Community and Coffee

Passport & Plate - Ferengi Doro Wot

Ethiopia | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 4 photos

Ingredients
4-6 chicken drumsticks
2 large yellow onions
2 garlic cloves
1 T korerima
1 T kibe (Ethiopian spiced butter)
1/3-2/3 c Berbere (Ethiopian spice)
1 large Jalapeño
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 c water
3-4 hard boiled eggs

 

How to prepare this recipe
In a larger pot saute the diced onions until transparent. Add garlic, jalapeño, and korerima for 1-3 minutes. Add berbere slowly alternating with water. Bring to a boil until the consistency is slightly thinner than marinara sauce. Add the drumsticks and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for about 40 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve immediately with the hard boiled eggs for each person.

 

The story behind this recipe
I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel to many different African countries, and in each I have found incredible food with sides of great stories, tradition, and people. From the Mopani worms in Botswana, to the bunny chow in Soweto, to the ugali in Kenya, there are so many wonderful things to love about food all over the world. But Ethiopia stole my heart! I traveled to Ethiopia to spend a year teaching in Addis Ababa in 2011. From the moment you step off the plane in this wonderful city, you can smell the spice. There are very few places I've traveled where food and the culture behind it are so intertwined with community, love, and tradition. Everywhere you turn in your daily life, someone is asking you to sit and eat, and eat, and eat! An event that could take hours! I met my husband while living in Addis, and when I went to his family's house there was a spread large enough for the neighborhood. (And that's exactly who showed up!) His mother made me Doro Wot, four different salads, aib (cheese), and shiro (bean paste). We all spent hours talking and getting to know each other, as best we could, while I was constantly coaxed to "bea bea" or "eat eat" until I was ready to explode. And it didn't end there -- we then ate popcorn while enjoying a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony! Growing and learning and loving people all over the world is what I live for, and what better way to enjoy your friends and family then with an abudance of delicious food!