Ethiopian Doro Wat

Close up of a bowl of doro wat, with a hard-boiled egg.

5 from 14 votes

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time2

Total Time2 15

Course: lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Ethiopian

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: servings

Author: Hank Shaw

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

Instructions

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.

Notes

You can also use 3 pounds of chicken drumsticks and thighs. Or for hunters, use one of the following:

2 whole pheasants
8 quail
4 to 5 partridges
3 grouse
2 cottontail rabbits or 3 squirrels

Nutrition