This is a recipe from the Time-Life series on Foods of the World and is about as authentic a taste of Ethiopian as you can find. The chicken stew is made with a spiced clarified butter (niter kebbeh) and a paprika paste (berbere), both of which you can make weeks ahead. Use the injera bread as an edible tableware by scooping up the chicken or hardboiled eggs. Delish!
DORO WAT (Chicken in Red Pepper Sauce)
First, prepare niter kebbeh:
Ingredients:
2 lbs unsalted butter
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
4 teaspoons ginger root, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons tumeric
1 cardamom pod, crushed (or pinch of cardamom seeds)
1 piece cinnamon stick (1 inch)
1 whole clove
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Prep:
In a heavy saucepan, slowly melt butter. Once melted, increase heat to boiling. When surface is covered with white foam, stir in all the rest of the ingredients. Reduce heat to lowest possible point and simmer uncovered and undisturbed for 45 minutes. Milk solids should be at the bottom of the pan, golden brown and the butter on top transparent. At this point, slowly pour the clear butter through a fine sieve or dampened layers of cheesecloth into a jar. Avoid getting any solids into this. Discard solids. Cover jar tightly and refrigerate. Makes 2 cups and will keep for 2 to 3 months.
Now prepare berbere:
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/6 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons dry red wine
2 cups paprika (yep, 2 cups)
2 tablespoons ground hot red pepper
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 ½ cups water
1 to 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Prep:
In a heavy saucepan over low heat, toast spices (ginger to allspice) for a minute or two, stirring constantly to heat throughout. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes. Combine toasted spices with onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt and wine in a blender and blend into a fine paste. If you’ve got the endurance, you can use a mortar and pestle (combine all but wine until you have a smooth paste, then add wine). Set aside.
Toast paprika, peppers and rest of sat in a heavy saucepan for a minute or two, shaking constantly. Stir in water, ¼ cup at a time. Add spice-wine paste. Stir vigorously over lowest possible heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
Pack resulting paste into a crock or jar tightly. Let cool, then cover top with enough vegetable oil to make a ¼ inch layer. Cover with foil and refrigerate. Males 2 cups and can last 5 to 6 months (replenish oil layer as necessary).
Now the Doro Wat
Ingredients:
2 ½ to 3 lb chicken, cut up
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup niter kebbeh
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger root, scraped
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds, pulverized
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup berbere
2 tablespoons paprika
¼ cup dry wine (red or white)
¾ cup water
4 hardboiled eggs, peeled and poked with a fork tine
Ground papper
Prep:
Rub chicken with lemon juice and salt. Let rest 30 minutes at room temp. While resting (the chicken, not you), in an ungreased casserole, cook onions over moderate heat until soft and dry (about 5 to 6 minutes). Stir in niter kebbeh and when it sputters, stir in garlic to nutmeg, stirring well after each addition. Add paprika and berbere, and reduce heat to low, for 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine and water and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Resulting liquid should be akin to heavy cream. Drop chicken into sauce, reduce heat to lowest possible, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Add eggs and cook for another 15 minutes or until chicken is tender. Top with a sprinkle of pepper. Serve with injera (below). Serves 4.
While the doro wat is cooking, make your forks (injera bread)
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons flour
3 cups pancake mix (Bisquick)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
3 ½ cups club soda (room temp)
1 ½ cups water
Prep:
Combine flour, mix, and baking soda. With a whisk, add club soda and water, stirring constantly and to make a lumpless batter. In an ungreased iron skillet, heat moderately to set batter without browning it. For each injera, use ¼ cup batter, swirling the skillet to cover bottom evenly. Cook until top is spongy and dotted with tiny holes. Do not let bottom brown much. Cool injera on plate while the next one is cooking. Fold each cooled injera into quarters, and place on platter. To use, tear small piece of injera and scoop up chicken or eggs.
Notes: Injera is notoriously hard to make right. The original recipe calls for a fermented teff flour batter. If you’ve got a crepe recipe that tastes somewhat fermented, then go for it.
