Ethiopian Spicy Chicken Stew
Known as Ethiopia’s national dish, Doro Wat is a deep-red, richly spiced chicken stew traditionally served with fermented injera bread. Its distinctive flavor comes from a generous amount of onions and Berbere spice blend. Your Geedel manual food chopper is the ultimate tool for processing large quantities of onions into a fine paste and thoroughly blending the spice base.
Ingredients:
- 1 kg chicken legs, cut into pieces
- 4 large onions
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 piece ginger (about 5 cm)
- ¼ cup Berbere spice blend
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or clarified butter
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- Salt
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
- Fresh lemon juice
Instructions:
1. Prepare the onion-spice paste (key step):
Cut onions, garlic, and ginger into chunks. Attach the chopping blade to the Geedel food chopper.
Process the ingredients in batches, turning the handle continuously until a very smooth, almost watery paste forms. This is the foundation of the rich sauce.
2. Cook the spice base:
In a heavy pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion paste and stir constantly. Be patient—this process takes about 25–35 minutes, until much of the water evaporates, the mixture darkens, reduces in volume, and develops a sweet aroma.
Add the Berbere spice, paprika, and tomato paste. Continue frying for 5 minutes until fragrant.
3. Stew the chicken:
Lightly marinate the chicken pieces with lemon juice and salt. Add them to the pot and stir to coat with the spice base.
Pour in water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 40–50 minutes until the chicken is tender.
In the last 10 minutes, add the hard-boiled eggs to soak up the flavors.
4. Serve:
Enjoy with injera bread or other flatbread, using pieces to scoop up the sauce and chicken.
Summary:
The soul of this deeply flavored stew lies in transforming onions into a fine paste and patiently caramelizing it. The powerful chopping ability of the Geedel chopper makes this demanding task effortless, allowing home cooks to confidently prepare this patient yet richly rewarding representative dish of African cuisine.
