Misir Wot

About This Recipe

A staple of Ethiopian cuisine and a favourite fasting dish, misir wot is a thick, fiery stew of red lentils cooked down with caramelised onions, garlic, ginger, and the trademark berbere spice blend until deeply flavourful and perfectly spoonable.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300 gdried red lentils, rinsed
• 3 pcsonions, very finely diced
• 3 clovesgarlic, minced
• 1 pieceginger, 2 cm, grated
• 3 tbspberbere spice blend
• 3 tbspvegetable oil or niter kibbeh
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 600 mlwater or vegetable stock
• 1 tspsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Caramelise onions

   Cook onions in a dry pan over medium heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until golden and very reduced. Add oil and cook 5 more minutes.

2. 2

   Add spices

   Add garlic, ginger, and berbere. Stir and cook for 3 minutes until fragrant.

3. 3

   Add tomato paste

   Stir in tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.

4. 4

   Cook lentils

   Add lentils and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 25–30 minutes, stirring frequently, until lentils have broken down completely into a thick stew.

5. 5

   Season and serve

   Season with salt. The stew should be thick and scoopable. Serve on injera with other wots and salads.

Variations

• •

  Add a swirl of yoghurt to each serving to temper the heat.

• •

  Use whole green or brown lentils for a chunkier texture.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 5 days. Thickens when cold — add a splash of water when reheating. Freezes excellently.