Teff Porridge with Potato and Sweet Potato, Crispy Seitan and Okra (No Added Fat)

I can't believe I've not posted in so long. I recently experimented with whole teff grain; we love Ethiopian food including the injera teff-based bread with which it is served. Teff provides a good source of protein, magnesium, calcium, iron, Vitamin B6, and more. I thought that I would try using this nutritious food as a base for a dinner porridge and did so successfully a few weeks ago.

The package that I purchased of organic brown teff suggested cooking for 12 minutes or so 1/4 cup teff in 2/3 cup broth. That ratio is 1/4 : 2/3 = 3/12 : 8/12 or, in easy terms, a bit less than 3 times as much liquid as grain. I've also seen recipes of 1:4; in the end one can have significant leeway for varying thickness.

I also made a seitan dish. My daughter doesn't love seitan so I served her smoked tofu. I also pan sauteed some okra halves. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

• Approx. 4 ounces teff; Whole Foods Market and I'm sure others sell this grain
• Approx. a cup and a half of water
• Stalk of broccoli; stalk cubed into small 1/4" or smaller pieces, florets cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 3 leaves of kale with pieces approx. 1 1/2" or so hand torn and then stems discarded (composted)
• Clove of garlic roughly chopped into 1/4" or so cubes
• 2 t ginger, finely (less than 1/4") chopped
• Approx. 1/4 - 1/3 cup of onion cut into 3/8" cubes (most of a small onion) put in two sets
• 2 medium Russet potatoes or 5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, well cooked (I used my pressure cooker) and then cut into 3/4" cubes
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked (I also pressure cooked) and then cut into 3/4" cubes
• Spices to taste - I suggest starting simply with 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper or lemon pepper, 1 t garlic powder, and salt to taste (maybe 1/4 t)
• Herbs to taste - I suggest a dozen fresh oregano leaves
• (optional) Hot sauce to preference

Process

1. I put all of the ingredients except the potato, sweet potato, second set of onion, and spices and herbs into a large stock pot and brought to a boil
2. I continued to cook, simmering on low-medium heat, dropping to low heat after 5 minutes or so, and stirring all the way from the bottom occasionally as the grain can coat the pan bottom and harden
3. I let the porridge cook down till most of the water was absorbed; there should still be some water as absorption will continue even after the heat is turned off
4. I mixed in the remaining ingredients and served

I also put in a cast iron pan with no oil pieces of seitan, garlic, and onion, and cooked on medium high till crispy, adding a bit of dried rosemary needles and more onion in the final few minutes, then mixed in, outside of the pan, a bit of lemon juice and garlic powder. I served it with lovely cherry tomatoes. On another cast iron pan also with no oil I cooked halved okra with onion and served it with a little bit of salt and, for my wife and me, a small amount of jerk seasoning.

Results

Dinner was good! We all enjoyed the meal. I was afraid that the porridge might be a bit bland but it was good. It's fun and easy to cook with teff!

Ideas for the future

I should explore more teff dishes - and one day maybe make Ethiopian injera. I do occasionally stop by an Ethiopian restaurant and pick up their whole-teff injera and use it as a base for dishes I make. I had thought of adding bell pepper to this dish and decided that it had enough ingredients, but bell pepper would be welcome with this kind of dish. Sauteed mushrooms would go well, too.