Doro Wat with Injera (Ethiopian chicken stew)

InternationalEthiopian180 minServes 6

Doro wat is the dish of celebration in Ethiopia: chicken cooked slowly in a red sauce of onions, berbere and spiced clarified butter called niter kibbeh, with boiled eggs resting in it. It is served at holidays such as the Ethiopian New Year (Enkutatash), Christmas and Easter, on a large injera around which everyone gathers. One of the loveliest table customs is the "gursha": placing a morsel in the mouth of someone you love as a gesture of honour. It is said that the secret of a good wat lies in patience with the onions: they are cooked alone for a long time until they melt before the spices are added.

Origin of the dish: Ethiopia — The festive dish of Ethiopian cuisine, served at the big holidays

Photo: Injera and doro wat.jpg by Edsel Little, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Ingredients for Doro Wat with Injera

• 1.2 kgchicken (thighs and drumsticks), skinned
• 2 tbsplemon juice and salt for cleaning the chicken
• 1 kgred onions, very finely chopped
• ½ cupniter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced clarified butter) or ghee
• 4 tbspberbere (Ethiopian hot spice blend), more if you like
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• 5 clovesgarlic, minced, and 1 tbsp grated ginger
• ½ tspground cardamom (a stand-in for Ethiopian korarima) and ¼ tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 cupwater
• 6boiled eggs, peeled
• salt to taste
• To serve6–8 ready-made injera (or make it as in the last step)

Method

1. Rub the chicken with the lemon juice and salt, leave for 15 minutes, then rinse, and cut small slits in each piece.
2. Put the chopped onions in a wide heavy pot over medium-low heat with no oil and stir often for 40–50 minutes (add a splash of water if it sticks) until they collapse into a dark brown paste.
3. Add the niter kibbeh and cook the onions another 10 minutes until glossy and the fat separates.
4. Add the garlic and ginger, then the berbere, tomato paste, cardamom and fenugreek, and cook for 15 minutes, adding a splash of water whenever it dries.
5. Add the chicken and turn until coated in the sauce, then add the cup of water and the salt.
6. Cover and simmer over low heat for 40–45 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the sauce thickens.
7. Prick the boiled eggs all over with a fork so they absorb the sauce, then add them and heat in the sauce for 10 minutes.
8. Serve the chicken and eggs on injera. To make injera: mix 2 cups of teff flour with 2½ cups of water and leave covered for 2–3 days until fermented and bubbly; thin with a little water to a crêpe-like batter and add a pinch of salt, then pour thinly into a non-stick pan and cook on one side only, covered, until bubbles appear.

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