Doro Wat

Ingredients

• 8 chicken drumsticks or thighs, skin removed
• 6 large onions, very finely chopped
• 4 tbsp berbere
• 100 g niter kibbeh (spiced butter)
• 6 garlic cloves, grated
• 40 g ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and scored
• juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Dry-cook the onions

   Cook the onions in a dry pan, no fat at all, over a low heat until they collapse and turn golden. This takes forty minutes and it is the dish — the onions become the sauce, and any fat added now would stop them breaking down.

   40 min

2. Add the fat and aromatics

   Now stir in the niter kibbeh, garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant.

   5 min

3. Cook out the berbere

   Add the berbere and tomato purée and fry gently for ten minutes until the spice darkens and the fat separates. Raw berbere tastes harsh and dusty.

   10 min

4. Braise the chicken

   Add the chicken, stock and lemon juice, season, and simmer gently until the meat is falling off the bone and the sauce is thick and glossy.

   1 h

5. Add the eggs

   Score the boiled eggs lightly so they take up colour and nestle them into the stew for the last fifteen minutes.

   15 min