← Nouns Cooking · West & East African

Ingredients

• 300 g teff flour (ivory or brown)
• 600 ml lukewarm water, plus about 125 ml to thin
• ½ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp dried yeast, to kick-start fermentation (optional)

Method

1. Whisk the teff, water and yeast (if using) into a smooth batter in a large glass or plastic bowl. Cover with a cloth and leave at warm room temperature for 2–3 days, until bubbly and pleasantly sour. Pour off any dark liquid that collects on top.
2. Stir in the salt and enough extra water to make a thin batter, like single cream.
3. Heat a large non-stick pan with a lid over medium-high heat. Do not oil it.
4. Pour a ladle of batter in a spiral from the edge towards the centre, tilting the pan to fill the gaps. Cook until holes appear all over the surface, about 30 seconds.
5. Cover with the lid and steam for 1–2 min, until the edges lift and the top looks dry. Do not flip it.
6. Slide onto a clean tea towel to cool and repeat. Stack only once cool, or they stick. Serve with doro wat, misir wat and gomen.

Tips

• Fermentation is quicker in a warm kitchen and slower in a cool one; trust the bubbles and sour smell more than the clock.
• Many cooks add a little wheat or barley flour; that breaks the gluten-free tag.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Chef Lola's Kitchen 196 flavors