Doro Wat (Ethiopian Chicken Stew) — From-Scratch Berbere & Niter Kibbeh

berbere spice

🥗Healthier: homemade spice blend

💰Cheaper: cayenne pepper + paprika

A homemade blend can control spice levels and reduce costs.

butter

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: margarine

Olive oil is healthier and adds a different flavor profile.

Soak dry red chilies in hot water for 20 minutes to soften them for pounding.

Make a chili paste by squeezing the chilies, adding ginger and garlic, and optionally onion and local Ethiopian herbs.

Pound and grind the mixture until it reaches a paste-like consistency, adding a tiny bit of water if needed.

Spread the chili paste onto a parchment-lined tray and dry it in the sun or the lowest setting in the oven.

Grind toasted spices (fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, allspice berries, and ajwain) one by one, letting them cool before grinding to a powder.

Melt butter slowly to make clarified butter (niter kibbeh), adding onions early to impart flavor before the water evaporates.

Cook chopped onions in a dry pot over low heat for about 40 minutes until they become sweet and jammy, stirring occasionally.

Add the spiced butter to the cooked onions to form an emulsion.

Introduce ginger and garlic to the onion mixture for added flavor.

Add the prepared berbere spice to bloom in the onion mixture, cooking off the raw edge of the chili.

Marinate chicken pieces in lemon and salt for about 30 minutes.

Add the marinated chicken to the pot with enough water to cover half of the chicken, and simmer with the lid on for 40 to 50 minutes until tender.

With 10 minutes remaining, make incisions in hard-boiled eggs and drop them into the pot to absorb flavors.

Serve with injera, noting that additional lemon juice may be needed if serving with rice or regular bread.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: