Before anyone gets their panties or briefs in a bunch and writes an angry comment, the animal prints behind the cups of tea and the crepes are nothing more than patterned paper. No zebras or giraffes were harmed in the making of this blog post.
It’s the truth. Teff Love by Kittee Berns intimidated me. And not – as I realized after I began cooking from it – because the recipes were difficult, but because my perception of making Ethiopian food at home made me believe they would be difficult. But still, I took it slow. I began with the low-hanging fruit, the familiar: spiced black tea, brownies, a simple smoothie, and creamy mac ‘n’ cheese. Next, I explored the bean dishes – and there are many bean dishes.
But then the time finally came when I couldn’t avoid them any longer. I had to face the crepes. Despite being a bread maker, something about making injera made my knees knock. I started with a batch of ersho (sourdough starter) so that I could make the injera, but even after careful tending and monitoring, the starter sat on my counter with nary a bubble and no sign of happy, hungry yeast puffing up and getting pleasantly sour. I hid it away in the fridge for a couple of weeks, hoping to shame it into action, but all that happened was that a purpley liquid gathered on top. It met its grim fate with the compost pile and I turned to the Quick Teff Crepes recipe. (Thank you, Kittee, for including this for those of us who are crepe-challenged.) But even the quick crepes came with a small amount of stress. On the morning I decided to make them, I found that I’d forgotten to get sparkling water. So I used the next best thing: beer. With my teff and my chickpea flour and soy yogurt and beer, I made a warm and tender – if very homely – pile of crepes, ready for their savory, spicy accompaniments.
Teff Love is a cookbook of great variety, which for someone as unfamiliar with Ethiopian cuisine as I am (I’ve eaten it exactly twice before), comes as a great surprise. I have to say, I barely scratched the surface. Kittee serves up breakfast, snacks, soups and stews, veggies, salads, stir-fries, beverages, and desserts. One could get deeply lost in the recipes, happily munching on Ethiopian-inspired meals for weeks.
With Teff Love, Kittee has written the definitive book on vegan Ethiopian cooking and it is destined to become a classic right up there with Vegan With A Vengeance, Vegan Planet, and The Vegan Slow Cooker. Although there were a few bumps along the road for me, Kittee completely demystifies this cuisine and makes cooking for a crowd (or for two, as in the case with me and Kel) a fun and delicious adventure.
If you don’t yet have Teff Love and you live in the U.S., scroll down to enter the giveaway. Or, if you live elsewhere and you want to give injera (and everything else) a try, click here.
SHAI BE’QIMEM
MOCHA TEFF BROWNIES
TELBA
ETHIOPIAN MAC ‘N’ CHEESIE


- 1 cup teff flour, any variety
- 1/2 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 cups carbonated water
- 2/3 cup unsweetened plain vegan yogurt
- 6 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Put the teff flour, chickpea flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk vigorously to combine and to beat out any lumps in the chickpea flour. Add the carbonated water and vegan yogurt and whisk well to combine. When the griddle is hot, whisk in the vinegar to combine. The batter will rise and foam, and the consistency will be thin and reminiscent of chocolate milk.
- Form each crepe by using a 1/3-cup measure to scoop the batter from the bottom of the bowl and pour it into a disk on the hot pan. Use a spoon to quickly and lightly smooth the batter into a 6-inch disk, starting in the center and working in concentric circles until you reach the edges (keep the center of the crepe the thickest and the edges the thinnest; the crepe should be between 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch thick).
- Cover and cook for 1 minute. The crepe should be dry on the top with a smattering of little holes over its surface. Uncover and continue to cook the crepe without turning it for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. The total cooking time for each crepe should be 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. When fully cooked, the crepe should be dry on the top with a few air-bubble holes, and the bottom should be firm, smooth, and lightly browned. Depending on your cookware and stove, you'll need to adjust the heat to achieve this result. Use a flat, flexible spatula to loosen and release the crepe, and then quickly transfer it to a plate and cover with a clean, dry tea towel. Repeat the cooking process until all the batter has been used. As the crepes are made, stack them on top of each other and keep them covered with the towel so they don't dry out.
- As they cool, the crepes will develop a spongy-stretchy texture. Let them rest until they're room temperature, then wrap the stack loosely in a clean, dry tea towel and seal in a Ziplock bag until serving time. Be sure the crepes are completely cool or the bag will collect moisture and they'll spoil. If you notice any condensation, open the bag to air it out.

QUICK TEFF CREPES
YE’ATER KIK ALICHA
YE’NECH BAKELA ALICHA
YE’MISSER ALICHA
ETHIOPIAN MAC ‘N’ CHEESIE
EASY TEFF CREPES
ENTER THE GIVEAWAY!
It would be fun to try making something from this book! Pick me!
Everything looks amazing! You did a great job!!!
I haven’t tried Ethiopian food,but I would love to.
lol that disclaimer. this book is definitely awesome!
I’ve never tried it but I would love to try!
I have never tried Ethiopian food but would be grateful to have the opportunity. Thank you
I have never made Ethiopian food before, I’ve never had a proper guide, but always have wanted to try.
I have not made Ethiopian food at home but love eating at a local Ethiopian restaurant! I love injera!
Looks soooo yummy.
Thanks, Mia!
