE INJERA PANCAKE RECIPE- THE BREAD OF ETHIOPIA. THE CUISINE OF EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA.

THE CUISINE OF EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICA.
INJERA  PANCAKE RECIPE- THE BREAD OF ETHIOPIA.

I have done this kind of post before- something from the ancient culinary, like  those of the Romans. Now I will cover on the Africans in an interesting 4 part series.

African cuisine is a generalized term collectively referring to the cuisines of Africa. Africa is the second largest landmass continent on Earth, and is home to hundreds of different cultural and ethnic groups. This diversity is also reflected in the many local culinary traditions in terms of choice of ingredients, style of preparation and cooking techniques.
The continent's many populations: Central Africa, East, North and South and the Horn of Africa each have their own distinctive dishes, eating and drinking habits.

THIS POST IS PART 1 OF A FOUR PART SERIES-

PART 1-   CENTRAL AND EAST AFRICAN COOKING
PART 2-   link here  
PART 3-   link here

Central African cooking has remained mostly traditional.

The basic ingredients are plantains and cassava. Fufu- like starchy foods (from fermented cassava roots) are served with grilled meat and sauces. Another favorite is Bambara, a porridge of rice, peanut butter and sugar. Beef and chicken are favorite meat dishes. Game meat preparations containing crocodile, monkey, antelope and warthog are also served occasionally.

East African cooking

The cuisine of East Africa varies on areas. In the inland savannah, the sheep, goat and cattle-rearing traditional people regard their animals, as a store of  wealth, to be sold and are not normally eaten. In some areas, traditional people consume the milk and blood of cattle, but rarely the meat.

Elsewhere, are grains and vegetables. Maize (corn) is the basis of Ugali, the East African version of West Africa's Fufu. Ugali is a starch dish eaten with meats or stews. In Uganda, steamed, green bananas, called matoke provide the starch filler of many meals.

Around 1000 years ago, the Arab settlers on coastal areas of East Africa, brought in Arabic influences, as reflected in the Swahili cuisine – steamed cooked rice with spices in Persian style and pomegranate juice.
Several centuries later, the British and the Indians came and brought
with them their foods, like Indian curries, lentil soups, chapattis and pickles. The Portuguese introduced  roasting and marinating.

Somalia cuisine, mostly halal, varies regionally and consists of an exotic mixture of culinary influences. Due to Somali's rich trade, basmati rice and spices are  popular.

Xalwo or halva is a popular confection, made from sugar, cornstarch, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and ghee. Peanuts may be added to enhance texture and flavor.

After meals, homes are traditionally perfumed using incense. Amazing !!

The best known Ethiopian cuisine consists of various vegetables or meat side dishes and entrées, usually a Wat or thick stew, served atop Injera, a large sourdough flatbread made of teff flour.

RECIPE
INJERA PANCAKE-the bread of Ethiopia

Yield: 5 9-inch pancakes

Combine: 

1 cup BUCKWHEAT PANCAKE MIX

1 cup BISCUIT MIX

1 EGG

Add: 1 Tbs. OIL

1 1/2- 2 cups WATER to obtain an easy pouring consistency.

Bring a 10-inch skillet or a handled griddle pan to medium heat- not too hot please.

Spread 1/2 tsp. oil over the pan with a brush.

Fill a measuring cup (with spout) or a large cream pitcher with batter.

Pour the mixture on the hot pan or griddle in a thin stream starting from the outside and going in circles to the center from left to right. As soon as it bubbles uniformly all over remove from heat. Pancakes should be 9 inches in diameter.

Place the pan in an oven at 325' for about 1 minute until the top is dry but not brown.

Arrange the five pancakes overlapping each other so as to completely cover a fifteen-inch tray, thus forming the Injera  (like a ) "tablecloth."

The Tef batter is saved from an earlier baking and added to the new batter to give it a sourdough quality.

Tef is not available here, combining buckwheat flour mix and biscuit mix, produces the closest substitute. When using buckwheat Injera; the stews should be thick enough so that they do not soak through the pancake.

How a Dinner is Served in Ethiopia

Reading on, I am attracted to the way dinner is served in Ethiopia.

This ancient country, where the Queen of Sheba once ruled, is called The land of thirteen months of sunshine, (the Ethiopian calendar has 12 months of 30 days and an extra month of five days called Pagume) 

The open-air market of Addis Ababa is the largest in all of Africa. It stretches for miles. Everything, from clothing, household wares to foodies. Women sit on the ground with tiny scales to measure spices for the Wat-the stews cooked in every home. Grains, called Tef, in huge bags are ready for the housewives who make Injera--the unleavened bread prepared today as it was a thousand years ago.

