Lahoh

A sorghum batter beaten by hand until creamy, then left overnight.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 300 g sorghum flour
• 100 g fine cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon dried yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• about 650 ml warm water

Method

1. A SORGHUM BATTER BEATEN BY HAND UNTIL CREAMY, THEN LEFT OVERNIGHT. Its Preparation section names the flour and the action: prepared from A THICK BATTER OF SORGHUM FLOUR, WHITE CORNMEAL, WARM WATER, YEAST, AND A PINCH OF SALT; THE MIXTURE IS BEATEN BY HAND UNTIL SOFT AND CREAMY; THE BATTER IS THEN LEFT TO FERMENT OVERNIGHT.
2. THE BEATING IS NOT STIRRING, AND IT IS WHY THE HOLES COME. Sorghum has no gluten to trap gas, so the air has to be beaten in before the yeast adds its own. Five minutes with a hand, or a whisk, until the surface holds a trail.
3. SORGHUM IS THE PREFERRED FLOUR AND THE ARTICLE SAYS SO. Wheat appears in the Somali variants it describes, where legumes or cereals other than wheat are used usually DUE TO A SCARCITY OF WHEAT PRODUCTION.
4. WARM WATER, NOT HOT, AND ALL OF IT IN AT THE START. The batter should pour like thin cream. Too thick and it will not spread to the edges of the pan.
5. OVERNIGHT IS THE FERMENT, NOT AN HOUR. Eight to twelve hours somewhere warm. It will smell sour and be covered in bubbles; stir it once, gently, before cooking.
6. A DRY PAN, MEDIUM, AND POURED FROM THE CENTRE OUT. Fifty or sixty millilitres a time for a plate-sized round.
7. IT IS COOKED ON ONE SIDE AND COVERED. The top sets as the holes open. A lid for a minute finishes it, and it is never turned.
8. LIFT IT WHEN THE EDGES LIFT THEMSELVES AND STACK THEM UNDER A CLOTH. The article has it eaten for breakfast, and it is the bread of a whole corner of the Horn: Somaliland, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen and Saudi Arabia are all on its list.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Ethiopia · All recipes