Injera – Tsebhi Dorho, Alisha and Shiro – Sourdough Flatbreads with Three Kinds of Side Dishes

Injera (sourdough flatbread)

1. At least one day, preferably 3 days beforehand, dissolve the yeast in a little water, add a little flour and let it rest for a few hours in a warm place. Put the flour and cornmeal in a large bowl, add the dissolved yeast and about 2 liters of lukewarm water. Stir until the dough is nice and smooth. Then cover and let rise again in a warm place for a few hours, preferably overnight. After a while, the dough will settle to the bottom and the water will be skimmed off. When this is done, add 1 teaspoon of salt and approx. 1 liter of warm water (be careful! If the water is too hot, the yeast cells can die!) And stir the mixture thoroughly. As soon as the dough rises nicely, you can pour 1 ladle of it into a hot coated pan (without fat) and spread it quickly by moving the pan. Cover with a lid. The flatbread is ready when it comes off the edge. It must have many small bubbles. Gently wipe the pan clean with a kitchen towel after each use.

Tsebhi Dorho (Braised Chicken with Egg)

1. Finely chop the onions, garlic and ginger separately in a food processor. Cook the onions in a large pot or pan on a low heat for about an hour until a sweet paste is formed.
2. Add the oil and some of the berber. Then add the ginger and garlic and also reduce. Gradually add more Berbere depending on the taste / desired degree of spiciness. Now add the tomato paste, fry the paste for another 2 minutes. Then add the finely chopped tomatoes followed by the chicken pieces. Simmer for about 40 minutes on a low flame until the meat is cooked through. Salt if necessary. In the meantime, boil the 6 eggs hard. Peel the eggs and scratch four times. Place the eggs in a bowl and mix with a little of the sauce. Put the finished Tsebhi Dorho in a bowl and place the eggs decoratively on top of the sauce.

Alisha (ginger vegetables)

1. Clean the chard vegetables, peel the sweet potatoes and carrots and cut everything into thick strips. Also cut the onions into strips and fry them in oil in a medium-sized saucepan until golden brown. Steam the vegetable mixture on a low flame with the lid closed until firm to the bite. Add parsley, garlic and curry powder to the onions and stir. Add the vegetables and stir, season with salt.

Shiro (sauce made from ground chickpeas)

1. In a medium saucepan, fry the onions and garlic together with the oil. Add the berbere and then simmer for 5 minutes, occasionally adding water to prevent scorching. Finally the remaining water is added and the Shiro flour is stirred in in portions while stirring continuously. Let the mixture continue to boil until it thickens but still flows from the spoon; this takes about 20 minutes on low heat. If you want your Shiro to be thicker, you add more Shiro flour.