COPPERMisir wat recipe
Red lentils cooked down to a paste with berbere and niter kibbeh, over onions first sweated dry with no fat at all.
Ingredients
- 250 g red lentils
- 500 g red onions
- 60 g niter kibbeh
- 30 g berbere
- 3 clove garlic
- 15 g ginger
- 30 g tomato paste
- 750 ml water
- 1 tsp salt
How to make Misir wat
- Finely dice 500 g of red onions and cook them in a dry pot over medium-low heat for 25 minutes, stirring, until they collapse and give up their water. No fat yet: this step is what thickens the wat.
- Add 60 g of niter kibbeh, the Ethiopian spiced clarified butter, and cook 5 minutes more until the onions turn dark and glossy.
- Stir in 3 minced garlic cloves and 15 g of grated ginger and cook 1 minute.
- Add 30 g of berbere and 30 g of tomato paste and fry 3 minutes so the spice loses its raw edge.
- Rinse 250 g of red lentils until the water runs clear, then add them with 750 ml of water.
- Simmer uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often, until the lentils fall apart into a thick purée.
- Salt only at the end, rest 10 minutes off the heat, and serve with injera.
What is Misir wat?
Misir wat is a traditional dish from Ethiopia, simmered in one pot, and takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes from start to finish. It is built around red onions, red lentils and niter kibbeh. The recipe below uses 9 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Misir wat take?
At 90 minutes it is quicker than 63% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 5 dishes built on red onions. The method runs to 7 steps, the longest being 40 minutes.
Any tips for making Misir wat?
Sweat the onions in a dry pot until they give up their water before adding the niter kibbeh: this step is what thickens the wat.
How Misir wat compares
Hard to find elsewhere: berbere (2), red lentils (3) and niter kibbeh (3).
Cooked with the same thing elsewhere
Other traditional dishes built on red onion, from other countries.
- Cochinita pibil 🇧🇿 Belize
- Smørrebrød 🇩🇰 Denmark
- Mangú 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
- Encebollado 🇪🇨 Ecuador
- Tsebhi derho 🇪🇷 Eritrea
- Zigni 🇪🇷 Eritrea
Copper documents Ethiopia alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.