Ethiopian Doro Wat: Chicken in Berbere Sauce
Doro wat starts by cooking a large quantity of finely chopped onion in a completely dry pan until it collapses, then adding clarified butter, the hot berbere spice blend, the chicken and boiled eggs. Cooking the onions dry is the foundation of the dish and takes at least thirty minutes.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 80 min
- Total
- 100 min
- Calories
- 470
Doro wat is Ethiopia's national dish and its celebration food. The strange and essential part: the onions cook first with no fat at all until they melt — and that's what gives the sauce its body.
Method
-
1
The dry onions
Put the chopped onion in a completely dry pan over low heat and stir occasionally for thirty minutes, until it releases its water, collapses and turns into a brown paste. This is the essential step.
⏱ 32 min -
2
Butter and berbere
Add the clarified butter, garlic and ginger and stir for five minutes, then the berbere and stir for three more until it smells fragrant and darkens.
⏱ 10 min -
3
The chicken
Rub the chicken with the lemon juice and rinse it, then add it to the sauce with a cup of water, cover, and cook over low heat for thirty-five minutes.
⏱ 38 min -
4
The eggs
Score the boiled eggs lightly with a knife and add them to the sauce for the last ten minutes so they take on the colour and flavour.
⏱ 12 min
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Tips that actually matter
- Don't rush the dry-onion stage — it is the dish.
- Berbere is very hot; start with two tablespoons and build from there.
- It's traditionally served on injera, but any flatbread works.
People also ask
I can't get berbere. What now?
Mix 3 tbsp hot paprika + 1 tbsp ground fenugreek + 1 tsp each of ginger, cinnamon, clove and cardamom. Not identical, but close.
It's too hot.
Cut the berbere to two tablespoons and add more butter — the fat tempers the heat.
Can I make injera at home?
Injera needs teff flour and a three-day ferment. For a first attempt, serve it with any flatbread.
Cook mode
Ethiopian Doro Wat: Chicken in Berbere Sauce
-
1
The dry onions
Put the chopped onion in a completely dry pan over low heat and stir occasionally for thirty minutes, until it releases its water, collapses and turns into a brown paste. This is the essential step.
-
2
Butter and berbere
Add the clarified butter, garlic and ginger and stir for five minutes, then the berbere and stir for three more until it smells fragrant and darkens.
-
3
The chicken
Rub the chicken with the lemon juice and rinse it, then add it to the sauce with a cup of water, cover, and cook over low heat for thirty-five minutes.
-
4
The eggs
Score the boiled eggs lightly with a knife and add them to the sauce for the last ten minutes so they take on the colour and flavour.
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