Meat

Doro wat

Ethiopia’s celebratory chicken stew: mountains of slow-cooked onions, spiced butter and berbere, with hard-boiled eggs in the rich red sauce.

  • 120 min30 prep · 90 cook
  • HardDifficulty
  • 560 kcalper serving

Ingredients

4 servings
  • Chicken drumsticks and thighs, skinless1.2 kg
  • Lemon, juiced1
  • Red onions, very finely chopped4
  • Niter kibbeh or butter80 g
  • Berbere spice mix3 tbsp
  • garlic4 cloves
  • Fresh ginger, grated1 tbsp
  • Tomato paste2 tbsp
  • Chicken stock300 ml
  • Hard-boiled eggs, peeled4
  • Saltto taste
  • Injera or rice, to serveto taste

Steps

  1. 1

    Rub the chicken with the lemon juice and a little salt and set aside.

  2. 2

    Cook the onions in a dry pot over medium-low heat, stirring often, until soft and deep golden. Add a splash of water if they catch.

  3. 3

    Add the butter, garlic, ginger and berbere and fry until fragrant and brick red.

  4. 4

    Stir in the tomato paste and stock, add the chicken and simmer covered, turning now and then.

  5. 5

    Score the eggs lightly, add them to the sauce and simmer uncovered until the sauce is thick.

  6. 6

    Serve hot on injera or with rice.

Tips and questions
Why cook the onions without fat?
Dry-cooking the onions slowly concentrates their sweetness and breaks them down into the thick base of the sauce. It’s the key step, so don’t rush it.
What can I use if I can’t find berbere?
Mix 2 tbsp hot paprika with a little cayenne, ground ginger, cardamom, fenugreek, coriander and a pinch of cloves.

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