One of Ethiopia’s most popular vegetarian dishes, Misir Wat showcases lentils in a way that’s unlike any you’ve had before. The flavor is simply out of this world! Vegetarian-friendly and so delicious that even devout carnivores won’t miss the meat!
It’s been said that the best vegetarian cuisines in the world are Indian and Ethiopian and I can’t disagree. The flavor profiles of both cuisines bring even the blandest ingredients to life with their rich combinations of spices and herbs.
Misir Wat (also Misir Wot) is one such example of a dish that truly excels in the vegetarian realm. A dish featuring red lentils, an abundantly available crop, Misir Wat is a staple dish throughout Ethiopia and one of the most popular vegetarian dishes in Ethiopian restaurants. If you order a mixed combination platter at an Ethiopian restaurant or order vegetarian, misir wat is almost always among the selections.
Misir wat starts with onions that are slowly caramelized in niter kibbeh, Ethiopia’s popluar and incredibly flavorful spiced clarified butter. Garlic and tomato paste are added. The comes a generous dose of berbere, Ethiopia’s famous chili seasoning blend. It’s normally fiery-hot (and what you get in Ethiopia is even hotter than what you typically find outside of the country), but our blend tones down the heat and gives you the option of adding it according to your preference.
The lentils are then slow-simmered with these highly aromatic and flavorful ingredients until they’re soft. Another spoonful of niter kibbeh and berbere are added in at the end for an added boost of flavor.
Misir wat is typically served with injera, Ethiopia’s staple fermented flatbread that’s also used as an eating instrument to scoop up the lentils.
Misir Wat Recipe
Let’s get started!
Melt 3 tablespoons of the niter kibbeh in a medium stock pot. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of the berbere and cook for 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat if needed to prevent burning.
Next we’re adding the broth. As with everything I recommend using the best ingredients you can find and the broth we love and recommend with enthusiasm is Aneto. We visited their factory in Barcelona Spain a year ago and watched the entire broth-making process from start to finish. It was so inspiring! Check out our post about it and take a virtual tour.
Aneto selects fresh, free-range chicken and the freshest vegetables and slow-simmer it in gigantic pots for several hours to produce the highest quality broths on the market. No concentrates, powders, artificial ingredients, “natural flavors”, GMO’s, fillers or flavor enhancers of any kind. Just pure, whole, real ingredients. We love and highly recommend Aneto.
For misir wat you can use either chicken broth or if you’re vegetarian, vegetable broth.
Aneto’s broths are sold in store locations throughout the U.S., please see the store list find a store near you. Alternatively you can also find them on Amazon, though the prices are higher there. The best value is the 6-pack chicken broth. See also the vegetable broth.
Stir in the remaining tablespoon of niter kibbeh and berbere. Simmer for a couple more minutes. Add salt to taste.
Enjoy!
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED FOR BEST FLAVOR RESULTS: MAKE YOUR OWN NITER KIBBEH AND BERBERE!
Misir Wat (Ethiopian Spiced Red Lentils)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons niter kibbeh , divided
- Homemade Niter Kibbeh (strongly recommended)
- 1 large yellow onion, very finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 Roma tomato, very finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons bebere , divided
- Homemade Berbere (strongly recommended)
- 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
- 2 1/2 cups Aneto All-Natural Chicken Broth
- vegetarians: use Aneto Vegetable Broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Melt 3 tablespoons of the niter kibbeh in a medium stock pot. Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
- Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of the berbere and cook for 5-7 minutes. Reduce the heat if needed to prevent burning.
- Add the lentils, broth and salt, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer the lentils, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes (adding more broth if needed) or until the lentils are soft.
- Stir in the remaining tablespoon of niter kibbeh and berbere. Simmer for a couple more minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Serve with Ethiopian injera.
Nutrition
Thank you to Aneto for sponsoring this recipe and to my readers for supporting the brands who help make The Daring Gourmet possible!
Gunner says
You never say when to add the lentils both in the main text and the recipe. I’m assuming after the tomato paste?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Gunner, sorry about that, it’s added with the broth in Step 3.
Erin Mathias says
Came out great and is a very tasty dish. First time cooking an Ethiopian dish and it was pretty much fool proof. I used the bebere spice mix from Penzeys and it was super hot, even with not putting in the full amount called for. Definitely a heads up for anyone not making your own bebere.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Erin, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I always encourage everyone to make their own spice blends – the flavor is so much fresher, vibrant, and robust than anything store-bought.
Cynthia says
Please send this recipe to my email Ethiopian Spiced Red Lentils sounds awesome
Geordie Nelson says
I’ve had Ethiopian food a few times before and this was my first time making it. I was surprised when I took my first bite it tasted so close to what I had at the restaurant. I made your berbere spice mix but subst whole for powdered coriander and red chilies for chili flakes (mine is less spicey-I should have made it a bit more spicey though). I cheated and added some leftover local roasted chicken for a misir/dora wat. And I used normal butter. I also made homemade ingera (a different recipe with less fermenting time with my sourdough starter sorry). Very delicious!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Geordie, thank you!
Betsy says
This recipe is fabulous and is even better the second day. We made our own niter kibbeh and used green cardamom because we didn’t have the black cardamom, we ordered some on Amazon and will be trying it the next time around.
These lentils are absolutely delicious!!!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad it was a hit, Betsy, and that you also made the homemade niter kibbeh! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Patricia crow says
I made this all from scratch. Wonderful process that increased my enjoyment of the dish. Just excellent. Many thanks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Patricia, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Jennifer says
Hello – I am cross referencing your recipe for Misir Was with other recipes on the internet for KiK Alicha (yellow split peas) to try and use your techniques. I love your Ethiopian recipes and just made a fresh batch of Niter Kibbeh today and want to make Kik Alicha. Haven’t found a recipe online that even suggests using using Niter Kibbeh for this dish! Would love to see a recipe from you for this.
Also, have a question on the onion preparation in general : My daughter loves Kik Alicha but doesn’t traditionally love ‘bits’ of onion. Could I puree the onion and caramelize slowly as in the preparation for Doro Wat?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you so much, Jennifer! :) I have several Ethiopian dishes on my long “to publish” list, so yes, there are more coming :) Yes, you can absolutely puree the onion for the Kik Alicha, no problem at all.
Alicia says
Perfection!Beautifully layered spices. Didn’t find I needed to double or triple spices as I usually do in most recipes written by/for Western cooks. I did have to double the broth ( appreciated the nudge to increase liquids if needed) as the tomato/lentil mix was very thick to begin with, but other than that the recipe was perfection.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad, Alicia, thank you very much!
Michele says
I used Frontier berbere spice blend which has cayenne in it so it was almost too spicy but it was still delicious!
Jennifer says
Will split red lentils work? That’s all I could find.
The label says split Masur red lentils.
And do they need to be soaked beforehand?
Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jennifer, yes, split red lentils are exactly what you need and no, they don’t need to soaked. Happy cooking!