Doro wat is a peppery, spicy stew from Ethiopia. I first came across it when I was living in Northern Kenya near the Ethiopian border and always looked forward to opportunities to enjoy a serving of doro wat. Traditionally, goat is used as the protein in this dish; however, we prefer to keep it vegetarian and the Indian cheese – paneer works very well.
I have been making it for many years and, over that time, it has changed, almost beyond recognition. To paraphrase the late, great Douglas Adams, what appears below is almost entirely, but not completely, unlike the original doro wat.
It uses mushrooms. Many people have said to me that they “don’t like mushrooms” but then eat my version of doro wat and change their minds – so please ‘give it a go’. It also uses chilli… this is variable; I would put some in as it wouldn’t be spicy without it – but if you are worried, only put in very little.
Ingredients
- 70g Butter
- 2 large or 3 medium onions (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon crushed chilli (more or less)
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed pepper
- 140g tomato puree
- 400g mushrooms
- 200g paneer cheese (or other protein)
Start by melting the butter in a pan and chopping the onions.
Cook the onions in the butter; stirring over a medium heat until translucent and creamy. This will take at least 20 minutes and may take half an hour.
Add the garlic salt, the crushed pepper and the chilli. Note: keep the salt and pepper quantities but adjust the chilli depending on how ‘hot’ you like your food.
Continue cooking for another 5 minutes. While this is cooking, dilute the tomato puree with water to make 1 litre of tomato juice.
Pour the tomato juice over the onions and stir thoroughly. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
Next, the mushrooms go in. I think this works best with dark gilled mushrooms (such as portobello). Chop the mushrooms into large pieces; they will reduce during the cooking.
Gently simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You now have the base for your doro wat. Add in your protein – we use paneer cheese which is easily available in UK supermarkets and works really well in this dish. The cheese comes in a block – cut it into cubes and stir into the doro wat.
Simmer for about 30 minutes. The sauce will get darker and slightly thicker. Traditionally, doro wat is served with injera bread – a sourdough flatbread made with teff flour. While you can make these, doro wat is delicious served with rice. Yum.