A meal in Ethiopia is an experience. When you have dinner in an Ethiopian home or restaurant, you eat the tablecloth!

Provide forks for the uninitiated who may give up before they learn to eat in the traditional way of using hands.

One or two of the guests are seated on a low comfortable divan . A handmade  table, called  “mesab” which has a dome cover, is set before them. The other guests are then seated round the table on stools about eight inches high, covered with monkey fur.

A tall, stunning woman with characteristically high cheekbones and soft skin, dressed in a shama, carries a long-spouted copper pitcher in her right hand, a copper basin in her left hand, and a towel over her left arm.
She pours warm water over the fingers of your right hand, holding the basin to catch the excess, and you wipe your hands on the towel that hangs over her arm.

The mesab is taken out of the room . It is then returned shortly, now covered with the dome. She removes the dome and the table is covered with what looks like a gray cloth overlapping the edge of a huge tray. But it is not a "tablecloth" at all. It is the Injera, the sourdough pancake- the bread of Ethiopia !!!

Food is brought in and apportioned out onto the "tablecloth!"(injera)-  such as lamb wat, chicken wat, cheese, yogurt, herbs.
Also Kitfo- a ground raw beef as dessert.

The entire Injera is covered with wat stews, etc., you tear off a piece about two or three inches square and use this to "roll" the food in-the same way you would roll a huge cigarette.
Then just swoop it up and pop it into your mouth. Your host might "pop" the first little "roll" in your mouth for you.

No other dessert is served. Coffee comes in on a tray in tiny Japanese cups served black with sugar.

Dinner is concluded with hand-washing again and incense is burned.

Some costumes of Ethiopia, modeled by happy japanese..
Look at his afro hairstyle..ha ha .l like these guys
sources- wikipedia and other sources
http://homepage3.nifty.com/mocha-ethiopia-dance/tradituonalcostum.htm  

africa.upenn.edu/Cookbook/

frica.upenn.edu/Cookbook/Ethiopia.html#INJERA 

CINNAMON ROLL BUNS RECIPE

CINNAMON ROLL BUNS 

Here's taking a breather from my Cooking Tips and Recipe series after 8 postings.. Will continue the 9th series soon.

Today, i would like to introduce my special guest blogger, Ms Nash from foodies by ai. Please get her link at my sidebar. I noticed Nash is very passionate about kimchi and it is definitely one of her favorite food/pickle. Kimchi is a Korean pickled cabbage.

A "Franciscan apple " ceramics 1942
WHAT'S FOR TEA?

I was most attracted to her recipes on making buns- basic soft buns and a few others.To me,there are many bun recipes,but they dont look as soft as Nash's and this moves me to request her to be my guest. Let's hear it from this culinary college graduate herself..

Hi! My name is Nash from Malaysia. I’m an ex-culinary student  and I enjoy good food and writing.

I started blogging in Foodies by ai to train on what I have learnt – cooking, food writing and food photography. I enjoyed learning new recipes through other blogs, and meeting new people.

I’m really happy to share this recipe – Cinnamon Roll Buns. It is something I learnt during my first year in culinary school. I hope you will enjoy this dish as I do.

Cinnamon Roll Buns

250g Flour
1 egg
100ml water
25g butter
35g castor sugar
5g dried yeast
10g salt
more flour for dusting

1.  Combine all ingredients in a mixer with salt and yeast added separately.

2. Mix for 20 minutes in medium speed.

3. Knead the dough.

4. Rest for 20 minutes. Cover the dough with damp towel.

5. Knock the dough to let the air out. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Then, roll the dough flat into a square or rectangle.

6. Spread some butter, sprinkle some sugar, or brown sugar if you like, and a whole lot of ground cinnamon. But of course, if you didn't like your cinnamon rolls taste too cinnamony, you can sprinkle them moderately.

7. Roll the cinnamon to form a log. If you didn’t want the center to pop up like mine, you have to roll your buns loosely.

8. Cut them into equal-sized pieces.

9. Arrange rolls into a greased baking pan, or a muffin tin.

10. Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

11. You could have your cinnamon roll buns just the way it is. Or, you could drizzle some syrup, or powdered sugar glaze (just whip a cup of confection sugar with a tablespoon of hot milk).00g butter (melted)
sugar/brown sugar
ground cinnamon/cinnamon powder

MY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO NASH FOR BEING MY GUEST
A BEAUTIFUL BOUQUET OF EGYPTIAN ROSES IN WATER COLOR ART

RHYMING RECIPE ON MAKING BREAD. MAPLE TREE IN AUTUMN. GIANT MUSTARD PLANT.

