Name: Injera
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Ethiopia, East Africa
Ingredients: 2 cups teff flour; 3 cups water, lukewarm; Â½ tsp salt; Â¼ tsp baking powder, optional for quicker rise; 1 tbsp sourdough starter, or reserved batter from previous batch; 1 tsp vegetable oil, for greasing; Â½ cup water, for adjusting consistency; Â½ cup teff flour, for absit starter

Injera

Ethiopia's signature sourdough flatbread made from teff flour â€” spongy, tangy, and used as both plate and utensil.

Country

Ethiopia

Region

East Africa

Time

50 min

Serves

Level

hard

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Injera is the foundation of Ethiopian cuisine, serving as plate, utensil, and flavor companion all at once. Made from teff, a tiny grain native to the Ethiopian highlands, the batter is fermented for days to achieve its signature sour tang. A meal without injera is not considered a meal in Ethiopia.

What the dish tastes like

Ethiopia's signature sourdough flatbread made from teff flour â€” spongy, tangy, and used as both plate and utensil.

When to cook it

Best for everyday meals, with a hard cooking level and about 50 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Use the interactive recipe fallback or country hub to explore pairings.

Follow the collection route

Injera belongs to 2 AfroKitchen collections. Vegetarian Africa is the strongest cluster route to start from. Vegetarian Africa

Mix Batter

Whisk teff flour and lukewarm water together until smooth with no lumps. Cover loosely with a cloth and leave at room temperature to ferment for 2-3 days.

The batter should bubble and develop a sour smell â€” that means fermentation is working.

Make Absit

On cooking day, mix half cup teff flour with one cup water in a small pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a paste. Let cool, then stir into the fermented batter.

Absit helps the injera develop its characteristic eye-holes on the surface.

Cook absit 05:00

Adjust Batter

The batter should be thin like crepe batter. Add water if too thick. Add salt and stir well. Pour off any liquid that accumulated on top during fermentation.

Cook Injera

Heat a large non-stick skillet or mitad over medium heat. Lightly oil. Pour batter in a spiral from outside to center. Cover and cook until eyes form on surface and edges lift from pan. Do not flip.

Only cook on one side â€” injera should be spongy on top and smooth on the bottom.

Cook one injera 02:00

Cool and Stack

Carefully remove injera and place on a clean cloth to cool. Repeat with remaining batter, stacking cooled injera between layers of cloth.

Serve

Lay one large injera on a platter and spoon various wats and salads on top. Roll extra injera and serve alongside for tearing and scooping.

Fresh injera should be flexible enough to roll without cracking.

Injera

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Step-by-step instructions

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