Doro Wat

I first encountered Doro Wat when I saw it here: Nom Nom Paleo’s Doro Wat (Spicy Ethiopian Chicken Stew). I’ve been to plenty of Ethiopian restaurants, but I guess the menu description never caught my eye. It’s a blow-your-mind, spicy chicken dish with a rich gravy. I’m so glad that the first time I got to try this dish, it was at home. Oh how I despise having to eat family-style from one big platter at Ethiopian restaurants. I am way too greedy for that! Especially when it comes to this dish.

Michelle uses pre-mixed Berbere seasoning, but I don’t have local access to that and find it easy enough to mix my own. There are countless recipes for berbere seasoning. The one below is adapted from The Congo Cookbook. No matter what you put in it, it has to have some cayenne pepper and fenugreek. If you want to tone down the spiciness of the dish, reduce the cayenne pepper and add more paprika.

The mixture below is incredibly hot. Make sure to put down two napkins: one to wipe your mouth and one to wipe the sweat from your brow! Traditionally, it is served with injera, a spongy kind of bread. I eat it alone and use the eggs as a kind of side dish.

Gather up:

• 3 tbsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp fenugreek leaves or ground fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 stick of butter
• 4 lbs chicken (I use a small pack of drumsticks and a small pack of skin-on chicken thighs)
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

Put together the spices for your berbere seasoning: cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, ground cardamom, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground coriander, cumin, fenugreek leaves, ground nutmeg and turmeric.

Most of these seasonings will already be in your spice cabinet, especially if you cook a lot of Caribbean or Indian foods. The only thing that may be a bit tricky to find is the fenugreek. I picked up a huge box from an Indian grocery store a long time ago (pictured below, also called Kasuri Methi):

You can also order it from Amazon here: Fenugreek Leaves. (If you are ever wondering why your Indian recipes don’t taste like they do at the restaurant, it is most likely because you are not using this spice.)

If you can’t find it where you live and don’t want to order it, the closest you could come to replicating the taste is to substitute more cumin to the spice mix.

Add butter and berbere seasoning mix to a large, nonstick skillet and toast on medium heat for 3 minutes, until the mix is fragrant. It smells almost like a dessert sauce because of the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Add chicken and let it brown on both sides for 3 minutes, just to develop a nice crust.

Prepare the onions and ginger.

Add them to the skillet and stir to make sure they are coated in the spice mix and butter.

Pour in the chicken broth.

Cover and cook for approximately 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

Remove cover, turn heat to high and cook for an additional 5 minutes, so the sauce reduces into a thick gravy.

Cut eggs in half, lengthwise.

Add them to the skillet and serve.

I keep some of the eggs on a separate plate so that those who want more eggs with their serving (me!!!) can easily take more.

I like to use a spoon to mash the yolk into the gravy and make it even creamier and thicker and I eat the pieces of egg white in between bites of chicken to help cool down the fiery heat of the dish.