Soft, silky, and absorbent, good for wicking up sauces, the injera serves as an edible platter. Injera or taita is unleavened bread similar to a pancake, usually made from tef, a grain with a mild, nutty flavour.
In an anecdote, Suzy Oakes who authored the culinary dictionary, WhatAmIEating.com, wrote, "When we ate this I described it as looking like old and rather tired tripe. Jenny McCann sent the following description from Ethiopia: "Injera is supposedly a kind of bread but it is, in fact, more like a vast very thin round flat sourdough crumpet, coloured the pale, tired grey of launderette-washed whites and with the texture of tripe. It comes in two forms: tablecloth (in its round, flat form, 2 ft across, served on a round metal tray with the meat in a bowl on it) or roll - the same but rolled up and chopped into lengths. It serves as tablecloth, cutlery and napkin and, in my opinion, is completely inedible." On the other hand, Lisa Fagg ate in an Ethiopian restaurant on the Upper West Side and reported "It WAS a plate, a napkin, a spoon and a food - and a delicious food, at that. It was wonderful! It was the perfect foil for the very spicy kitfo, and fiery meat and vegetable dishes I enjoyed and instantly loved. It was extremely elastic and easily used to scoop up meat, vegetables, and salad."
Smaller round of injera are offered in eateries currently though the large, soft injera or taita are traditional.
