Considering I am a food enthusiast, I have quite a long bucket list of the foods I have longed to try my taste buds on the Ethiopian special: Doro Wat.
As the national dish of Ethiopia, Doro Wat holds a special place in the hearts of its people and has gained international acclaim for its bold flavors and aromatic spices.
This hearty chicken stew is a sensory journey that invites you to savor the complex layers of spice, warmth, and depth that define Ethiopian cooking.
Jollof Rice can be paired with my delicious Homemade Peri Peri Chicken Wings. Take time to also learn How to Make Nigerian Fish Pepper Soup.
What is Doro Wat?
Doro Wat is one of the most famous African dishes known to Ethiopia. It has been regarded as the national dish of the country.
It is a spicy chicken stew made up of caramelized onions, chicken, boiled eggs, and ground spices. This dish is traditionally eaten with a side of injera – Ethiopia’s popular fermented flatbread.
For a spicy and aromatic dish, explore our guide on “How to Make Nigerian Fish Pepper Soup,” the perfect side dish!
Ingredients needed for Doro Wat
Berbere & other Spices
Prior to making this, I had looked up different versions of this rich sauce and saw that the one thing that was the same across all recipes was the use of the iconic spice of the Ethiopians- berbere spice.
This signature spice is a combination of dry chili peppers, coriander, ginger, garlic, besobela (Ethiopian holy basil seeds), rue, radhuni, fenugreek, korarima, and nigella. I added a bit of curry powder, ground cumin, and white pepper.
Red Onions
This is the cornerstone ingredient of Doro Wat. Red onions are sweet, especially when cooked until caramelized. You will need a lot of onions all sliced up. The onions are fried down over a long period of time, this ultimately forms the stew base.
Soft Chicken
Soft chicken is used for this recipe. Cook the chicken till it is succulent and literally falls off the bone. The slow cooking of the chicken infuses a lot of flavour into the sauce.
Niter Kibbeh
This is essentially local clarified butter such as ghee. However, this clarified butter is infused with spices. In the absence of niter kibbeh, regular unsalted butter can be used.
Hard-boiled Eggs
A few incisions are made on the egg whites to allow easy penetration of the sauce into the egg, this is delicious. If you have never tried stewed eggs, you are missing my friend!
I must warn you though, if you are seeking a quick lunch or are on a time crunch, this might not be the recipe for you, you will need to invest a considerable amount of time for this dish. The onions are cooked down for a lengthy period till they caramelize beautifully and seasoned to perfection.
What Do You Eat Doro Wat with?
Doro Wat is popularly eaten with the famous injera flatbread known to the Ethiopians. Its texture is wet and crumbly with a tangy taste which is doused when eaten with Doro Wat due to the sweetness of the sauce.
Have you tried South African Bobotie or Somalia’s Suugo Suqaar? You should!
Ethiopian Doro Wat
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven Pot
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. Soft chicken thighs cut up
- 3 Tbsp Niter kibbeh/unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cups red onions thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- ¼ cup berbere spice
- chicken bouillon
- salt to taste
- 2 Tbsp ground black pepper
- 6 hard-boiled eggs with incisions about ¼ inch thick
- water as needed
Instructions
- Rinse your chicken thigh pieces with some lemon wedges until clean, pat dry and season with salt and black pepper.
- Heat up a large pot, transfer the sliced onion into the pot and start to sautee the onions till it starts to brown. this should take anywhere between 30-45 mins on medium heat. Continue to stir to prevent burning.
- When the onions have browned completely in the pot, add in the garlic, olive oil and the niter kibbeh/butter, continue to stirfry.
- Go in with the berbere spice, chicken bouillon and salt, continue to stir until well combined.
- Add in 1 cup of water and immerse the chicken thighs in the sauce, cover and let it cook on medium to low heat for about 45 mins.
- Add in the hard-boiled eggs into the sauce and cover to continue cooking for aother 15 mins.
- It is ready when the chicken is tender, oil has risen fully to the surface of the sauce and the eggs have browned nicely.
- Let it sit for a few mins before serving with injera flatbread to complete the experience.
Video
Notes
- When cooking down the onions, do this on low heat to prevent burning. Don’t worry about the onions all sticking to the bottom of the pot, this will add to the flavor when loosened up with the chicken broth.
- You can substitute virgin oil for any other type of oil you like.
This is good if you have niter kibeh. If you skip it, and simply add unsalted butter, an entire dimension of flavor will remain locked from your experience. You absolutely MUST use niter kibeh in this recipe.
Hi Wayne! Thanks a lot for your comment and review. You are right about niter kibeh being an important ingredient, it is essentially why it has been mentioned as part of the ingredients. However, if this is unavailable where you live, one can substitute with ghee or unsalted butter.