Thursday, July 29, 2010

some yummy recipes!

So, for those of you who know me - you know that I love to cook.  Well, I used to love to cook, before children:).  I would do sushi, thai, indian, mexican - you name it, we ate it.  I loved to spend my days off cooking in the kitchen, singing loudly (when eric was not home:).  And then came the kiddos.  And the easy to prepare crockpot, meal sharing, 5 ingredient dinners.  Yep - it is usually boring around here at supper time:).  Every once in awhile I venture out and make indian or mexican, but our latest favorite is Ethiopian (I wonder why:)!.  We have been to Ethiopian restaurants, had our Ethiopian meals catered, and I have dabbled in trying to prepare it myself.  Two weeks ago I ordered a bunch of spices, lentils, etc. from ethiopianspices.com and they came while I was in Virginia.  After a day of bad news about Hannah, hitting my head inside the refrigerator at Sam's (oh what a site I must have made:), and having three kids going through grandparent withdrawal (fun times here:), I decided to do something crazy and make a whole Ethiopian meal.  In the past I have only made injera and kik aletcha - both of which are relatively easy and the kik aletcha is very much like cooking indian dal, but with different spices.  Anyways - I am rambling and I know that many of you just want the recipes!  I was so impressed and I am afraid that if I ever try to make it again, it will never taste as good.  Honest to goodness - it was the best Ethiopian that Eric and I have ever eaten!!!  I made injera, doro wat (the "national" dish of ethiopia - it is like a chicken stew), and shiro (a fragrant "mush" made of ground lentils and spices.).  I used about three recipes for each of the dishes (kind of combined them:) and I will try to remember exactly what I put in them all:)!!  Here we go.....

Injera
3 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup teff flour
1 tablespoon active dry yeast; (one package)
3 1/2 cups warm water


Directions:
In a large bowl, mix:Let set in large bowl, covered, 2-12 hours, until batter rises and becomes stretchy. When ready, stir batter if liquid has settled on bottom. Whip in blender, 2 cups of batter at a time, thinning it with 1/2 - 3/4 cup water. Batter will be quite thin. Cook in non-stick frypan WITHOUT OIL over medium or medium-high heat. Use 1/2 cup batter per injera for a 12-inch pan or 1/3 cup batter for a 10-inch pan. Pour batter in heated pan and quickly swirl pan to spread batter as thin as possible.Batter should be no thicker than 1/8-inch. Do not turn over. Injera does not easily stick or burn. It is cooked through when bubbles appear all over the top.Finished injera will be thicker than a crepe, but thinner than a pancake. Lay each injera on a clean towel for a minute or two, then stack in covered dish to keep warm.

Shiro
one large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-3 teaspoons berbere (I used three and it was way too spicy for me, but eric loved it!)
2-3 cups water
1/2 - 1 1/2 cups shiro
salt to taste
Directions:
In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until soft, about 5 minutes.  Turn heat off, place in blender and puree.  Return to pan and add berbere and a little water (so it does not stick).  Stir to combine, cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add 2 cups water.  Begin to add 1/2 cup shiro powder, a little at a time so that it does not clump.  The consistency of our shiro was a little thinner than hummus and oh so yummy!  I ended up adding another cup of water and another 1/2 cup of shiro (because it was too spicy and I needed to tone it down a little).  Enjoy!

Doro Wat
2-3 pounds of chicken pieces (I used thighs and legs)
2    large onions finely chopped

1    cup of vegetable oil 
3    cloves garlic, minced
1    teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/4  cup berbere (more if you like it spicier!)

1    teaspoon
koremina 

1    teaspoon wot kimen
1    teaspoon salt (more to taste)
1/2 -1    cup of water
Directions

In a large pot, combine onion, garlic and ginger with oil till lightly brown and soft. Remove from heat, puree slightly in blender.  Return to pot, add berbere.  Continue to simmer for about 15-20 minutes at low heat stirring occasionally, adding a touch of water as needed to avoid sticking. Add chicken and simmer until chicken is fully cooked.  Add salt, Koreria, Wot kimem and water (as needed).  Serve hot with injera.


Let me know if you have any questions - I hope that you enjoy!!!

8 comments:

Mama Mimi said...

Oh YUM - I can't wait to try this! We have an Ethiopian market LITERALLY right down the street (that I was JUST told about) so I can get all the spices I need there (or they can order them for me if they don't have it). Thanks for the yummy recipe!!!

liv said...

Would love to try making some Ethiopian food, thanks for posting this! Do you cut the chicken up into smaller pieces or not?

Sara K. Parker said...

OH MY GOODNESS! I am soooo excited! I am definitely going to the store tomorrow morning for chicken pieces, and then I am going to cook up and Ethiopian storm for dinner! I'll let you know how it goes. :)

one question...about how long does it take for the chicken to fully cook? Also, how large was your pot? I have a 4-quart and a 16-quart, and nothing in between. haha.

G said...

Okay, seriously, sneaking to your house. ;) And ordering some of my own spices. :)

Becca Harley said...

Liv - i did not cut the chicken up, I think that when I cook it again it might (just a lot of more work:). when we had a meal catered last month, he used chicken breast and cut it up, but I prefer dark meat:) I think that you could use either
Sara - I have the same problem with the pots:) I used the 16 quart one for the chicken - it probably took 15 minutes for the chicken to cook, I just put the lid on the pot and let it simmer while I whipped and made the injera. just a thought - next time I will definitely make the wat and the shiro during quiet time and then add the chicken and finish the doro wat and heat up the shiro before dinner - trying to make it all with the monkeys running around was a bit nerve racking:). eric had an interesting scene to come home to! Have fun guys! I cannot wait to hear how yours turn out!

Sarah said...

I am SO intimidated to try to cook Ethiopian- I do NOT cook for fun! Have you ever made injera with JUST teff flour? (My husband and daughter can't have gluten)

Becca Harley said...

Sarah - I have never made injera with just teff - put I think that it would be much more authentic:). My kids do not really like the almost sour taste that the injera at restaurants have - the stuff that I make does not have that taste. I will look for you - if I find a recipe that just uses teff - I will let you know!!!

Mama Mimi said...

So...tried the recipes today (minus the injera, which we can buy at the Ethiopian market)! Super yummy, thanks for sharing. The doro wat was easier than even your recipe b/c the market had all the spices for it pre-mixed. Only problem was my tummy was on the fritz...probably not the best day to try out a spicey recipe. But I have a feeling the left-overs will be just as yummy.
I did find a site with other ideas for berbere spice which I thought would be a fun way to add Ethiopian culture to everyday life...along with a cabbage/potato recipe that sounded good. I'm planning on doing a blog about it soon so I will let you know! =)
Idea for the left-over shiro though...a dip (cold) with pita chips? Yumm huh? I'm gonna give it a try.
Well, thanks again!!!