Chef shares Ethiopia’s ‘culinary legacy’
Ethiopian chef and author taps into ancient and modern ways
Injera — the teff-based sourdough flatbread defined by its legion of tiny, spiralling eyes — forms the very foundation of most Ethiopian meals.
“We don’t even say ‘our daily bread’ in Ethiopia; in our prayers we say ‘our daily injera.’ That’s how important it is,” says chef Yohanis Gebreyesus.
The East African nation’s mostfarmed crop is gluten-free and mineral-rich teff.
But in Lalibela — the mountainous Ethiopian region famed for its medieval, rock-hewn churches — a captivating bread-making practice took root.
In order to produce an injera-like flatbread using locally available oat flour, cooks came up with a creative custom.
“When we bake injera, there are shattered bubbles (ayen in Amharic) on top of the bread, which give it a very spongy texture, and the more the better. That’s how we value it, esthetically and in terms of taste as well,” says Gebreyesus.
To make aja kita (thin oat flatbreads) with similar features, cooks in the countryside of Lalibela huddle around the hot griddle, pucker their lips and whistle, directing their shrill breath toward the bubbling batter.
Oats contain a protein called avenin, which (like gluten) creates elasticity in dough, entrapping gas bubbles as they form.
The vibration emitted by whistling is thought to help to burst these bubbles and create plentiful eyes on the surface of the bread, Gebreyesus explains.
“This is the kind of know-how that Ethiopia has, that specific regions developed, and that I’m very proud of,” he adds.
With a background in fine art, Gebreyesus studied gastronomy at the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France, and worked as a chef in Southern France and California before returning home to Ethiopia.
Spurred by his travels for various television projects (including Chef Yohanis Qegnet on EBS TV), the Addis Ababa-based TV host and author specializes in the regional food practices of his homeland.
Coloured by its distinct landscapes — ranging from the Danakil Desert, one of the lowest-lying and most sweltering places on the planet, to altitudinous plateaus — the country represents “more than 3,000 years of culinary legacy.”
In his debut cookbook, Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions from the Horn of Africa (Interlink Books, 2019; with Jeff Koehler), Gebreyesus captures both ancient traditions and contemporary interpretations.
“What’s so fascinating about having such geography, such climate, is that for people to survive in specific areas they needed to adapt,” says Gebreyesus. “And that brought a certain (expertise) with it.”
Recipes excerpted from Ethiopia: Recipes and Traditions from the Horn of Africa by Yohanis Gebreyesus (Interlink Books).