Misir Wat (Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew)

Misir wat is a delicious and nutritious Ethiopian lentil stew. It uses simple ingredients and is a great meal to have on busy weeknights.

📝 Ingredients

• 1 cup dry red lentils
• 2 medium onions ((minced; you can use red or yellow onions))
• 2 cloves garlic ((minced))
• 2 tsp ginger ((minced))
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp niter kibbeh
• 1 tbsp berbere spice
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 3/4 cups vegetable broth ((you might need to add more broth depending on how thin you want the stew to be))
• 1 tsp black pepper
• salt ((to taste))
• 2 sprigs cilantro ((for garnish))

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Coarsely chop the onions and use a food processor to mince the chopped onions.
2. 2In a medium saucepan, melt the niter kibbeh over medium heat.
3. 3Add the onions, garlic and ginger, and cook for 15 minutes or until the mixture turns to a puree. Turn the heat to low once the mixture starts to boil and stir the mixture while it's cooking to prevent burning.
4. 4Add the black pepper and all the other spices, cook for 1 minute; continue to stir the mixture to prevent burning.
5. 5Wash the lentils with water in a sieve over the sink. Add the lentils, tomato paste, broth, and salt to the onion mixture in the pot. Mix the ingredients together. Turn the stove to medium heat, cover the pot and bring the stew to a boil.
6. 6Once the stew starts to boil, turn the heat to low and let the stew simmer on low heat for 35 minutes or until the lentils are soft and the broth is reduced to your liking. Gently stir the stew occasionally as it cooks and add more broth if the stew gets too thick for your liking.
7. 7Serve with injera or rice.