Ethiopian (West African) Feast
For everyone at AW: A special feast!
Years ago I had the wonderful luck to work with a couple Ethiopians who were kind enough to pass these recipies along. Prepare them all just so...and it will taste better than the restaurant.
Berbere
(Hot Sauce for meats)
½ cup finely diced red (cayenne) peppers
½ cup finely minced onion
3 medium cloves chopped garlic
2 tbsp ginger powder
2 tsps cumin powder
4 tsps ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup butter
3 tsps salt
in a skillet, over low heat, melt butter with red peppers. Remove from heat. In a blender, combine minced garlic, ginger, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt and blend for 3 min at high speed. Add melted butter mixture and blend again at high speed for 3 min..until the result is a smooth paste. Store in glass jar in fridge until ready for use.
Niter Kebbeh
(Herb Butter for cooking meats)
2 lbs unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 small yellow onion, chopped fine ( you can substitute 1/3 cup dried onion flakes)
3 Tbsps coarsely chopped garlic
1 ½ tsps turmeric
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp nutmeg
4 tsps powdered ginger
In a heavy skillet (cast iron if possible) or a heavy 5 qt sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. This must be done slowly and with caution so the butter DOES NOT BROWN.
Once butter is melted, increase the heat until the butter boils.
Boil just long enough for the butter to be covered in a whitish foam, then stir in all of the ingredients.
Return heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 15 min. The butter residue on the bottom of the pan will be golden brown and the butter on top will be transparent.
Using a cheesecloth, strain the mixture. Save. Store the butter in a glass jar in the fridge if not being used immediately. Store the solids in a separate glass jar unless using immediately.
Gomen
(East African Style Greens)
Directions for ‘fresh’, frozen works just fine.
1/2 lb each kale, mustard, collard and turnip greens. (Or you can use 2lb of one of them or 1lb each of two of them) Washed well and trimmed from fibrous stems. Cut into manageable pieces.
4 large carrots, peeled, julienned or diced.
1 whole cayenne pepper.
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp Berbere
2 tbsp Niter Kebbeh solids
1/3 cup Niter Kebbeh liquid
In a large sauce pan, heat the water, Berbere, and Niter Kebbeh.
Add the carrots and the cayenne.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat immediately.
Add greens.
Stir.
Simmer for 10 min or so until the greens are ‘greens’ (carrots should be soft-ish and not crunchy)
Lentils
(these are traditionally served with the West African meal.)
1 bag red lentils.
2 tbsp Berbere
2 tbsp Niter Kebbeh Solids
Cook according to directions for the number of servings that you need.
Add Berbere and Niter Kebbeh to the cooking water.
Bulger Wheat
(this is normally served to give you something bland because the rest of the food is ungodly spicey)
Look in the ‘International’ section of your grocery.
Cook according to directions for the number of servings you want.
Hint…most people will not eat more than 3 tbsps of this bland stuff, no matter how spicy the food is.
Zil Zil Wat
Ethiopian Beef Stew
2 lbs boneless sirloin (top round works, too. But Venison has the best taste) steak, cut into 1 inch cubes.
½ cup of water
1 cup of finely diced onion. ( you can sub 1/3 cup dried onion flakes)
1tsp salt
1 cup of Niter Kebbeh liquid Plus 4 tbsp melted butter.
4 tbsp Berbere
1 tbsp Niter Kebbeh solids
1 tsp ginger powder
½ tsp black pepper
In a large skillet (hopefully iron), heat Niter Kebbeh and butter over a moderate heat.
Saute beef in pan so it browns evenly.
Remove beef with a straining spoon and set aside, leaving any liquid in the pan
Now, add to the pan all of the remaining ingredients.
Cook over low heat for ten min or until all onion is soft.
Add meat and continue to simmer for 15 to 20 min..add an extra tbsp or three of water, if necessary
The result should be a very thick stew.
Serve with Injera
Doro Wat
Ethiopian Chicken Stew
3-4 lbs of chicken.
