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!
Delicious.. We used Frontier ready-mixed berbere Spice mix. Just right for me, but probably too spicy/hot for children.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Ron, thank you!
Wow, delicious! I do not recall it was ever as flavorful in the ethiopian restaurant. I made an effort to make niter kibbeh though I have to admit I used ready made berbere because I lacked some spices. In the end i made berbere and mine tasted completely different from the store one. Probably ten times better too. Anyway, I shall definitely try all the ethiopean recipes, thanks for that!
Fantastic, Alex, I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that, thank you! Happy cooking and I hope you enjoy my other Ethiopian recipes as well! :)
Rarely do I bother commenting on recipes, but this recipe came out fantastic. My local Ethiopian restaurant is VERY good, but I think this is even better than their miser wot. Definitely adding this to the regular rotation.
That’s awesome, Brian, thank you so much!
My family eats Ethiopian food at least once a month. I waa pleased to find your recipe and was AMAZED at how good it turned out. I’ve made this dish twice in 2 weeks. I doubled it this time around in hopes of it lasting longer than a day. *fingers crossed*
I will be trying your collard recipe next. 😊
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Chari, thank you!
Oh my goodness. This was incredible! Your recipes are wonderful. This will be a staple, and the nitre kibbeh is life changing. Thank you!
Yay, I’m so glad you enjoyed both of the recipes, Becky, thanks so much for your feedback!
This recipe is delicious! I needed it to be quicker so I did it in the Instant Pot. I also used coconut oil instead of ghee because I didn’t have any and I couldn’t taste the coconut flavor at all. In the instant pot it took 12 minutes of pressure and 10 minute natural release. Thank you for this recipe!
Fantastic, Stephani, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
If you can’t find the ghee, and don’t have time to make it, what’s the best substitute?
Hi Jen, you can use regular cooking oil instead. Happy cooking!
I love this recipe!! I make one similar, but I put it on flatbread with goat cheese :-)
Tried this with home made berebere spice powder ( as an indian household ,i have all those spices readily available). came very well and very flavorful.
thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Iakshmi, I’m so glad you made and enjoyed both of the recipes!