Ethiopian on Ice

Passport & Plate - Doro Wat, Mesir Wat, and Homemade Injera

Ethiopia | Friday, March 6, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Doro Wat:
-4 cloves of garlic, minced
-3 lbs chicken, boneless and skinless, cut into approx. 1" cubes
-3 tbsp vegetable oil
-2 onions, sliced
-2 tbsp butter (or nitter kibbeh)
-2 tbsp lime juice
-1.5 cups chicken stock
-1" ginger, minced
-.25 cup of berbere

Mesir Wat:
-4 cups water
-2 onions, chopped
-2 cloves garlic, crushed
-2 tbsp smoked paprika
-2 tsp ginger, minced
-1 lb red lentils
-1 tsp tumeric
-.5 tsp cayenne pepper
-.25 cup olive oil

Injera:
-2 lemons worth of juice
-2 cups club soda
-1.5 cups all purpose flour
-1 tbsp baking powder
-.5 cup whole wheat flour
-.5 tsp salt

 

How to prepare this recipe
Doro Wat:
1. Cook chopped chicken in a pan until brown
2. Remove chicken
3. Cook medley of onions, garlic, ginger, and butter until brown
4. Add berbere to medley
5. Add chicken stock and lime juice to medley
6. Add browned chicken to medley
7. Simmer for 30 minutes, occasionally turning chicken
8. Serve on platter with injera

Mesir Wat:
1. Puree onion, garlic and ginger
2. Heat oil to add spices, add puree, saute
3. Add lentil & water
4. Simmer until tender

Injera:
1. Mix together dry ingredients
2. Add club soda
3. Stir until smooth
4. Preheat skillet
5. Brush skillet with oil
6. Ladle .5 cup of batter and spread thin
7. Cook until dry (2-3 minutes), avoid burning
8. Carefully turn and repeat #7
9. Remove and brush with lemon juice
10. Repeat steps 5-9 as needed for quantity

 

The story behind this recipe
We were driving away from O'Hare International Airport when the flurry started. Nothing particularly dangerous, but a flurry nonetheless. This was Max's first time in Chicago, which is a great place for an introduction to America. He had flown in from Germany (his homeland) to spend some time with his girlfriend Semra, an adorable globetrotter from Bosnia who grew up with me in Kansas City, Missouri. I navigated our vehicle back into the city and we began to search for a quick lunch. Joy, my girlfriend, located a nearby Ethiopian restaurant. The consensus was 'yes'. I had never dined in the Ethiopian fashion, but I entered into it with an open mind. The establishment was very inviting; a medley of benches, poufs and sturdy chairs. It was not busy and was indeed quite quiet. In fact, I do not recall any music being played throughout the restaurant. A perfect setup for a new meal with two people I loved and someone who I already knew would be a good friend. With an Ethiopian beer in my hand, we talked of Semra and Max's recent travels throughout Europe. Joy chimed in with her experiences of living in Italy. We answered the myriad of questions that Max had about the lifestyle and culture of the States. We hit him right back with questions about Germany and The Netherlands (where he was attending university). When the food arrived, I found myself more than a little confused. There weren't plates. There was no silverware. Everything we ordered came in a large basket, with a side basket of....pancakes? I learned in the next two seconds that the pancakes, or Injera, to put it correctly, were the medium used to administer the myriad of food on our platter to our mouths. My lack of experience in this type of dining facilitated an unexpected and absolutely phenomenal meal with great people. We left the Ethiopian place in Chicago. Us, a German, a Bosnian, and two Americans, enjoyed a snowy smoke, all of us knowing that what we just experienced together was truly special.