Restaurant Envy: Mesir Wat

A few weeks ago, a dear friend and I found ourselves in a quiet Ethiopian restaurant in Washington DC, home to the largest community of Ethiopian immigrants in the United States. We were sighing with relief that we were finally indoors getting a respite from the unseasonal heat wave, and giggling with anticipation of the tasty meal. It was my friend's very first time tasting Ethiopian cuisine and I was eager to introduce her to something I love. She has come to love Indian food over the years and enjoys cooking with spices, so I had an inkling that she would like the meal.

A few minutes after we settled down, a lovely server brought us the vegetarian combo, a large communal platter covered edge to edge with a pancake-like spongy bread called injera. Dotted on this edible platter were dollops of curries and stews in brown, red, yellow and green hues. Folded packets of extra injera were arranged in a small basket on the side. My friend and I did not hesitate- we each reached for some injera and used our hands to hungrily tear bite size chunks, scoop up the stews and exclaim over which one was our favorite. There was one with collard greens cooked to perfection, another with buttery cabbage and carrots, one with yellow lentils, and one with red lentils, and so on. We agreed that the earthy yet silky mesir wat was our very favorite. There was something about this stew that really made one ignore good table manners and lick one's fingers. When all the stews and vegetables disappeared, we ate the spice and butter-soaked injera underneath and sighed with happy satisfaction.

See photographs of Ethiopian cuisine here, here and here. 

Leaving the restaurant, I declared, quite predictably, that I wanted to try copying that mesir wat in my own kitchen. I started with this recipe and what follows is my short-cut adaptation of it. The good news is that if you have a well-stocked Indian pantry, you already have everything to need to try this dish from a completely different cuisine. The only extra spice that may not be in all Indian kitchens in paprika.

Mesir Wat

{Ethiopian Lentil Stew}

(adapted from What4Eats, serves 4-6)

1. Make a fine spice powder with ¹⁄₂ inch cinnamon stick, ¹⁄₂ tsp cardamom seeds,  3 cloves and ¹⁄₄ tsp. fenugreek seeds. 
2. Chop 2 medium onions coarsely and puree them to a fine, thick paste. You can make this paste in the same grinder used for the spices; one less thing to wash.
3. In a heavy pot, heat 2 tbsp. oil and 2 tbsp. butter. On low heat, saute the spice powder for several minutes to infuse the fats with spice flavors. Spices can burn easily so watch the pot like a hawk. Burnt spices taste horrible.
4. Add ¹⁄₂ tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper (red chilli powder) and 1 tbsp. paprika and stir for a few seconds.
5. Add onion puree and 1 heaped tsp. ginger-garlic paste and stir on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes or until the paste is cooked, browned and fragrant.
6. Add ³⁄₄ cup rinsed red lentils (masoor dal) and 4 cups water. Stir, bring to a boil and simmer until the lentils are tender and falling apart. Season with salt to taste.

This is one tasty and complex stew, even if it is not much of a looker. V commented that it has a very "meaty" taste and I think that could be because it is made with onion paste and spices that are similar to those used in meat curries.

In a gesture of Indo-African solidarity, I served the mesir wat with dosa, and we really enjoyed the combination. Now that I have found a mesir wat recipe that I like, I'll try to make injera with fermented teff flour to make a real proper Ethiopian meal.

This flavorful lentil stew is going to Susan @ The Well-Seasoned Cook for the 23rd edition of My Legume Love Affair.

Have you tasted Ethiopian food and do you like it? Does anyone have a good recipe for making injera at home?

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And now for the winner of the Adaptation Edition of Blog Bite. There was a tie between Kanchan's biscuit pudding and Preeti's cheese koftas, so I flipped a coin virtually, and...

...the winner is Preeti of Relishing Recipes!

But all together, there were less than a dozen votes so I can only conclude that people are not interested in this kind of a contest (which is not a big deal; you never know what works or what readers like until you try it). There will be no voting in the subsequent round-ups. I hope you will participate in BB4 and eat down the food lurking in your kitchen- some awesome entries are already trickling in!