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Ye’difin Misser Alicha – Lentils in Garlic-Ginger Sauce. Easy Ethiopian Lentils. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free Recipe
Teff Love: Adventures in Vegan Ethiopian Cooking
was definitely my most anticipated book this year. I have always been intrigued by Ethiopian food. It has layers of complex flavors just like Indian food which cannot immediately be interpreted and need a bit of know how of the spices and methods used.
And this book demystifies all that. From the basics about the spices, making your own berbere and seasoned oil to many authentic and fusion dishes. The seasoned oil is highly addictive. It’s amazing how a few spices that I use quite often, in a combination that I have not used before (nigella and carom seeds!), in a method I have not used often (slow simmered instead of the usual high heat tempering in Indian food), lead to a deep complex flavor.
I made the berbere paste and seasoned oil and the planned out the menu for the next day! Mushrooms in rosemary onion wine sauce, Red lentils in spicy sauce, Ethiopian roasted Brussels sprouts and Brown lentils in flavorful garlic-ginger sauce and freshly made Injera!
That was one feast! I have many recipes that I have book marked to try like the Awaze tofu, azifa salad, butecha, tofu dumplings. many more lentil and split pea dishes and the teff brownies!
Ethnic food makes eating lentil and vegetable heavy vegan food easier. Or so I think because you know I love Indian food for the same reason. It is flavorful. It is easy or gets easy with just a little initial pantry and time investment. It is generally flexible to play around with once you get a hang of it. The spices are generally shared over other cuisines like Indian and Mediterranean. I did not have to go to any special store for the book. I already have an extensive Indian pantry :). I also had teff from my gf baking experiments.
Get your copy of Teff Love today or enter the giveaway at the end of the post!
I have been putting the seasoned oil in our Tofu scrambles and simple weekday dals! It is just so fabulous. Chapters include tips, equipment, Grocery list (which is great to quickly stock your pantry), Foundations, Breakfast, Appetizers, Spicy sauces, mild sauces, legume based smooth sauces, cooked and cold vegetables, injera based dishes, Stir fries, Dumplings and veggie protein, Beverages and Sweets.
If you are sensitive to spices or food that has many spices and oil, use the seasoned oil within a week.
If you haven’t tried Ethiopian before, serve it differently. Serve the drier lentils with roasted veggies and cooked grains, serve the saucy lentils as a soup with crackers or croutons.
Kittee with some fabulous food!
I also made the Injera from scratch from the book. The whole ersho sourdough and the days and days of fermentation. Towards the end, I added a bit of regular white flour instead of all teff for the last day of fermentation and got the beautifully porous Injera. Soft, delicious and perfect.
Thankfully I can get as much Injera as I want. I’ve got a couple of Ethiopian restaurants within a 10 block radius!
Injera! See them exclamations, Clearly very excited. I used my Dosa crepe pan to make them and it worked out perfectly.
Perfect carrier for all that Ethiopian food. It takes some patience to make Ethiopian, but it is all worth the effort. I share the recipe of lentils with flavorful garlic ginger sauce Ye’difin Misser Alicha today!
Ye’difin Misser Alicha
from the book Teff Love: Adventures in Vegan Ethiopian Cooking by Kittee Berns (printed with permission from the Book Publishing Co.)
Ye'difin Misser Alicha - Lentils in Garlic-Ginger Sauce Recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried green or brown lentils
- 6 cups water
- ¼ onion, minced (½ cup)
- 3 tablespoons Ye’qimem Zeyet, page 25 or extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more if desired
- 6 cloves garlic, pressed or grated (1 tablespoon)
- 2 teaspoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
- 6 fresh basil leaves, optional
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1½ cups reserved lentil cooking water or Sleepy Vegetable Stock, page 38, plus more if desired
- 1 to 2 jalapeno chiles, seeded, veined, and sliced into thin half-moons
Instructions
- Put the lentils and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir to keep the lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Decrease the heat to medium-high and simmer, skimming off and discarding any foam that forms with a large spoon. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender but still firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the lentils and reserve 2 cups of the cooking water.
- While the lentils cook, put the onion, Ye’qimem Zeyet, and salt in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent (don’t let the onion brown), about 7 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, optional basil, and turmeric and cook, stirring almost constantly, for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the drained lentils and 1 ½ cups of the reserved cooking water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until the lentils are very soft but not mushy and the liquid has reduced and thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the jalapeno chiles during the last 5 minutes of cooking. If the mixture is too thick, add up to ½ cup additional lentil cooking water as needed to thin. Season to taste with additional salt if desired. Discard the basil before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The Publishers are giving away a copy of Teff Love to one of the blog readers! (within US). Ends 21st March.
To Enter, please leave me a comment about what do you find most intimidating about ethnic cuisines like Ethiopian.
The giveaway is over. Denise, you get a copy of Teff Love!
I’m pretty fearless when it comes to trying new foods in the kitchen, but always do wonder if it tastes like it is “supposed to.” It doesn’t stop me from experimenting, substituting, and trying new things!
A friend just asked me today if I wanted to share a 25 pound bag of teff! I have never made any Ethiopian food, but I better learn quickly! Gathering ingredients for new foods is always intimidating in my small-out-of-the-way town, and price comparing online can be mind boggling, but really…I adore eating new creations, so it is worth it! I would love to have Teff Love for, you know, my 12.5 pounds of teff 🙂
Mmmmm injera!
The most intimidating thing about ethnic foods? I would have to say the expectation of having them taste just like that restaurant over yonder. I’ve come to the conclusion that some recipes I just can’t ever get right when I imitate them, and that’s ok.
Finding the special ingredients always intimidates me. I know you can order it all online but shipping gets expensive.
Yay for homemade Ethiopian food! I think the most intimidating thing for me is the long fermentation of the teff for injera — how do I know what it’s supposed to be like? I guess the only thing to do is try it and see. 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
Finding all the ingredients can be a challenge for me-particularly the spices.
I’m always tempted to try ethnic cuisine recipes, but I shy away because I’m afraid that I won’t be able to use up the special spices and herbs! Having a whole cookbook dedicated to Ethiopian cuisine (as opposed to a recipe or two) will be a great way to motivate me to buy and use ingredients that are new to me.
What I find most intimidating is the unfamiliarity with techniques and ingredients.
Creating the sauces to make sure they are not too mild or too hot. Also the lentils sounds intimidating but oh so delicious!
What I find intimidating is having to buy so many new ingredients, not knowing in advance if I’m going to like the flavor.