Ethiopian food part 1 is here; this has the recipe for niter kibbeh (spiced clarified butter) that is needed below.
Misir Wat (Ethiopian lentil stew)
from The Daring Gourmet — for 6
This alternate recipe gave me the idea of adding vegetables to the basic lentil stew, and I had a sweet potato so it went in.
4 tablespoons niter kibbeh , divided
1 large yellow onion, very finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 Roma tomato, very finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons berbere spice mix, divided (you can make your own, or purchase from a good spice vendor like Penzey’s)
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
2-1/2 cups (minimum) chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
optional: vegetables possibly including sweet potato, bell pepper, carrot, or mushrooms, cut in 1/2” dice
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Melt 3 tablespoons of the niter kibbeh in a medium stock pot. Add the onions and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
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Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of the berbere and cook for 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat if needed to prevent burning.
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Add the lentils, broth, additional vegetables if using, and salt, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes (adding more broth if needed) or until the lentils are soft.
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Stir in the remaining tablespoon of niter kibbeh and berbere. Simmer for a couple more minutes. Add salt to taste. [Taste before adding these! Personally, I didn’t think it needed any extra butter and definitely not any extra berbere.]
I noted the powerful aroma when I made the niter kibbeh, and it takes over the house for hours again when you cook with it. I’ll probably be used to it by the time the jar is empty.
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What’s for dinner at your place? Please tell us about it, not in the comments, but in a future WFD diary. Message ninkasi23 about that.