I adore Ethiopian cooking, but I had trouble locating reliable web recipes. In the end, I was able to find three or four recipes, which I then modified in an effort to recreate the flavors. Usually accompanied by injera and a veggie side dish. Even though there are many tasty selections, I favor the cabbage and potato dish atkilt.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 27 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 37 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 chicken breast halves |
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 ½ cups water, divided
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- ¾ cup berbere seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed
- ⅓ cup sweet white wine
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
Instructions
- Heat 1/2 cup butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook and stir onion until translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and tomato paste; stir until hot, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining butter, berbere, garlic, and ginger. Adjust heat to low and cook until mixture thickens to paste consistency, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Stir remaining water into berbere paste; add chicken. Simmer until thickened to sauce consistency, about 45 minutes.
- Stir white wine, cardamom, and black pepper into the sauce; add hard-boiled eggs. Cook until sauce is reduced slightly, about 15 minutes more.
- Berbere is very spicy, so if you are sensitive, reduce the amount in the recipe.
- If you are unable to find berbere, I have a recipe that comes close:
- . However, it seems there are many possible variations.
- You can substitute any other type of meat for the chicken breast, if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 778 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 24 g |
| Cholesterol | 399 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 12 g |
| Protein | 33 g |
| Saturated Fat | 32 g |
| Sodium | 2859 mg |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 54 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I used about 1/4 of the butter (2 sticks seemed obscene) and it was still fantastic. I also found it needed a little acid at the end, so I recommend finishing with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice. But it was delicious with these minor tweaks.
Tasted amazing. So worth the time. A lot of it is passive time anyway. Could add less water for the final simmer step.
This is delicious! The whole family enjoyed it. Don’t really need the egg. I added cream at the end to cut the acidity of all the tomato.
I’ve not been this excited about food in a while! Found this recipe by searching for our favorite spice “Berbere” (we use Penzey’s). It was so wonderfully fragrant & delicious! Paired it with a great Zin (Marietta Roman 2016) that ended up perfect together!! We did add a splash of cinnamon post-cooking because it needed some depth. Next time we will add to the cooking portion. I also used only 1/2 c of butter vs. 1 c due to dietary reasons but not sure that wouldve given the depth or richness we needed. LOVE THIS RECIPE! Thank you so much!
Amazing! Seriously so so good. I used 1/2 cup of berbere because it was all I had, and it was plenty spicy. I also used chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. I did have to simmer the sauce for about 55 rather than 45 minutes, as it didn’t reduce that quickly. Also, there was some oil separation on top that I spooned off. Made the dish with some rice because I’m not quite expert enough to try cooking injera. maybe next time!
This was amazing! Came out tasting just like the Ethiopian restaurant we love. I used chicken thighs, doubled the recipe but used half the butter – so a quarter of the butter it called for. I found Berbere on amazon and glad I read the reviews because I only used two tablespoons (in a double batch) and it was the perfect amount of spicy. Also glad someone recommended patience with the cooking. I simmered first 1.5 hours and it was worth it. Also, I made this a day in advance and it really made it wonderful letting the flavors blend and improve overnight (in the fridge, of course). I served with cilantro and some authentic injira I bought from an Ethiopian market. Perfection!
This was delicious!! I used a bit less butter but otherwise I have made it as is (three times). I used the linked berbere mix recipe. Everyone in the family enjoyed it a lot. Teaching it to my daughter’s Girl Scout troop tomorrow as part of a cooking badge.
I made the Doro Wat chicken on yesterday for my family. Absolutely loved it! Because my husband does not eat eggs, I substituted them with potatoes. Still worked out great. There were no leftovers. Lol
This dish is AMAZING! I will definitely make this again. Doro wat is incredibly fragrant and delicious. I didn’t use any eggs, but it still turned out amazingly. I barely have words to describe how good this tastes. Thank you, Twin Cities for this recipe!
Holy cow. I love spicy food and couldn’t eat this even after adding a pint of sour cream and adding noodles!!! Flavor is awesome though. I, too, am guessing that the amount of Berbere is WAY off or that there’s a lot of difference between brands. I suggest you make the recipe and add this spice last. Start with a tablespoon and move up until you get it the way you like. I used 2/3 cup and that was definitely too much. I’m glad I did a trial run before my party. I’m still going to make this but using my suggestion to add the Berbere last, little by little.
One of the best flavors I’ve ever tasted.
I loved it! Berbere seasoning can be expensive and hard to find so prepare yourself.
Just quick note: onions are not on ingredient list but is first item in recipe! ALSO!!! Probably a mistaken amount of berbere. Maybe 2/3 tablespoon? Came out great with 2 teaspoons (quite spicy). I eat Ethiopian food whenever I can. Nice to have a good recipe for home prep.
Very good, but my berbere wasn’t very authentic tasting. If anyone knows where to get an authentic berbere from Ethiopia, I? would be happy to hear of it. Mine tasted way too strong of cardamon.
This dish is delicious, my family loved it. I dont eat spicy dishes my husband and kids loved it, the pot was empty. Its very spicy I tried a small piece but it was too spicy for me. They ate it clean to the pot.
Very delicious, very spicy and very hot! I made this in the crock pot. I only used 2/3 cup of the berbere spice because that’s all I had. I subbed 1 cup chicken broth for the water and only used 1 stick of butter. That seems to be enough. I’ve never had Ethiopian food except for what I’ve made off of All Recipes. I got the berbere spice off of Amazon. Thank You! Will definitely make again!
I absolutely love Ethiopian food – so much so I was nervous about making it because I didn’t want to muck it up. This recipe did not disappoint! My only change was using fresh chopped tomatoes rather than the paste. I had to let it simmer a bit longer before and after adding the chicken to get the consistency I wanted but it was so worth it. They key here is patience, let things just barely simmer slowly and taste as you go. I made it with the recommended cabbage/potato dish (also posted by the user Twin Cities) and enjoyed with injera. Everyone went back for seconds and mopped up the sauce with the bread. Thanks for posting – I’m adding this to my “show-off” recipe box for sure! Of note: I’ve seen this served with a lightly dressed green salad or collard greens if you want to simplify the side dish.
Delicious. Made it as described with the exception of using chicken thighs instead of chicken breast, making my own berbere. Also, found a recipe for the cabbage potato dish mentioned (All Recipes Ethiopian Cabbage Dish) and it made a great side dish for the Doro Wat. My husband, the picky eater, had two big helpings of everything.
Flavorful and delicious. This easy to make recipe gives you a very fragrant meal to enjoy with injera bread. Thank you for the recipe.