1
1. An easy way to approach these dishes is to realize that they are all assembled essentially the same way: the onion (salted) is cooked in hot oil until translucent, the wet flavorings are added and cooked for another 2 minutes, the dry spices are added and cooked for 1 minute, and then the wet ingredients and main ingredient are added. The pot is brought to a simmer and cooked until done. Additional seasoning is added at the end, to your liking. 2. That being said, if you are making more than one of the dishes, start by mincing all the onions, grating all the ginger, chopping all the garlic cloves/peppers, and measuring all the spices first. That way, the dishes come together quite quickly, each in its own pot. 3. For example, for the split peas or the red lentils, start by heating the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion and season with salt, cooking for about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for another 2 minutes. Introduce the dry spices, and stir for 1 minute. Add the stock/water and either the split peas or lentils, bring to a simmer, and allow to cook for about 40 minutes (or until thick and soft). You may notice that as these dishes cook, too much liquid has evaporated but the peas/lentils are still too firm. If that's the case, just keep adding a bit of additional water until the peas/lentils have softened, and then you can continue to cook off extra liquid to achieve the consistency you like. Each dish will need additional salt when done, and you can add additional ginger/cardamom to the peas or additional berbere to the lentils. 4. For the collard greens, start the same way: cook the salted onions in oil, add the ginger/garlic/pepper, then stock and collard greens (no spices in this one). Cook covered until greens are dark and soft. Uncover and continue cooking to reduce the liquid. 5. Lastly, make the injera. In a large bowl blend the flours and baking soda. Add the club soda and vinegar and whisk into a thin batter (should be much thinner than pancake batter). Heat a large non-stick pan on medium-high heat and spray/coat well with oil. Ladle about 3/4 cup of batter into the pan and quickly shake it around to coat the bottom. Cover and allow to cook through for 2 minutes. Uncover and cook until you can see tiny air bubbles coming through. It should slide right off the pan onto a plate, where you can brush it with a bit of lemon juice. 6. To serve, lay a piece of injera on each plate. Place a serving of each dish on top, and serve with additional pieces of rolled injera on the side.
