The theme the hostess chose for last month's supper club was Ethiopian food. I've had Ethiopian food once, and it was quite tasty (it's also generally very spicy, which I love).


Since the hostess is a vegetarian, I volunteered to make the popular national dish Doro Wat - a spicy chicken stew with hard-boiled eggs. Our hostess wanted us to be as authentic as possible, so we were to make the berbere spice/paste and niter kibbeh (clarified spiced butter) from scratch.

I used the berbere and niter kibbeh recipes from www.ethiopianrestaurant.com. My doro wat would probably have been more flavorful if I'd used fresh spices and toasted and ground the spices myself like the hostess did in her wat instead of using pre-ground spices. Still, it turned out pretty tasty.

Once the berbere and niter kibbeh were completed, making the doro wat was relatively simple but time consuming since it had to simmer for almost an hour.

Doro Wat (recipe found at www.whats4eats.com)

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs Skinless Chicken legs and thighs
1 Lemon, juiced
2 tsps Salt
2 Onions, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tbsp of peeled and chopped Gingerroot
1/4 c Oil, butter or niter kibbeh
2 tbsp Paprika
1/4 to 1/2 c Berberé paste
3/4 c Water or stock
1/4 c Red wine
1 tsp (or more to taste) Cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Hard-boiled eggs (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together the chicken pieces, lemon juice, and salt and in a large, non-reactive bowl and set aside to marinate for about 30 minutes.
2. While the chicken is marinating, puree the onions, garlic and ginger in a food processor or blender. Add a little water if necessary.
3. Heat the oil, butter or niter kibbeh in a large pot over medium flame. Add the paprika and stir in to color the oil and cook the spice through, about 1 minute. Do not burn. Stir in the berberé paste and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the onion-garlic-ginger puree and sauté until most of the moisture evaporates and the onion cooks down and loses its raw aroma, about 5 to 10 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to burn.
5. Pour in the water or stock and wine and stir in the chicken pieces, cayenne to taste, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add water as necessary to maintain a sauce-like consistency.
6. Add the whole hard boiled eggs and continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and very tender.
7. Adjust seasoning and serve hot with injera bread or rice.

This recipe had a bit too much liquid for me (and ended up being wasted since the dish was served with injera - a bit hard to sop up that much liquid). I'd reduce the amount of liquid by at least a fourth and add more as needed during the cooking process.

Also on the evening's menu: honey comb and dabo kolo (little snacks), iab (Ethiopian cheese), atakelt wott, spicy vegetable wott, gomen (collard greens), shro wott (spicy squash stew), miser (lentils), injera (flatbread), Tej (honey wine), mango juice, bunna (Ethiopian coffee), and spiced honey bread.