I’ve partnered with my favorite broth brand Aneto to bring you this recipe.
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.
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 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!
Casey says
Have you doubled this? Would love to make large batches for many meals. My kids love it!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Casey, you can definitely double this. So glad your family enjoyed it!
The Tams says
Please note, chicken broth is not vegetarian.
Yes I saw you link to the veg broth too, but chicken broth is not vegetarian and that is not as clear as it need be for some. I have gone hungry at gathering when the host said they were making vegetarian food, and no I didn’t need to bring anything, to find chicken or beef broth was used.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi, in the ingredients list under the chicken broth I note, “vegetarians: use vegetable broth”. I’m not sure how I could have been any clearer.
The Tams says
My bad. I read your main text, not the recipe box at the bottom.
Annie says
Absolutely awesome! Made your berebere and spiced butter and then added to the lentils. Really happy with the outcome. As a sidenote, I used Tulsi (Indian holy basil) in the spiced butter. I think it may be the same thing as the Ethiopian holy basil. I had tulsi tea and it worked great. Thanks for this recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s fantastic, Annie! So glad you took the time to make your own berbere and niter kibbeh, it makes all the difference. I’m happy you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the feedback!
Rachel says
This was amazing! Was surprised to find the butter (home-made) at a market near my house. Added some chopped ginger and red bell pepper since I had them on hand. Thanks so much for posting this.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Rachel, thank you!
Elizabeth says
So delicious! Will definitely make again real soon 👍
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth, thank you!
John W says
Thanks for the advice to others on the berbere spice blend. I might try making my own someday. But for now, I have a container of commercial berbere, which I intend to use. If I wanted to use less but still get good flavor, which of the spices would you suppliment?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi John, I’d recommend adding more of all of the spices in the blend that you have on hand. Here’s the recipe: https://www.daringgourmet.com/berbere-ethiopian-spice-blend/ Add a little of as many of these as you have, just be mindful of the ratios (i.e., very little nutmeg and cinnamon compared to the other spices).
Laura says
This was outstanding! I was agog at how much flavor this dish had. I already love red lentils but this was SO much better than my usual lentil dish. We ate it over rice and with a little sour cream (lacking yoghurt) and it was SUPERB. We gobbled this delicious dish up!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Laura, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thank you!
Shawn says
This was wickedly delicious, I never thought lentils could taste so incredible! I made and used your homemade niter kibbeh (wow!) and homemade berbere and the results were outstanding. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m thrilled to hear that, Shawn, thank you!
Theresa Nelsen says
This was AMAZING!! I never thought lentils could taste this good, everyone LOVED this dish, thank you for sharing this and all of your other wonderful recipes!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad to hear that, Theresa, thank you!
Sandra | A Dash of Sanity says
This sounds really tasty! I would love to try this!
Rachel says
I tried making this and found out that you only need 1 tablespoon of berbere spice. Even with just 1 tablespoon it was very hot and practically made your hair stand on end! I ended up having to eat twice as much yogurt on the side! I would not recommend using 2 tablespoons like the recipe says. Besides that, it was a good recipe. I am going to try making it again with 1/3 of a tablespoon and see if I have an easier time eating it!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Rachel, that’s the nature of authentic Ethiopian food, berbere is H.O.T. and that’s how the Ethiopians like it. I can’t tolerate a lot of heat either and so to cater to Western tastes (including my own) I provided a recipe for my own homemade berbere. It’s not only much milder but far more flavorful than store-bought and those are both the reasons why in the misir wat recipe I strongly recommend making and using the homemade berbere. The problem with using store-bought berbere and cutting back on the amount is that yes, it will be milder, but you’ll also lose a ton of flavor. Try the homemade berbere and I’m confident you’ll love it :)
Tim Wiedman says
@Rachel berbere is HOT. I’ve been making Kimberly’s berbere blend since last year and it’s all I use anymore. I agree with her, it has so much more flavor than the stuff from the store and it’s more mild. I actually like the heat so I add extra red chili to it. But the flavor can’t be beat and I agree, use the full amount called for in this recipe because the flavor is amazing. I made these lentils last night and am enjoying the leftovers today. Outstanding!!
Nathan Lombough says
ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!! I had some of my homemade niter kibbeh and homemade berbere (made your recipes for both) left after making your doro wat recipe and had these lentils whipped up in no time. The results far exceeded my expectations, the flavor was phenomenal. Will be making this again for sure.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Nathan, thank you!
Abeer says
So great for a weeknight dinner!
Des says
I am going to have to give this dish a try. It looks amazing!
Lynn says
This looks so hearty and delicious!
Jennifer says
I am so excited by this dish! I love trying new things so this definitely shot to the top of my to do list!
Dorothy at Shockinglydelish says
So many flavors that I haven’t tried yet! I love experiencing new foods!
Allyson Zea says
My husband would LOOOOVE this! I need to try it asap!
Anna says
I cannot wait to try this! Misir wat is so delicious!
Abeer says
Don’t let my husband see this!
Sabrina says
I bet the flavor is out of this world in this dish! Thanks for sharing!
Jen says
This looks amazing! Such a fantastic way to introduce new foods to my family!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
This sounds so good! I have a slight aversion to meat right now so love that it’s vegetarian :)
Dorothy at Shockinglydelish says
I can’t wait to try this new and exciting dish! Talk about flavor!!
Tabitha says
That looks and sounds sooo good, I can almost smell it through my computer screen! Can’t wait to try it!