Main
Doro Wat (Ethiopia)
- Preparation time
- 1 h 30
- Servings
- serves 4
Ingredients
- Onion — to buy2
- Butter — to buy40g
- Garlic — to buy3 cloves
- Ginger — to buy1 piece
- Berbere spice blend — to buy3 tbsp
- Chicken — to buy800 g
- Egg — to buy4
Preparation
Finely slice the onion. Cook it dry, without a drop of fat, in a pot over low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring very regularly: this is the most important step of the dish, it should become soft, almost jam-like, and lightly golden. Don't rush this step, it's what gives doro wat all its depth of flavour.
Add the butter, crushed garlic and grated ginger, cook 2 minutes over low heat until fragrant.
Add the berbere and mix well to form a smooth paste with the onion, cook 3-4 minutes over very low heat, stirring constantly so the spices toast lightly without burning (they would turn bitter).
Add the chicken pieces (ideally scored lightly so the sauce soaks in well) and mix to coat them thoroughly in the spiced paste.
Pour in a little water, cover and simmer 30-35 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally: the sauce should reduce and become quite thick, almost coating the back of a spoon.
Add the whole boiled eggs (pricked with a pin beforehand so they soak up flavour) 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
Serve with injera or rice: the sauce should be intensely flavourful, it's meant to be spicy, that's the whole spirit of berbere.