Gurasa

Ingredients

• Flour500 g
• Warm water550 ml
• Dry yeast7 g
• Sugar1 tbsp
• Vegetable oil40 ml
• Salt1 tsp

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Dissolve the yeast with the sugar in the warm water and leave it ten minutes, until it foams.

   12 min

2. 2

   Whisk in the flour and salt to a smooth, loose batter without lumps.

   8 min

3. 3

   Add the oil and beat another minute, until the batter goes glossy.

   3 min

4. 4

   Cover it and leave it warm for an hour, until bubbles break the surface.

   62 min

5. 5

   Heat a dry pan over medium and pour in a ladle of batter.

   5 min

6. 6

   Cover it and cook five minutes, until the top sets and turns matt.

   25 min

7. 7

   Lift it out without turning it and stack the breads under a cloth.

   6 min

About the dish

The batter is loose, closer to pancake batter, and is poured rather than rolled. A stiff one gives an ordinary flatbread, while gurasa should be open inside.

It cooks in a dry pan under a lid. Steam from its own moisture cooks the middle, and the bread does not need turning.

Finished breads go in a stack under a cloth. Left open a gurasa dries within ten minutes and turns brittle.

Worth knowing

• — Do not lift the lid for the first four minutes. Escaped steam leaves the middle raw and the bread sinks.
• — Do not grease the pan. There is oil in the batter already, and on a greased pan the base browns before the top is cooked.
• — Gurasa is torn into pieces and used as a spoon. It is eaten by dipping into stew, which is why a dry crust gets in the way.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

320 kcal

Protein

9 g

Fat

7 g

Carbs

56 g

More from Sudan

• Sudanese ful — Ful beans cooked soft and mashed in the pot, with sesame oil, cheese and egg.
• Asida with mulah — A stiff porridge of sorghum or wheat, served with stewed meat in a dried okra sauce.
• Salata aswad — A Sudanese salad of fried aubergine with peanut butter and lemon.