QandAs: Food

What is Injera?

Answer:
Injera, or enjera, is a flat bread resembling

a pancake, that is made of teff flour. This bread is part of Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine, and is also eaten in Somalia, where it is called canjeero or laxoox.

Like sourdough bread, the dough for injera is fermented, with the teff flour being mixed with water and allowed to sit for a few days. This gives the bread a slightly sour taste which goes well with a variety of meats and vegetables. Injera is typically baked on a clay plate over an open fire, although it is becoming more common to bake it in a modern oven.

Injera is used as a base for vegetables, meats, and stews. The bread is torn off and used as a utensil to pick up the food, much like a tortilla in Mexican cuisine. The meals are eaten with the fingers of the right hand. When teff cannot be found, injera can also be made of other grains, such as wheat, rice, barley, or corn.