(I usually use nothing but white meat, but traditionally you use the entire chicken. But you don’t want to skin and cut a chicken into teenie pieces so I suggest two pounds of boneless/skinless chicken breast cut into 2 inch chunks, 4 or 5 chicken legs and 4 or 5 chicken wings)
6 hard boiled eggs
2 cups of cold water
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup finely diced onion (you can sub 1/3 cup dried onion flakes)
1 tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter
3 tbsps Berbere
1 cup Niter Kebbeh liquid
2 tbsp Niter Kebbeh solid
1 tsp ginger powder
½ tsp black pepper
4 cayenne peppers.
Place chicken in a bowl with 1 cup of water, all the lemon juice, 1/3 of the onions and the salt.
Set aside for 20 min.
Meanwhile, melt butter, slowly in large, heavy sauce pan. Add Niter Kebbeh liquid and solid. Add the remaining onion and sauté until they are a pale brown. Add ¼ cup of the remaiing water and the Berbere while stirring continuously for 15 min.
Add the rest of the water and the marinated chicken pieces. Cook for 15 min, turning frequently.
Mix the ginger with the final ½ cup of water then pour over chicken.
Stir. Sprinkle with black pepper. Stir.
Peel hard boiled eggs. Add peeled eggs to the chicken mixture.
Wash cayennes and cut off stems. Toss whole into the chicken mixture.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 -30 min.
Serve with Injera.
Yebeg Alecha
(Ethiopian Lamb Stew)
1 tbsp butter.
½ cup Niter Kebbeh Liquid
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ lbs lean lamb cut into strips
¼ tsp ginger powder
½ tsp curry powder
1 large clove of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tsp of salt
2 green bell peppers, seeded and quartered.
1 cayenne pepper.
In a heavy 4 qt pot sauté onion in butter until brown.
Add Niter Kebbeh and water and bring to a rapid boil.
Add lamb strips and reduce heat.
Simmer for an hour or more –until lamb is tender.
Add everything except the green peppers and simmer until liquid is reduced.
Add the green peppers. Simmer for 15 min.
Serve with Injera.
Zil Zil Tibs
(Ethiopian Steak)
2 lbs boneless sirloin (top round works, too. But Venison has the best taste) steak, cut into 1 inch by 3 inch strips.
½ cup of water
1 cup of finely diced onion. ( you can sub 1/3 cup dried onion flakes)
1tsp salt
1/4 cup of Niter Kebbeh liquid Plus 4 tbsp melted butter.
4 tbsp Berbere
1 tbsp Niter Kebbeh solids
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 clove of garlic diced fine
½ tsp ground nutmeg
3 small ‘fingerling’ hot green peppers.
In a large skillet (hopefully iron), heat Niter Kebbeh and butter over a moderate heat.
Saute beef in pan so it browns evenly.
Add all remaining ingredients. Stir well. Simmer covered for 15 min or until beef is tender.
Serve with Injera.
Injera
Injera is a traditional Ethiopian bread, usually about 18” in diameter, and looks like a half cooked grey pancake. It is delicious but you have to have it fresh. 2 days old is BAD. Normally the meal is served on the injera, with the cook bringing out a platter on which a piece of injera is laid, and huge piles of the various foods above are on the injera platter. A separate platter with extra injera is also brought to the table.
Each person serves themselves a piece of injera, and as the platter goes around, each person serves themselves food.
No utensils except for serving utensils. You tear off pieces of the injera and grab your food with it. When done, you eat your ‘plate’.
I attempted to make this once. I now drive to the African Market for it, because you can only make one piece at a time!!!
5 tbsps all purpose flour
3 cups Tef flour
¼ tsp baking soda
1 ½ cups water
3 ½ cups room temp club soda.
Huge (18” diameter) Teflon skillet or electric frying pan.
NOTE: Injera should never be allowed to brown
Preheat Griddle to 350 degrees.
Put all dry ingredients in large bowl.
Pour in the club soda very slowly.
Stir carefully and slowly.
Add regular water.
Stir
Pour batter through cheese cloth to rid it of lumps.
Pour ¼ cup of batter onto griddle.
(If using Teflon pan, remove from heat)
Cook for 1 min (on one side only)...or until large pores form on bread.
Remove carefully with spatula.
Repeat until you have it all cooked.
I love you all....
Happy Memorial Day!
