Teff
Posted by applelover on Apr 14, 2007 · Member since Dec 2006 · 119 posts
Hello knowledgeable vegwebbers! I have a question about teff. I have seen it in various health food stores and asked around, but no one seems to really know much about it. Through google I have found that it is quite nutritious. Has anyone here tried it? Any comments on taste, preparation, that kind of thing would be appreciated. I love finding new foods to incorporate into my diet, so why not teff? Maybe others will read your replies and we'll start a whole new teff craze!! Or maybe not... :D
whole grain teff is my favorite thing in the entire world! i usually use it to make like an oatmeal type dealie. with fresh fruit and other breakfasty spices. i've used it to make breads and stuff before, but i prefer it as a nice, hearty breakfast. it's sooo good for you :)
never heard of teff before this thread, but it turns out i've had it. when i looked on wikipedia it said that it is used in injera (the ethiopian crêpe-like bread) i love injera, which reminds me, has anyone made it before? i'd like to get a recipe for it.
My Whole Foods bulk-bin guide says to cook it 1:4 with water... but doesn't say how long! I guess until it seems done?
This is a food I have been meaning to try for quite some time as a cooked cereal but have never gotten around to. It has a wonderful nutritional profile.
I have had it as a flat bread at an Ethiopian place in Berkeley but I don't remember much about it.
I love teff. I bought it to make injera. That didn't turn out too well. So I had this big bag of it that I had no idea what to do with, but I'm thrifty so there was no way I was going to throw it out. Also, it makes quite a racket when you have to vacuum it up! (Note to self: Don't leave opened packages on lower shelves. Unless you want your kids to play with it.) Anyway, I pretty much forgot about it for a while, until I went to the library and checked out a cookbook by the Arrowhead Mills people. There was a very simple stew in it that turned out really good. It was just onion, cabbage (shredded), garlic, chickpeas, and teff. Maybe carrots, too. Can't remember for sure, but it wouldn't hurt it. Anyway, the teff cooked up and thickened the broth that the whole mess was cooked in. It was not at all a pretty meal, but it was so good, and obviously really good for you. I'm out of teff now, and haven't seen it around here. If I can get my mitts on it again, though, I do believe that the only thing I make with it will be that stew!
Like secondbase, I love whole grain teff for breakfast. I add walnuts, raisins, adzuki beans, and pour some walnut milk all over. YUM!
TMI warning:
One thing I've noticed is that since the grains are SO small, they can pass through undigested. I have been experimenting with soaking/sprouting them for at least 24 hours before. This seems to help, although I prefer the taste of it unfermented. But I assume it's probably more nutritious if it's more fully digested!
I tried making injera, but in the end, I couldn't do it from "scratch" and get the right flavor. You need to get a sourdough type starter (I'm not sure if all sourdough starters are the same) from an Ethiopian family. I had a thread about this here last fall I think. Can't remember the proportions or exact instructions now, but I put them in there.
The sad thing is that unless you eat massive amounts of injera daily, you just can't keep up with the starter, which must be used within a week... so sadly, I let mine die. Oddly, the Ethiopian woman who showed me how to make injera doesn't even use teff flour in it here. She said if you use it, you don't use very much. She used self-rising (wheat) flour and a little white cornmeal in her batter.
Found the thread:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=30150.msg350746#msg350746
For my injera:
I use about 2 1/2 c ground teff, 3 c water, let sit , covered with cheesecloth or a dishtowel till bubbly (3 days-ish) stir in about 1-2 tsp salt, and then fry them up like thin pancakes.
I also have used the OMG I only have a little bit of teff recipe:
which is 1/4 c ground teff. 3/4 c all purpose flour, 1 c water, pinch of salt. that only needs sit overnight.