I have known about Teff for quite some time but apart from making a few crepes out of it in the last few years, I did not use it a lot. Last month Teff allowed me to perfect my vegan gluten-free chocolate cake recipe. I made quite a few trials using Teff and every single time I used it, I wanted to know more about it. Hence began my journey into the fascinating world of Teff!
An ancient staple grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea, Teff [Eragrostis tef (Zuccagni) Trotter] comes in a variety of colours, from white and red to dark brown. It is a low-risk grain because it can be cultivated in a broad range of ecological surroundings and it is resistant to harsh conditions like water clogging or storage pests. I have read that it is almost always grown and stored under organic conditions; That’s a huge plus for me!
Apparently, the word Teff comes the Amharic word teffa which means “lost” because it is so easy to lose if dropped!
The demand for gluten-free grains with high nutritional value steered the demand towards Teff. The grain is husk free and due to its small size, it is always milled into a whole grain flour resulting in a high fibre nutritional food. Teff can be used as a substitute for wheat & other gluten-rich cereals in several recipes to make bread, pasta, pastries, cakes, biscuits etc. It is a blessing for people suffering from celiac disease, and good news for diabetics and gluten-free diet seekers.
If we look at the nutrient content* of different grains Teff has higher:
Other benefits of Teff include:
Grains compared: Amaranth, Barley hulled, Buckwheat, Cornmeal, Kamut, Millet, Oats, Quinoa, Rye, Sorghum, Spelt, Wheat, Bulgur, Durum, Wild Rice
*from USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
**Although genetic and environmental factors like the soil affect the iron content of Teff, it is still a better source of iron than other cereals like wheat, barley, sorghum, and maize.
There are other benefits but I only included those for which I have found conclusive studies. If you take into account the richness of Teff in proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals I am sure that it does a lot more, especially when consumed regularly.
If you have been to an Ethiopian restaurant, you know Injera, the sourdough flatbread which serves as a base for lentils and other dishes. Injera is like a soft, thin pancake with a sour taste. It is commonly made from 100% teff flour, but it can be mixed with sorghum or wheat.
The whole grain or its flour can be used for making:
It can also be prepared as a grain like quinoa or rice. 1:2 ratio of grain to water should work (I have not tried it yet) but I am sure that since it’s such a small grain it will cook really fast, so don’t let it out of your sight while cooking 😊
You can buy the grain or the flour:
Teff grain is tiny size of less than 0.8 mm in diameter.
100-150 grains of teff = 1 kernel of wheat.
3000 teff grains weigh just about one gram!!!
I could not find an authentic ayurvedic classification of Teff. But Teff & Finger Millet belong to the same subfamily Chloridoideae. Finger Millet is classified in the classics as
Hence, Teff would tend to be closer to these specifications but hopefully, with usage I can validate this. In any case, if you eat a balanced diet of a variety of different food items and do not overuse one of them, then it will not create an imbalance in your Indian crepes, the doshas.
My Gluten-free vegan chocolate cake recipe with Teff
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