Ethiopian Dinner at Home

This was the first week in quite a while that we had not gone out for Ethiopian food so we decided to give it a go at home and perhaps satisfy the urge.  How hard could it be!

We attempted our favorite dish, lentils in a spicy berbere sauce, as well as cabbage, carrot and potato, the ubiquitous Ethiopian tomato salad and, to stand in for the injera, chickpea crepes.

For the spicy lentils (called Mesir Wat) we used:

 

Onion, yellow

Garlic (~4cloves)

Ginger (1”piece)

Red lentils (2c.)

Berbere spice (1T)

Tomato paste (~3T)

Veggie broth (about 1qt+)

Took the onion, garlic and ginger and pulsed it in the food processor.

 

Added that to the Le Creuset, with a splash of oil and pinch of salt, to extract some flavor.  After a few minutes added the spice mix to sizzle for a minute or so, then the tomato paste to incorporate as well.

Then added the lentils and broth, simmered on low, stirring occasionally until the lentils were done and the flavors melded nicely. DONE! 

 

  

For the Cabbage, carrot and potato (Atakilt Wat):

Olive oil, ~1/2c.

Onion, yellow

4-5carrots, sliced in thick coins/halfmoons

Green cabbage, thick shred

2 potatoes, medium chunks

Cumin

Turmeric

Heated a pan, added the olive oil, onion and carrot.  Cooked on medium until beginning to soften.  Added 1-2T cumin and 1T turmeric to incorporate, then added the potato and cabbage, tossed to coat everything in the oil and spices then added a little bit of water so everything would steam nicely.  Put the cover on, cook until tender, stirring occasionally.  The water will evaporate and the oil will coat all the vegetables leaving them good and viscous (just like at the restaurant).  Season up with salt and pepper and . 

. . DONE!

For the tomato salad:

3 tomatoes, diced
½ red onion, julienne

1 jalapeno, thin discs
Juice of ½ lemon
Splash of olive oil
S+P

Couldn’t be easier, simply combine the ingredients and hold until ready to use.

I should have checked the jalapenos and thought about removing the seeds as this one was quite hot.  Will probably dial back on jalapeno next time and use perhaps ¼ onion instead of ½.  Chill and serve cold as they do at the restaurants.

And finally, the crepes:

1 ½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour    

½ c. chickpea flour

2T olive oil

2c. water

2t salt

Combine the flours, then add the liquids and salt.  Whisk well, then let chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes.  When ready to make, heat a non-stick skillet, thin batter as necessary with more water, then butter/oil pan just a little and pour a thin layer of batter in, swirling pan as you would to make crepes.  Cook a minute or two on each side then stack up and save for serving.

Everything tasted great, if not totally authentic.  The lentils were good and spicy though I’d use a little less fresh ginger next time and would like to get a deeper reddish-brown color (hmm, add paprika next time) for the sauce and perhaps have the lentils retain a bit more of their shape.

The cabbage, potato and carrots were pretty close the original actually and I wouldn’t change much in the recipe though smaller chunks of potato would make eating with your hands a bit easier.

The tomato salad was simple and a necessarily fresh addition to the platter while the chickpea crepes were by no means injera-like but were sturdy enough for eating with your hands and added an interesting (though not tangy) flavor of their own.