Doro Wat (Ethiopian Spiced Chicken)
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Overview
Doro Wat is Ethiopia's most celebrated dish, a deeply spiced, slow-cooked chicken stew made with the country's signature berbere spice blend and niter kibbeh (Ethiopian spiced clarified butter), enriched with whole boiled eggs that absorb the complex, fiery sauce as they cook. It is the dish that defines Ethiopian cuisine for the world. Preparing Doro Wat properly requires patience. Caramelising a large quantity of onions for up to an hour in niter kibbeh forms the foundation, this long-cooked onion base is what gives the stew its extraordinary depth and the sauce its thick, velvet-like body. The berbere adds heat, complexity, and colour. The result is one of the most flavourful chicken dishes in the world.
AFN Heritage Note
Doro Wat has been prepared in Ethiopian homes and churches for centuries, with its origins in the cooking of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian community where chicken is the preferred meat on fasting days when beef is avoided. The dish is traditionally prepared for special occasions including Ethiopian Christmas (Genna) and Easter (Fasika), and is served on injera (the spongy Ethiopian flatbread) which acts both as plate and utensil.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and pour lemon juice over.
- 2
Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- 3
Heat the niter kibbeh or butter along with the olive oil in a Dutch oven.
- 4
Add the onions and sauté, covered, over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 5
Add the garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon butter and continue to saute, covered, for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 6
Add the berbere and the 2 remaining tablespoons of butter and saute, covered, over low heat for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 7
Add the chicken, broth, salt and wine and bring to a boil.
- 8
Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 9
Adjust the seasonings, adding more berbere according to heat preference.
- 10
Add the boiled eggs and simmer on low heat, covered, for another 15 minutes.
- 11
Half or quarter the eggs and arrange on the plates with the stew.
- 12
Serve hot with injera, bread or rice.
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