Misir Wat (Ethiopian Spiced Red Lentils)
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One of Ethiopia’s most popular vegetarian dishes, this Misir Wat recipe 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!
For more delicious and authentic Ethiopian dishes be sure to try my Doro Wat, Sega Wat, Gomen, Injera, and homemade Niter Kibbeh!
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.. 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!
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Misir Wat (Ethiopian Spiced Red Lentils)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons niter kibbeh , divided
- 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
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
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.
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.
My bad. I read your main text, not the recipe box at the bottom.
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!
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!
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.
Awesome, Rachel, thank you!
So delicious! Will definitely make again real soon 👍
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth, thank you!
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?
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).
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!
Fantastic, Laura, I’m so happy you enjoyed it, thank you!
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!
I’m thrilled to hear that, Shawn, thank you!
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!
I’m so glad to hear that, Theresa, thank you!