Injera

Injera (or tayta) is a spongy Ethiopian and Eritrean flatbread and an integral part of life for the locals. The bread is made from teff, the tiniest grain in the world, also considered a super grain due to its high nutritious properties. Injera is so popular that the people greet each other by asking "Did you eat injera today?", and if the answer is positive, that assures the other person that all is well.

This flatbread is served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and sharing it when times are rough has kept many Ethiopians and Eritreans alive. Its flavor is tart and quite similar to sourdough bread. The dough is left for three days to ferment and is then shaped into a large, pancake-like disk.

It is usually fried in a skillet over a fire, where the spongy texture of the bread develops as the dough hits the hot skillet and air bubbles form on the inside. Once cooled, it is combined with the main course, usually a hearty stew. Injera is eaten without utensils – instead, it is broken into pieces and used to scoop up some more stew from the shared communal platter.

Due to the air pockets in the bread, it can absorb a lot of sauce from the stews. Although shared eating might seem strange to some, injera succeeds in bringing people together.