Flatbreads, Eritrea, Olympic Food Challenge

One of the good things about this Olympic Food Challenge is the discovery of countries you didn't know existed. Eritrea, for me, is one of them

Eritrea is a little country located on the Horn of Africa. they have only been part of the IOC since 1999 and have one Olympic bronze medal to their name, although strangely for a country almost on the equator they have a Gold and a Bronze at the Winter Olympics.

Finding a recipe for this country was quite tricky, however I did stumble across this recipe for Traditional Eritrean Flatbreads.
The recipe stated to shape the dough into flatbreads big enough for a frying pan, I decided to just make little ones instead and reduced the stated cooking time


Traditional Eritrean Flatbreads.
Ingredients
300ml lukewarm water
25g fresh yeast (I used a packet of dried yeast)
1tsp ground fenugreek seeds
1/2tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tbsp oil
225g plain flour
225g wholemeal flour

Method
(if using) Dissolve the fresh yeast in the water and set aside.
Mix the egg, oil, spices and garlic together
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and  (if using) add the dried yeast.
Add the egg mixture and the water and mix together to form a dough
Knead for 5-10 minutes
Place in a bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled.
Knock back and knead again for a few minutes
shape the dough into flatbreads so they will just fit in a frying pan.
Allow to rise again.
Fry gently for about 10 minutes then flip over and fry the other side for 5 minutes.
Brush with melted butter and serve.

Verdict
A very light and delicately spiced flatbread, a good alternative accompaniment to a curry or just eaten warm on its own with lots of butter