Ethiopian New Year is one of the many holidays we Ethiopians enjoy eating Doro Wet (chicken stew).
Doro Wet is a spicy chicken stew that is famous in Ethiopian cuisine. It is chicken simmered in caramelized onions and a robust Berberrie spice blend that make a flavored dish.
I have unforgettable memories of my family preparing Doro Wet and other dishes for a holiday back home.
Especially my grandparents give a lot of attention to holidays and plan months in advance. The holiday is the time all their children, grandchildren, and relatives gather and celebrate.
Cooking Doro Wet was not an easy task. They used to buy a live chicken, slaughter themselves, cut it into special 12 serving size pieces (I never seen that kind of chicken cut elsewhere), and wash it for long hours using salt and lemon juice.
For this Ethiopian New Year, I want to make Doro Wet and remember my childhood memories even though I am thousands of miles away from where I grew up.
But I am making an easy and simple version of Doro Wet. As I am pregnant and about to deliver our second baby, I don’t have the time and energy to cut the whole chicken into the 12 special serving size pieces.
Therefore this recipe uses only the chicken legs, which I can quickly grab from a local butcher or store.
Don’t worry, though. The flavor and the taste are the same, and you will enjoy this Ethiopian Doro Wet as usual.
If you don’t have much time or you decide to make Doro Wet at the last minute, this is a quick and easy recipe you will enjoy eating in a short time.
The main ingredients for this Doro Wet (chicken stew) recipe are chicken legs, onion, berberrie, and clarified butter.
Berberrie is an essential seasoning in Ethiopian recipes that blend ground dried chili peppers, onion, and other spices.
Clarified butter is like Ghee, but it has added flavor because it is seasoned with cardamom and other spices.
Flavorful and Easy Ethiopian Doro Wet Recipe
Ingredients
- 6-8 Chicken legs
- 1 ½ Cup Berberrie
- 1 Cup Clarified butter
- ½ Cup Oil (optional)
- 5 lbs Onion 5 lbs (10-12 large), finely chopped
- 1 Bulb Garlic minced
- 1 TBSP Mekelesha Ethiopian mixed spice
- 1 TBSP Salt
- 6-8 Hard-boiled eggs
Instructions
To clean and prepare chicken legs
- Remove the skin of the chicken legs
- Cut the edge of the bone
- Soak the chicken for 5-10 minutes in salt and lemon water
- Wash and rinse it
- Put the chicken legs in a strainer/colander while cooking the chicken sauce to strain the remaining water from the meat
Cook the Doro Wet (Chicken Stew)
- Peel and finely chop the onions. You can use a food processor to chop the onions.
- Cook the onion over medium heat until it is golden brown. Stirring constantly, adding a little bit of water as needed to prevent sticking.
- Add oil or half of butter and cook the onions well.
- Add the Berberrie. Stirring constantly, adding a little bit of water as needed to prevent sticking. The more you cook, the less spicy the sauce will be.
- Add the chicken legs. (To make the chicken meat more flavorful, make a few slits on the chicken legs so that the sauce enters well into the meat).
- Add garlic, salt, butter, and cook the chicken well. Add some water depending on the thickness of the stew you like, and bring it to boil. Cook until the chicken legs are tender.
- Peel the hard-boiled eggs. Make a slits of the eggs and add to the Doro Wet (chicken stew).
- Serve it with injera (Ethiopian sourdough flat bread made from teff) and ayeb (cottage cheese.
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Easy but delicious Doro wet recipe. Thank you for sharing this. I will be using this recipe for every holiday!
This looks amazing, omg! I’m definitely craving doro wot now, and I’ll definitely make it this weekend! 😋
Thank you Sara. Yes, this Doro wet recipe is quick and delicious!