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Doro wat
Doro wat — Ethiopia's festive chicken and egg stew in a deep berbere onion sauce
Ethiopian families make doro wat for the biggest days of the year, especially Genna (Christmas) and Fasika (Easter), when it breaks weeks of meatless fasting. Its secret is patience: a mountain of red onions is cooked down slowly with no fat at all until jammy and dark, then enriched with spiced butter and fiery berbere. Chicken pieces and whole hard-boiled eggs simmer in the sauce until it is thick, glossy and brick red, with a deep, smoky heat. Ladle it onto injera, with ayib (fresh cheese) alongside to cool things down. Chef's tip: score the boiled eggs lightly all over before adding them, so the sauce seeps right into the whites.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the chicken
For the sauce
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Soak the 2 ⅞ lb chicken drumsticks and thighs in the 1 litre cold water with the 3 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp of the 1 tsp salt for 20 minutes, in the fridge. This is how Ethiopian cooks clean and firm the meat. Drain, and wash the board you used.
20 minStep 2: Put the 2 ¼ lb red onions in a large, heavy, dry pot with no oil. Cook over a medium-low heat for 30–40 minutes, stirring often and scraping the base, until they collapse to a soft, dark purple-brown jam. Add a spoonful of water if they start to catch. The most common mistake is rushing this or adding fat at the start; the onions then fry instead of melting, and the sauce never thickens.
35 minStep 3: Stir in the 3 ½ oz niter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced butter) and cook for 5 minutes until the onions look glossy.
5 minStep 4: Add the 4 tbsp berbere spice blend and stir constantly for 3–4 minutes over a low heat until it darkens and smells smoky; add a splash of water if it starts to stick.
4 minStep 5: Add the 6 cloves garlic, 1 oz fresh ginger and 1 tbsp tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes more.
3 minStep 6: Pour in the 2 cups water and the rest of the ½ tsp salt, bring to a simmer, and add the chicken. Turn the pieces to coat.
2 minStep 7: Cover and simmer over a low heat for 40–45 minutes, turning the chicken now and then, until it reaches 165°F (165 °F) in the thickest part and is tender.
45 minStep 8: While the chicken cooks, boil the 6 eggs for 10 minutes, cool in cold water and peel. Score each one lightly with a knife a few times.
10 minStep 9: Add the eggs and ½ tsp ground cardamom to the stew and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon and the oil rises to the top.
10 minStep 10: Taste for salt and serve hot with injera, giving each person at least one egg.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 20 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does doro wat take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of lemon juice?
- Lime juice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of red onions?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
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