Vegan Cook-a-Long

I pity the ful... (part 3)

Ok, I made it. I reached the injera pot-of-gold today!

Or almost. Still no lemony-vinegary taste/smell. But what I made today definitely looked and acted like injera. Hurrah!

So, the directions say to heat this in a nonstick skillet without oil. After trying it twice that way, I learned that wasn't possible. But my problem yesterday could have very well been that I was overcompensating with too much oil.

Today, I put the thinnest layer of oil and spread it around. Think greasing a baking tin thin for each injera. Heat up the pan, then drop in a half a cup of batter.

The directions (as I remember them) say that you should get the batter all around the pan. I'd say, pour it in the same spot, and it will make a nice circle, and then leave it alone. That's the method I had success with (finally).

Now, see this picture.

This looks like it's not done, right? Well just about at that moment, perhaps a bit after (let's say a minute or less), it starts to stick to the pan. So take it off early. It will dry out nicely. Trust me. Oh, and be ready with your spatula.

It didn't stick to the pan at all, but I had trouble getting it to come out without cracking it some in the middle. So I'd slide the spatula on one side and then the plate on the other and slide it on. I finally mastered that on the third try, at which point I ran out of batter.

Look!

I also think that setting the batter longer than an hour might be the secret, too. As in, don't make plans to meet up on the other side of town while you're trying to make injera.

Sarah was joining me for knit night, so I invited her over to partake in our ethiopian leftovers.

from top: green lentil and green pea stew, south indian vegetable medley salad, red lentil dal, ful, and spicy vegetable stew. On homemade injera!

Sarah with her plate. Iced tea and soy milk in the foreground. Yes, we're fancy like that.

posted by Michelle @ 2:53 AM