Ethiopian lentil wat, berbere spice mix, injera flat bread?

[Vivaroo]

I have a friend who really enjoys the lentil wat at a local semi-African restaurant, and I want to surprise her with my version. Plenty of versions online but I thought I'd ask you clever folk, just in case the PERFECT family secret recipe is out there begging to be shared 

It looks like a nice TMX process, making the berbere spice mix, fermenting the bread, cooking the lentils.  And what's not to love about another economical healthy lentil dish?

Injera require teff flour, not something I'm familiar with, wonder if sold in regional Australia?  I'll search the obvious places on the weekend and if I find teff, I'll start the process.  And if I come up with a good final dish before anyone can provide one, I'll post the recipe.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Funnily enough I think I can help.  

We do a lot of Ethiopian cooking as my son is Ethiopian-born and ET is our much loved second home. Here is my doro wat recipe (ET National Dish) with an injera conversion. I doubt the injera your friend has sampled is made with teff as exportation is limited and it is hard to come across in Australia (and hugely expensive).  Ethiopian restaurants in Australia tend to use a combination of flours.  Injera is often made with other flours in Ethiopia also as teff is now too expensive for most. I find a combination of wheat and buckwheat (or rye) an ok substitution. Real injera (made in ET) is a 7-8 day process of fermentation and is quite involved. It is an amazing process that is handed down through the generations. Using soda water gives reasonable results but nothing beats the real thing .

You can buy real Ethiopian berbere here and if you want to make your own mix you can find heaps of recipes on google.

We don't eat a lot of Ethiopian lentil dishes - more split and ground peas (shiro). To make a lentil based wat though you could base it on Quirky Jo's lentil bolognaise recipe.  Most berbere dishes include a tomato element so Quirky's bolognaise would be a good base. You would need to replace the onions with 3-4 chopped red onions.  I would cook those (ET style) with a small amount of water and oil for at least 30 minutes (checking constantly) before going on with the recipe. For a really authentic taste you would need to do the onions in the frypan though until very dark in colour.

Have fun and enjoy!

[Vivaroo]

Thanks so much for the extra info Chelsea.  I did a phone around of the local health food stores and people do ask for teff and one store is trying to get it in, not until around December.  I just read on wiki that teff is similar but smaller to quinoa, so I might turn some quinoa into flour and add it to the blend.   I've got different kinds of lentils & split peas so it'll be good to mix up the wat. 

Berbere looks to be one of those spice mixes that could vary from region to region, family to family.  I was just about to rush out and buy fenugreek but bet I can find a mix that doesn't contain it. The chilli will be the hard part, my family aren't into it but if I slip a tiny bit in and build up their tastes, I think chilli may be the main point in berbere.   I've never been to Africa nor eaten much african food so it'll be an adventure.  I'll be checking out your blog!

But right now I'm getting nagged at for macaroni cheese so I'll put my exotic thoughts away for the time being.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Yes chilli is definitely the main flavour of berbere. We had some berbere ground for us to bring home on our last trip and it was so potent that 1/2 tsp in a large pot burnt our mouths. You may want to stick to an alicha spice blend if your family aren't into spicy things.  Alicha is the other major spice blend in ET and is still flavoursome without the burning. 

[Vivaroo]

Thank you yes Alicha must be the spice blend for us.   All this stuff I never knew existed!!

Are you familar with this kind of spiced butter, this would add a certain something to any dish!
 
http://debturner62.tripod.com/thewritingworld/id5.html
Nitir Qibe (Spiced Butter)
3 lbs butter
2 tsp. ginger, dried
1 T. garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
2 tsp. fenugreek, powdered
1 T. cardamom, powdered
½ tsp. white cumin, dried
1 tsp. sacred basil, dried
1 tsp. oregano, dried
½ tsp. turmeric
¼ tsp coriander, powdered
Chop onion and garlic.  Melt all butter over low heat, skimming foam until there is no more.  Add onion, garlic, and all the spices to the butter.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand till spices settle.  Strain through very fine sieve into large container.  Store in refrigerator until needed.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Yes it is one of the basic ingredients that give traditional Ethiopian food it's distinct flavour. Often dishes call for 1-2 cups of Nitir Qibe.   In the countryside families still use butter in their dishes but in Addis more women are using oil now.