It’s both the taste & texture for me. I don’t like its sponginess, and it seems to expand in my stomach hours later.
I would feel like a real cultural klutz going to an Ethiopian place and asking them to hold the injera, TBH — much as I enjoy the other dishes.
No need to feel a klutz. They almost certainly have the bread option.
Remove the injera from the bottom and it’s not dissimilar to an indian thali (or thali, in the group eating setting).
Sure, remove the injera and add the little bowls that the thali is served in and they would look fairly similar. But those are two big changes, visually.
Usually thalis don’t have many bowls like they do at a restaurant that’s doing it for presentation purposes — just one for dal or the alternative wet item of the day (kadhi or beans), and one for yogurt if it’s being served. Everything else will be on the plate.
Having grown up with this as a daily meal, it’s visually the same for me as the Ethiopian presentation.
A thaal (communal eating plate in communities like Bohras) is also almost the same as the Ethiopian communal platter.
You’ve got an advantage over me there – I’ve never had a home-cooked Indian meal.
Probably why I never thought it looked like dog food 
Some of the best home cooked food I’ve ever had was at the parents house of a work colleague that I stayed with in mangalore. I still remember the condiments being freshly prepared each day, the curd rice, and various other dishes.