Ohhhh wow !!! This book sounds really, really interesting. I like cooking with teff, but the same as you, I don’t have lots of experience with Ethiopian food. I’ve try some Ethiopian dishes couple of time and it was sooooo good. I’ll pin your crepes right now to try it soon 🙂 Thanks.
You’ll be cooking this stuff like a pro, Jessica! I think you’d really enjoy this book.
Phew, thank goodness for your disclaimer. I almost thought you turned to the dark side of animal skins. Totally kidding ;). This all looks so delicious, I don’t even know where I would begin!
Haha! I just wanted to make sure some wacko didn’t go off on me – I’m a bit sensitive like that! I have to admit that I seriously debated even using those papers, but in the end, it just seemed too perfect w/ the Ethiopian theme.
I have never made Ethiopian food at home, nor have I eaten it before. I’m like you in that my perception is it would be quite difficult. However, I’m so intrigued after reading your review. And that mac-n-cheese looks fabulous. Same with the brownies! YUM!
I know – Ethiopian brownies?! Kittee’s fusion recipes are really fun. Thanks for the comment!
Teff and Ethiopian food have definitely been on my bucket list of foods to try! I’m even more interested after reading your review. Thanks 🙂
Thank YOU, Carry!
I’ve never made Ethiopian food at home, but would love to try!
Only once. This cookbook looks awesome.
I’ve made only a little bit of Ethiopian food and would love to make more!
I haven’t made Ethiopian at home, but I would love to win the cookbook so that I can!
I’ve made injera and Ethiopian food once, and it was good! I want to try out some more recipes for it.
You are way ahead of me then, Amanda!
Annie, please give ersho (and injera) another try! My batch of ersho didn’t bubble up within the first day or two either, but I just kept grinding through the rest of the steps Kittee provided. The resulting injera came out great at first try! After that, I kept the rest of ersho in the fridge, taking it out once a week or so to add 1-2 Tbsp of teff and water to feed it, and letting it sit on the counter a day or two.
You should definitely make ersho again just to use it in Kittee’s blueberry-cinnamon pancakes, those are just divine!
I wanted to make those pancakes and was so disappointed with my ersho failure. I WILL try again for sure. I ran out of time, however, and needed to get my review wrapped up :-)!
I’ve never made Ethiopian food at home, but I’ve been meaning to for a while. I just keep forgetting to get Berbere and a couple other ingredients. I can’t wait to, though!
Kittee’s recipe for berbere is really simple! Appreciate the comment, Maria!
I haven’t, but I’m always looking for ways to eat more lentils!
Haha! Lentils are my favorite bean!
I’ve never made Ethiopian food at home, but it’s something I would love to try so I can expand my tastebud horizons.
Thanks, Candy!
I’ve never made or eaten Ethiopian food before. The food looks amazing though, & the buzz about the book is that it’s fabulous!
Kittee did a fantastic job with this cookbook. Thanks for entering the giveaway, Paula!
I have never made Ethiopian food at all, vegan or not! I’m super intrigued. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
Thanks, Eileen! It was new territory for me, too!
I don’t have a whole lot of experience with Ethiopian but I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to learn. I am so excited about this book as I think Teff is incredible.
I still need To try vegan Ethiopian cuisine. Looks delicious!
I *LOVE* this cookbook. I don’t need to win, because I already have it, but I do want everyone to know how amazing it is. Kittee Berns is my spirit animal.
Thanks, Stephanie! You’re right :-)!!
I’ve never made vegan Ethiopian food at home. I’ve never even eaten any before, vegan or otherwise, but I would like to try it.
No, I have never tried to make it at home, although I have collected some recipes! I think this book would do the trick, though!
Only a few basic dishes, but I am out of ideas!
I tried some of Kittees recipes from the papa tofu zine, and an injera recipe from another cook book. and there should be definitely more ethiopian cooking in my kitchen! thank you very much indeed.
I have never made vegan Ethiopian food at home, but would love to try and I love ethiopian food!
I tried making Ethiopian food once at home after having some amazing Ethiopian Food at Addis Red Sea in Boston. Mine ended up being pretty good, but I’ve been wanting to play around with some more recipes, get familiar with the spices, techniques, and flavours, and discover some new favorites.
I’ve never made Ethiopian food, and I’ve never eaten in a restaurant either! It looks really good.
No I haven’t but I would love to!
Ethiopian Food is the best! Would love to try to make it at home!
I haven’t made any Ethiopian dishes at home, but I would love to!!
I’ve never had Ethiopian food, I just might need to get this book and try it out. Thanks.
Nope, never made Ethiopian food at all but looking forward to trying!
Not yet. I’ve been following Kittee’s book tour and I definitely will try it soon!
No, I haven’t had Ethiopian food at home yet. But you gave me some inspiration, so I will definitely try it 🙂
I’ve never made Ethiopian vegan goodness at home yet, but I definitely need to!!
Haha, the first sentence had me cracking up! Great review Annie…everything looks so great!!
Brandi, I just KNEW someone was gonna leave a nasty comment! (Actually, I’m surprised that someone hasn’t anyway!)
No I haven’t, but I haven’t made any Ethiopian at home either. 😉
I’d love to give this book to my daughter who volunteered in Ethiopia and loves injera.
Oh perfect!
I’ve never tried making Ethiopian at home, but there’s a first time for everything 🙂
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Yay Teff love!
I’ve never made vegan Ethiopian food but I’m anxious to try. These dishes sound so good.
I never have, but I must!
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