Ethiopian Sweet Potato and Lentil Wat with Injera Flatbread

A wat or wot (what?) is an Ethiopian stew. I first read about Ethiopian cuisine on The Taste Space and I knew I had to try it out for myself. It is spicy, which I love as you might have guessed and is great for vegetarian or vegan food lovers. The flavour comes mainly from an Ethiopian spice mix called Berbere. Berbere has as many different variations as I have shoes but the one I have chosen to make includes: red chilli flakes, turmeric, paprika, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice & clove.

I decided to make it with sweet potatoes and yellow lentils (or split peas) because the sweet potatoes are at their peak here at the moment which means delicious and cheap. You could also use pumpkin and chickpeas or any other vegetables you need to use up. Just add a legume to the pot to make it authentic and nutritionally balanced.

The traditional accompaniment to any Ethiopian meal are Injera flatbreads. Injera are slightly spongy crepe or pancake-like flatbreads made with a yeasted dough batter made from Teff flour. Teff is an ancient grain believed to have been cultivated in Ethiopia and Eritrea since 4000 BC.

I have a brilliant flour supplier in Alhaurin, Andres from El Amasadero who can get hold of these unusual flours. He also holds bread making workshops which I am threatening to attend one day.  Fortunately you don’t have to make these with Teff flour you can use spelt or normal flour instead. It’s actually fun to do. Or you could just buy some Indian or Middle Eastern flatbreads if you’re short of time (or patience).

Ethiopian Sweet Potato & Lentil Wat Recipe

Serves 3-4, vegan, gluten-free.  Adapted from The Taste Space

For the Berbere spice mix:

Makes 1 small jar. You only need 1 Tbsp for this recipe

• 4 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground clove
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Grind the fenugreek seeds, red chilli flakes & sea salt in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder until you have a powder then mix with the rest of the ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a dry place.

Sweet Potato & Lentil Wat Recipe

• 2 sweet potatoes (about 600g), scrubbed and cut into 1-2 cm chunks
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp Berbere spice mix (see above)
• 1 cup dried yellow lentils (or split peas)
• 1 litre veg stock
• salt & black pepper
• 1/4 cabbage (250 g), shredded
• 1 large tomato, roughly chopped
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• fresh coriander to serve

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat and cook the onions, with a pinch of salt, for about 4 minutes until translucent. Then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a minute or two more. If it gets dry add a little splash of stock. Add the 1 tbsp Berbere spice mix, cabbage, tomato and season with salt & black pepper.

Add the lentils, sweet potatoes and veg stock, bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20-25 minutes until the sweet potato is soft and the lentils are cooked. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and cook for 5 minutes more with the lid off. Add the fresh coriander just before serving and check seasoning.

Injera Flatbread Recipe

Serves 3-4, vegan. Needs an hour rising time

• 110 g wholemeal, spelt or teff flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp active dry yeast (or 15 g fresh)
• 155 ml warm (not hot) water

Mix everything together in a large bowl to form a batter. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or longer until well risen.

When ready to cook, stir the batter then tip into a blender with about 110 ml (1/2 cup) water and blend. The batter will be quite thin.

Heat a large non stick frying pan over a medium high heat without any oil and pour about 1/2 cup of the batter into the pan, swirl or spread it about with a spatula until it covers the base of the pan evenly like a crepe/pancake. Cook until little bubbles or cracks appear all over the top. You do not need to turn it over to cook the other side. Keep warm on a plate covered with a tea towel while you cook the rest.

Things That Made Me Smile Today…..

Rufus posing in the autumn sun.

Pink Roses & Acorns, there’s got to be a recipe in there somewhere….

Tempura Green Peppers with Dipping Sauce

First of all, sorry for my lack of posts recently. I’ve had some sort of virus and I couldn’t eat. I know, it was awful. Everything made me feel sick, even the smell of food was repulsive. I haven’t cooked anything for a week. The Washer Up has been surviving on pasta (and beer obviously) and is now desperate for something different.

This has been on my “to make” list ever since these beautiful long emerald peppers first made an appearance in the fields where we walk the dog about  a month ago. They are known as frying peppers here and are used in a typically Andaluz dish called Pimientos Fritos (fried peppers) where they are simply fried in lots of good olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.

This Spanish/Japanese fusion came to me because I wanted to do something a little different from the usual fried peppers and I saw Nami’s recipe for Shrimp Tempura. She also posted a video of a Japanese chef making proper tempura and I was intrigued. It looked light, airy, crispy and delicate. A million miles away from the doughy excuses you get for tempura in most places.

