Ethiopian Doro Wat

Note that most recipes for doro wat will add even more berbere than I do, but be warned: It’s hot stuff! Ideally you want an old chicken or a pheasant for this recipe. If that's not possible, use just thighs and drumsticks.

Recipe by Hank Shaw on January 16, 2023

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT120M

Total time: PT135M

Rating

5 stars (14 reviews)

Keywords

doro wat

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, (cut into serving pieces)
¼ cup lemon juice
6 cups red onions (about 4 medium onions, sliced root to tip)
½ cup spiced butter, (ghee or regular butter)
4 garlic cloves, (minced)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup berbere ((see notes above))
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground fenugreek ((optional))
1 cup mead or red wine
2 cups game or chicken stock
Salt to taste
6 hard-boiled eggs, (peeled)

Cuisine

Ethiopian

Steps

Rub the chicken or pheasant all over with the lemon juice.
In a large, heavy pot, add the sliced onions and turn the heat to medium. Cook the onions dry, stirring frequently. They will give up their water, wilt, and eventually brown.
When the onions are close to browning, add the spiced butter, the garlic and ginger. Cook another minute or three. Add the tomato paste, berbere, black pepper, cardamom, and fenugreek. Mix well.
Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat. Cook another few minutes, until the meat turns opaque. Add some salt.
Pour in the stock and mead or wine. You want all the meat to be covered by about an inch; add water if you need to. Bring to a simmer, taste for salt, cover the pot and cook gently until the meat is tender, typically about 2 hours. The sauce should have cooked down a lot by now; add a little water if it gets thicker than gravy.
When you are about 15 minutes out from serving, stab the hard-boiled eggs all over with a fork, then add to the pot. You can either strip all the meat from the bones or leave it as-is. Add salt if needed, then serve with rice, bread or the Ethiopian crepes called injera.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 479 kcal
Carbohydrates: 18 g
Protein: 25 g
Fat: 30 g
Saturated Fat: 12 g
Trans Fat: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 240 mg
Sodium: 751 mg
Sugar: 7 g
Unsaturated Fat: 15 g

Reviews

Charles deVitalis on 2024-05-11 (5 stars):
I’m 74 and have been cooking for 50 years. This is the best tasting chicken I’ve ever had! I did have to add two Habenero’s and four Serano’s, all with seeds , to get the burn I crave. Simply outstanding recipe. Habenero aside, don’t stray from the recipe, you won’t regret it,
jan on 2024-02-14 (5 stars):
and it very nice as well definitely the best one I’ve cooked as well
jan on 2023-11-30 (5 stars):
absolutely beautiful the best i have had
Ian Temple on 2023-01-27 (5 stars):
Made this recipe and have to say one if the better non Indian curries ive made. Very tasty and the addition of boiled eggs seems odd but does add a creamy element. Thanks for showing me something new.
Karen on 2023-01-17 (5 stars):
I'm going to try this recipe for myself. I love trying new foods and this sounds delicious.
Carmen on 2023-01-16 (5 stars):
I have tried so many of your recipes and they all turned out delicious. I have also bought all but one of your books and only because it was sold out at the time. You are an amazing cook and I am loving it that you utilize everything on an animal. My father, who just passed away last year was also an excellent game cook, but he took many of his recipes to the grave, because he lived in Germany and I live here so we did not get to see each other as often as I would have liked (I owned a restaurant for nearly 30 years). But your recipes sure sound a lot like his. Thank you I am enjoying all of them.