How to make Ethiopian "Doro Wot"

How to make Ethiopian Doro Wot

by Millie (a RW 7 student)

Doro wot is a famous Ethiopian dish. In order to make doro wot we should know what it means. The translation of doro wot is chicken and wot stands for sauce or for the juiciness. Doro wot can be cooked in two different ways. The first and very famous way is spicy doro wot. It is very well known and loved by Ethiopians and it’s also one of my favorites. Our other choice is blended which is uncommon to make in many Ethiopian Kitchens.

Cooking doro wot might not be fun sometimes. It usually takes from 2-3 hours to make it ready. I personally enjoy cooking doro wot and I think you will too if you follow theses few steps and order to make it.

The first step is to separate the chicken body parts into 12 pieces and wash it until it is highly clean for about 30-40 minutes. Afterwards you must make sure you have all the ingredients you need.
Gather these ingredients: 8 large finely chopped onions, 2 cups of oil, 2 spoonfuls of garlic and ginger. ½ cups of Beriberi (Ethiopians spice, a flower made from jalapenos) Ethiopian butter (your choice, it helps to make it look shiny), 1 spoonful of salt, 12 boiled eggs, and 1-3 large cups of water.

The second step is to sauté the onions with oil for about 15 minutes, then put in the finely chopped garlic and ginger together. At this point, you must put in a small amount of water every 5 minutes and mix it every 2 or 3 minutes.

The third and the second main point after having cleaned chicken is putting in the Beriberi. Put ½ cups of beriberi, and make sure you mix it well and put in a cup of water. The water will make it juicy and help it to cook faster. It usually takes approximately 30-45 minutes until the beriberi is ready and is mixed with the other ingredients.

The last step is to put the clean chicken parts in and mix them in. It will take about an hour until it's ready to be eaten. As soon as the chicken meat is cooked, you must put in enough probably half spoons and the boiled eggs. These are the common ways of cooking Ethiopian doro wot, but if you like oily and shiny food like me, I would suggest to put in Ethiopian butter. At this point you should have everything being cooked all together for about 45 minutes, while putting water in it. At last it will be the spiciest and most delicious food you ever had.

I am a big fan of Ethiopian butter. It reminds me of my grandmother who would spend all day making this butter and she would put it in every food we ate, especially on holidays.. However, not everyone likes it. If you choose to put some in, mix it in very well. You be able to see the difference. By following these easy steps we can make tasty food for our family and friends.