Frying • Simmering and Stewing • berberé • cardamom • cayenne pepper or red pepper • chicken • chicken broth or chicken stock • egg • fenugreek • garlic • ginger root • lemon juice • niter kebbeh (or butter) • nutmeg • onion • paprika • red wine • salt • tomato • tomato paste or tomato sauce • Ethiopia
Doro Wat
One of the best-known of all African recipes, Doro Wat (Doro Watt, Doro Wot, Doro Wet, Doro We’t, Dorowat) is a spicy Ethiopian chicken dish made with Berberé (a spice mixture or spice paste) and Niter Kibbeh (or nit’ir qibe, a spicy clarified butter). Berberé and niter kibbeh, basic ingredients in many Ethiopian recipes, are usually made in large quantities and kept on hand for some time. No doubt using berberé and niter kibbeh gives a special quality to Doro Wat. But a very good result can be obtained by adding the same spices directly to the Doro Wat, instead of indirectly in the berberé spice mix and niter kibbeh. The only traditional way to serve doro wat is with a spongy flat bread called injera, which can only be properly made with difficult-to-obtain teff flour. While it’s not the way Ethiopians would serve it, doro wat is very good with Couscous, Rice, or Middle-Eastern or Indian style flat bread.
Doro Wat Recipe
Ingredients
2 tbsp lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
2 tsp salt
3 lbs chicken, cleaned and cut into serving-size pieces; some cooks remove skin and score or pierce the meat with a knife to facilitate marinating
2 onions, finely chopped
4 tbsp niter kebbeh (or butter)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger root, cleaned, scraped, and chopped
½ tsp fenugreek
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp berberé (or a combination of cayenne pepper and paprika)
1 tomato, chopped ( or a few tablespoons tomato paste or tomato sauce)
1 cup chicken broth or stock, water, or red wine
4 hard-boiled eggs (1 per serving)
Instructions
1
In a glass bowl, combine the lemon juice (some cooks use lime juice), half the salt, and chicken pieces. Let chicken marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
2
Cook the onions over medium heat for a few minutes in a dry (no oil) pot or dutch oven large enough to eventually hold all of the ingredients. Stir constantly to prevent them from browning or burning; reduce heat or remove the pot from the heat if necessary. (Some cooks add the niter kebbeh at the start, but dry-cooking the onions for a few minutes gives the dish a distinctive flavor. )
3
Add the niter kebbeh or butter to the onions, along with the garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom, nutmeg, remaining salt, berberé (or cayenne pepper and paprika), and tomato. Stir and simmer for a few minutes. The onions should be soft, tender, and translucent, but not browned.
4
Add the chicken stock, water, or dry red wine. Bring the mixture to a low boil while stirring gently. Cook for a few minutes, then reduce heat.
5
Add the chicken pieces, making sure to cover them with the sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes — or until the chicken is done — turning the chicken a few times.
6
After the chicken has been cooking for 20 minutes, gently add the hard-boiled eggs and ladle sauce over them. Serve hot.
Ingredients
2 tbsp lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
2 tsp salt
3 lbs chicken, cleaned and cut into serving-size pieces; some cooks remove skin and score or pierce the meat with a knife to facilitate marinating
2 onions, finely chopped
4 tbsp niter kebbeh (or butter)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger root, cleaned, scraped, and chopped
½ tsp fenugreek
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp berberé (or a combination of cayenne pepper and paprika)
1 tomato, chopped ( or a few tablespoons tomato paste or tomato sauce)
1 cup chicken broth or stock, water, or red wine
4 hard-boiled eggs (1 per serving)
Directions
1
In a glass bowl, combine the lemon juice (some cooks use lime juice), half the salt, and chicken pieces. Let chicken marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
2
Cook the onions over medium heat for a few minutes in a dry (no oil) pot or dutch oven large enough to eventually hold all of the ingredients. Stir constantly to prevent them from browning or burning; reduce heat or remove the pot from the heat if necessary. (Some cooks add the niter kebbeh at the start, but dry-cooking the onions for a few minutes gives the dish a distinctive flavor. )
3
Add the niter kebbeh or butter to the onions, along with the garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom, nutmeg, remaining salt, berberé (or cayenne pepper and paprika), and tomato. Stir and simmer for a few minutes. The onions should be soft, tender, and translucent, but not browned.
4
Add the chicken stock, water, or dry red wine. Bring the mixture to a low boil while stirring gently. Cook for a few minutes, then reduce heat.
5
Add the chicken pieces, making sure to cover them with the sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes — or until the chicken is done — turning the chicken a few times.
6
After the chicken has been cooking for 20 minutes, gently add the hard-boiled eggs and ladle sauce over them. Serve hot.
The wine and tomato seem to be recent non-Ethiopian influences, but they are so widely used that they need to be reported here, even if their use is not traditional.