Doro Wat is a spicy chicken stew and the national dish of Ethiopia. It is probably the most popular African dish and for good reason, it is delicious! Doro wat is made with Ethiopia’s quintessential berbere seasoning along with the spiced clarified butter called Niter kibbeh.
You will always find this served on and with the spongy sour flat bread called Injeera. This bread is used as the plate and utensil for doro wat along with several other unique dishes.
Did you know that Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia and is also the highest capital in all of Africa. It sits at 2400 meters or 7,874 feet. Ethiopia looks like a magical place, with incredible spicy food. What is your favorite Ethiopian dish, is it doro wat or something else? Please let me know in the comments.
Be sure to check out “Our Journey to Ethiopia and Eritirea” to get more authentic recipes to go with the doro wat. There you can also learn a bit about the two countries.
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Doro Wat (Spicy Chicken Stew)
Ingredients
- Juice of one lemon
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 chicken cut into pieces, skinned and pierced to facilitate marinating
- 4 red onions finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons niter kibbeh or butter
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 Tablespoon berbere seasoning
- 1 small tomato chopped or 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken stock
- hard-boiled eggs 1 per person peeled and pierced with a fork or toothpick.
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the lemon juice and 1/2 the salt and chicken pieces. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a large dutch oven, start cooking the onions dry. Stir constantly to avoid sticking or burning. After about 10 minutes add in the niter kibbeh, along with the garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom, nutmeg and remaining salt, berbere and tomato. Stir and simmer for a few minutes, the onions should be translucent but not burnt.
- Add in the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Cook for a few minutes then reduce the heat.
- Add in the chicken pieces making sure they are covered by the sauce. You can add water or additional chicken stock if necessary. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the chicken is done. Turning the chicken few times during the cooking process.
- After the chicken has been cooking for 20 minutes add in pierced hard boiled eggs and make sure they are covered with sauce.
- Serve hot, on top of Injera, for a real African treat!