They are not perfect but I’m really pleased with my first attempt at making tempura. They are light, crispy and gorgeous with the dipping sauce. It’s not as hard as I thought. The kitchen’s a bit of  a state though, better clean that up before The Washer Up gets home…

I’d definitely recommend heading over to Nami’s blog and watching the video if you are going to have a go at this. It’s amazing to watch and so much easier than me trying to explain it!

Green Pepper Tempura with Dipping Sauce Recipe

Serves 2, vegan. Adapted from Just One Cookbook

• 4 medium long green peppers (frying peppers)
• 2 or 3 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch, maizena)
• 100 gr (3/4 cup) flour. I’m going to try it with rice flour next time.
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 200 ml iced water
• oil for deep-frying

For the dipping sauce:

• 75 ml (1/3 cup) water
• 1/2 tsp dashi flakes/powder (I used ajishima no dashi)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine or sake
• 2 tsp sugar
• a pinch of shichimi (a Japanese 7 spice chilli pepper mix)
• salt & shichimi to serve

First make the dipping sauce. Heat all the ingredients in a small sauce pan over a medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the dashi. When boiling remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Cut your peppers in half lengthways, through the stalk so that both sides has a bit of stalk to pick them up with. Lay them on a plate and sieve over the cornflour. Turn the peppers in the cornflour until evenly coated. Heat up your oil in a wok or deep frying pan over a medium high heat, 170 C.

Sieve the flour, baking powder & salt into a bowl and whisk in the ice-cold water until just combined to make a batter. Don’t over whisk. 

Dip your peppers into the batter and coat them well (you will need to do it in two batches). Carefully lower them into the hot oil and sprinkle over some more batter from a height with your fingers. This gives it that extra light crispy coating. Use a metal slotted spoon or chopsticks to move the peppers onto the bits of batter (watch the video it explains it so much better) and cook for 2 or 3 minutes turning once to cook on both sides.

Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm while you cook the rest.

To serve, pile up the peppers sprinkle with sea salt and shichimi pepper and pour some of the dipping sauce into a bowl.

 Buen Provecho!!

Things That Made Me Smile Today……..

I’ve been trying to get a shot of this for ages. There’s a pair of them in the spring where Rufus likes to cool down. They look like a cross between a dragonfly and a butterfly. The Washer Up got the shot in the end, he was more patient then me and willing to balance on a rock in the stream while trying not to fall in.

He also spotted this one through a gap in a fence….

I love that you can see it’s cute little face…

Have a great weekend…

Red Onion Tempura Bhajis

 

I’ve never made onion bhajis before. I had been thinking about making red onion rings using a tempura batter then I found a recipe for Indian Onion Fritters on one of my favourite food blogs http://tesathome.com Tes is from Thailand but lives in India so her blog is full of really inspiring recipes from these two fantastic countries as well as beautiful photos from her travels around India & Thailand.

 Tes’s recipe uses besan which is chickpea flour to make the batter. I didn’t have any but I had some rice flour so I decided to go down the Japanese Tempura batter route but add in the Indian spices. The batter I made was very liquidy so I panicked a bit and thickened it with a few Panko breadcrumbs just to continue with the Japanese theme.

I was really pleased, they turned out to be deliciously light, crispy & spicy just how I had imagined. The colour of the red onions made them look more special. I love it when experiments work out and I hope Tes approves of my fusion of Japanese technique with Indian flavours…

Red Onion Tempura Bhajis

Serves 2 or 3 as a snack or starter,Vegetarian

• 1 large red onion, cut in half & sliced into half moons
• 1 small green chilli chopped
• about 100 gr rice flour 3/4 cup
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• ice-cold sparkling water
• panko breadcrumbs
• a handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Mix the rice flour, turmeric & salt together in a bowl then slowly whisk in the fizzy water until you get the consistency of single cream. Add the sliced onion, chopped chilli & coriander and mix well. Sprinkle over some panko breadcrumbs until it thickens into more of a paste.

Heat about 5cm oil in a wok/frying pan over a medium high heat until hot. Take a heaped tablespoon of the mixture and drop it into the hot oil. You can probably do 3 at a time depending on the size of your pan. Cook them for about 2 or 3 minutes turning occasionally until golden brown & crispy. Pat dry on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.

Serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over the bhajis & some yoghurt mixed with lemon juice, mint & salt to dip them in. Eat with your fingers………….Enjoy!