RHYMING RECIPE.  MAPLE TREE IN AUTUMN.  GIANT  MUSTARD PLANT.

MAPLE TREE IN AUTUMN AT TORONTO

The above maple tree which produces maple syrup, now going through autumn, in beautiful hues of orange , yellow and red..soon the leaves will all drop and winter sets in. This awesome photo was captured by my dear blogger friend Lee from Toronto, Canada. Thank you so much Lee for your willingness and  kind thoughts in giving me this awesome photo... smiles

Do visit Lee at     http://moonlightnightsstarryskies.blogspot.com/

CULINARY ART

Culinary art is the art of preparing and cooking foods. The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with cooking.

A culinarion is a person working in the culinary arts, commonly known as a cook or a chef.
Culinary artists are they who skillfully prepare meals that are pleasing both to the palate and  to the eyes.

Increasingly they are required to have knowledge in food science, diet and nutrition.

A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.

GIANT PURPLE MUSTARD PLANT- BLOOMING

The giant purple mustard plants above and  below were  photographed by " Malay Kadazan girl" residing in Adelaide, Australia. She became a novice at gardening after her son Rayyan was diagnose with a cardiac defect.. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts and willingness to share these beautiful photos. 
 Do visit her beautiful garden harvests at   http://kebunmalaykadazangirls.blogspot.com/

RHYMING RECIPE

A rhyming recipe is a recipe expressed in the form of a rhyming poem. Rhyming recipes were a common means for homemakers to memorize recipes in the late 19th and early 20th century.

I am just trying to be more learned in culinary arts, ever since I started this foodie blog. May be it is appropriate if I say, the rhyming recipe below was written by a culinary artist.

GIANT PURPLE MUSTARD FLOWERS 

THE RHYMING RECIPE ON HOW TO MAKE BREAD

I was so happy when I came across a rhyming 1903 recipe on how to make basic bread, that I have decided to share this with my esteem visitors.

There once was, a time when a homemaker's reputation depended on her ability to produce a good loaf of bread. This recipe was to help the new housewife meet with such success… here goes:

"When a well-bred girl expects to wed,

 'tis well to remember that men like bread.

We're going to show the steps to take,

so she may learn good bread to bake.

And the rhyming goes on… interesting huh !

First, mix a lukewarm quart, my daughter,

one-half o milk and one-half of water;

to this please add two cakes of yeast,

 or the liquid kind if preferred in the least.

The rhyming was very interesting and it continued through out the recipe

"Next stir in a teaspoonful of nice clear salt, if this bread isn't good, it won't be our fault.
Now add the sugar, tablespoons three; mix well together, for dissolved they must be.

Pour the whole mixture into an earthen bowl, a pan's just as good, if it hasn't a hole.

It's the cook and the flour, not the bowl or the pan, that 'makes the bread that makes the man.'

"Now let the mixture stand a minute or two, you've other things of great importance to do.
First sift the flour use, the finest in the land. Three quarts is the measure, 'Gold Medal' the brand.

Next stir the flour into the mixture that's stood, waiting to play its part, to make the bread good. 
Mix it up thoroughly, but not too thick; some flours make bread that's more like a brick.

"Now grease well a bowl and put the dough in, don't fill the bowl full, that would be a sin'

for the dough is all right and it's going to rise, till you will declare that it's twice its size.

Brush the dough with melted butter, as the recipes say; cover with a bread towel,

set in a warm place to stay two hours or more, to rise until light, when you see it grow, you'll know it's all right….

May be I should let you just visit their website….

From wikipedia external links- Nebraska State Historical Society

http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/timeline/rhyming_recipe.html

And  mmmm...... the last sentence ended here:
Now put in the oven--it's ready to bake—

keep uniform fire, great results are at stake.

One hour more of waiting and you'll be repaid,

by bread that is worthy  'a well bred maid.'"


Any few lines Rhyming recipes to share, please put them in my comment box- i will publish by adding them  on, to this particular post here for you, with your links added.. thanks :)


Yes! Sie has come up with a culinary rhyming : here goes

one hour of waiting

and the clock its ticking

finally its done

my bread is well done

so let your bread cool

to make my tummy full

don’t let me stand here

and make me drool

Many thanks Sie, so beautiful, of course  http://insidemeanings.blogspot.com
cooking varieties says:
brick or bread, in oven i bake
alas, i deal with hot fires, to make the bread he desires 


Balqis,  another haiku expert  and great blogger friend of mine said

cooking varieties is a blogspot

It’s uniqueness always make me stop

Reading the recipes that are so hot

I must try them in my cooking pot

Many thanks Balqis- fantastic rhyming on culinary art   http://lilstarrz09.blogspot.com/

cooking varieties said

I can bake better bread 

than my ma-in-law  make  

The versatile Mari Sterling Wilbur  just said this:

