Ethiopian feast

During our holiday break from teaching classes, I took the opportunity of having a more flexible schedule to prepare an Ethiopian feast at home.  Of course, it's fun to go out for meals like this, but it was fun to choose exactly what to make and then have leftovers of it...for days.

This started because I had a recipe from a friend for non-traditional injera, made from wheat flour instead of teff.  I was interested in trying it and was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out:

Injera
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. yeast
2 c. water
Let the mixture sit for about 4 hours, until it starts to bubble.  Then, put it in the fridge for about 24 hours.  Take it out and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours.  Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt and let it sit for another hour.  (you have to time this very thoughtfully so you're ready to make it at mealtime!)  Finally, heat a frying pan on medium-low heat, oil it lightly, and pour some batter in to almost cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer.  Cook only on the one side (once the top side is set, the bottom should be lightly browned).  Continue cooking more until the batter is used up (I only oiled the frying pan for the first one). 

To go along with our injera, I researched various Ethiopian recipes and came up with 5 that I wanted to try: ayib, gomen wat, shiro alecha, a red lentil dish, and a fish and spinach dish.

The one I had to prepare first was ayib, fresh cheese.  I made it the day before.
You need:
2 liters fresh milk
2/3 c. lemon juice
salt
Bring the milk to a boil then reduce the heat to low and pour in the lemon juice.  Stir until (very tiny) curds form.  [I was worried that this was too much lemon juice because the curds seemed to be so small that they wouldn't come together later, but it seemed to work out fine]  Pour the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth (or in my case a handkerchief, which by the way, I only use for making cheese...).  Rinse the cheese with cold water to remove the lemon taste.  Then let it drain in the fridge overnight.  Season with salt as desired.

Shiro alecha was made with chickpea flour and I made it the day of our feast.
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 Tbs. turmeric
1 1/2 c. water
6 Tbs. chickpea flour
minced ginger and garlic (I had a jar of fresh chopped ginger/garlic and used about 2 Tbs. of that)
Cook the onion with the oil for a few minutes on medium heat, then add the turmeric, ginger and garlic.  Slowly add the water.  Then, add the chickpea flour, whisking to incorporate it.  Cook, stirring frequently, until it thickens.

Gomen wat is made from collard greens and I used a huge pile of them, so we had lots of leftovers.  That was fine, though, since I liked that dish a lot.
1 pound collard greens, chopped finely
2 c. water
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 Tbs. of the chopped ginger/garlic mixture
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. paprika
Simmer the greens in the 2 c. water for about 20 minutes, until they are tender.  Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, cook the onion in the olive oil until soft.  Next, add the ginger/garlic, cooked greens, and leftover cooking water to the frying pan.  Simmer until most of the water has cooked off, then add the lemon juice and spices.  Cook another few minutes.

Two more dishes to go (imagine our kitchen on this day).
The red lentil dish.
1 c. red lentils
5 c. water
1/2 onion, minced
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. chopped ginger/garlic mixture
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cardamom
In a frying pan, saute the onions in olive oil (since I was making so many dishes with onion in them, I first cooked all of the onions together, then divided them up into the various dishes as needed).  At the same time, simmer the lentils in the water for about 10 minutes, until the lentils are soft.  Drain the water, reserving 2 cups.  Combine the lentils, onion, ginger/garlic, salt, spices, and reserved water and cook another 10-15 minutes, until the lentils are mushy.

Lastly, the fish and spinach dish.
1 Nile perch fish filet (about 1 pound)
a large bunch of chard (or spinach)
flour for breading the fish
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
oil
1/8-1/4 tsp. chili powder
ghee
Cut the fish into bite-sized cubes, coat with flour, and then fry in oil until they are cooked through.  Remove the fish from the pan, add the onion and garlic, and cook them until softened.  Add the chard/spinach and cook until it is tender.  Then, add the fish back in, a couple tablespoons of ghee, and the amount of chili powder desired.  Cook it all together for a few more minutes.

The cheese, gomen wat, and shiro alecha were my favorites, with the red lentils coming in close behind.  Anthony liked the shiro alecha best.  Surprisingly, the fish and spinach dish was our least favorite because it didn't have a whole lot of flavor (which might have been the fish we used or it's just a kind of boring dish on its own).

It was a lot of work, but we ate really well for a few days!