So thank you for finding this and sharing

Your blog is always full of new and interesting things

Wow! mari- you are a multi talented blogger- thank youuuu    

http://www.mariscamera.blogspot.com/

cooking varieites said

On the  many recipes of baking  my bread

the one with cheese added, is my favorite


And  Oh yes ! this one is from  Isa Burak Gonca from Antalya
 Cut smoothly from a wheaten loaf

Ten slices, good and true

And brown them nicely, o’er the coals

As you, for toast would do

Prepare a pint of thickened milk,

Some cod fish shredded small,

And have on hand six hard-boiled eggs

Just right to slice withal

Moisten two pieces of bread,

And lay them in a dish.

Upon them, slice a hard-boiled egg

Then scatter o’er with fish

And for a seasoning you will need

Of pepper just one shake,

Then spread over the milky juice,

And thus one layer make


And thus, five times, bread, fish and eggs

Or bread and egg and fish,

Then place one egg upon the top,

To crown this breakfast dish

Isa- this is such a beautiful rhyming breakfast recipe- thank you so much for your contribution  http://antalya-magnificent-city.blogspot.com/

cooking varieties said

A wheaten loaf I will bake

Small shredded cod I will make

Six hard boiled eggs I will slice

Pepper seasoning is just nice

A three layer sandwich now done

For breakfast it is-  o loved ones!


Here’s what dearest blogger friend Lena said:

If you are someone just as lazy as me

Turn on your bread machine and throw away your recipe

Let them do the work so that you dont have to knead like crazy

Don’t believe me, try it and you see!

Wow Lena, that’s fantastic many thanks to you too-

http://herfrozenwings.blogspot.com/

cooking varieties said

Hi lena great idea for all to try

Let the machine do the bread Rye

Very convenient, oh so  very easy

Just press buttons? Oh i see! i see!

Then I prefer to work in the kitchen

Quit my job as a boring accountant!

Babli came and said:

Wonderful, innovative and interesting recipe

Bread looks soft, spongy and yummy

Thanks so much Babli, wow compliments i like: 

http://khanamasala.blogspot.com/

Cooking varieties said

And i like what you said to me

“Baking bread is my specialty”

Lee (Uncle Lee) said on one of the nicest things about life is:

We must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing

And devote our attention to eating

Spectacular (women).. in the act of cooking for her loved ones….

Especially if with a beautiful name of “Wan”

Thanks so much Lee for your response – indeed  http://moonlightnightsstarryskies.blogspot.com/

Hi Lee!

Wow weee!

Now I know you too love eating

Here, 4u, a bread with lotus seed filling

And here is Sie again, yes I did promise Sie, that  I will post a crab recipe, so that she can cook for her beloved one- her honey “Quiet Angel”. Sie said:

Thank you for this Wan

The fun has just begun

Time now to cook

So give me my book

Clapping my hands

with every word I see

waiting for my crab recipe

I requested with glee :)

Thanks so much Sie for coming back, appreciate your checking for the crab recipe, which is not there yet..ha ha.. I am at my mom’s place for the festive season… will deliver in time ok dear..

 http://insidemeanings.blogspot.com

cooking varieties said

OMG, about the crab recipe!

I must say, Sie, I’m so very sorry

It’s not published yet for your honey

i feel so bad..weeeee  busy…  weeeee

Quiet Angel, Sie knows how to bake and steam crabs

What recipe then, think, think! can I publish besides that

OK here’s a simple one, for two- “THAI CORRIANDER CRAB”

Heat oil, sauté garlic and 1” young ginger root slices

Add 3 tbsp oyster sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil but no spices

A tbsp of squid sauce, must immerse crab fully with water

Add two large fresh crabs and then be sure to cover

Turn them over, when crab skin has changed color

After 5 minutes, add 10 stalks uncut coriander leaves, stir over

Another 5 minutes, add pepper, you then turn off fire. Serve hot better..

P/S- gimme me sometime, I will publish another, thanks dear, the above is a genuine recipe, which I learnt from a Thai friend 10 years ago.

Here' a reply from beanizer:
http://beanizertells.blogspot.com/

crabby Thai recipe for me and my honey

haven’t tasted, yet heard by my tummy

precious treat, thoughtful wan made for us two

crabby don’t cry, cos I don’t want to see you blue

(wide grin :)  )

cooking varieties said

Hi beanizer, you are most welcome

Thai crab sure is awesome
Yay yay
Thanks beanizer, crab no longer blue
Am sure your honey wii be happy too