What's Cookin' Good Lookin'???

My husband and I have tried Ethiopian Cuisine a couple times in the past, but this week we decided to attempt MAKING it.  Can I just say it is very helpful to have an Ethiopian market down the street (and thanks to Deidee for informing me! =)  After reading one of our agency friends, Rebecca's post on her family's experience and their yummy recipes...we just had to give it a GO!  So here is OUR experience (with pictures, of course) and our modified recipe from Rebecca (to read her origional recipe you can visit her blog).

Doro Wat (Traditional Ethiopian Dish - chicken cooked in a spicey sauce)

2-3 pounds of chicken pieces (I used thighs...I think 4 or 5, but I would either add twice as much next time, or half the amount of the rest...)
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger (called for freshly minced, but I just used what I had in my cupboards)
1/4 cup berbere (more if you like it spicier!)
1/2 - 1 cup water

(Rebecca's recipe also called for koremina, wot kimen, and salt...but when I went to the Ethipian market and showed the owner the recipe, she said it was all mixed with the berbere and that was all I needed to use.  I took her word for it...and it tasted great.)

Directions:
In a large pot, combine onion, garlic and ginger with oil until lightly brown and soft.  Remove from heat, puree slightly in blender.  Return to pot, add berbere.  Continue to simmer for about 15-20 minutes at low heat stirring occasionally, adding a touch of water as needed to avoid sticking.  Add chicken and simmer until chicken is fully cooked.  Serve hot with injera.

Shiro (Vegetable puree...reminds me of a kind of spicey hummus)

1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-3 teaspoons berbere (I used a heft 1 ;)
2-3 cups water (1 1/2 - 2 for us)
1/2 - 1 1/2 cups shiro (3/4 - 1 for us)
salt to taste (none for us)

Directions:
In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil until soft, about 5 minutes.  Turn heat off, place in blender and puree.  Return to pan and add berbere and a little water (so it does not stick).  Stir to combine, cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add 2 cups water.  Begin to add 1/2 cup shiro powder, a little at a time so that it does not clump.  We used a wisk to mix ours and added shiro until it was the texture of hummus.

Both of these recipes are meant to be shared with injera, Ethiopia's national bread (its kind of a spongy, sourdough bread with the size of a crepe but the thickness of a pancake-ish).  Rebecca has a great recipe for injera on this post, but since we are blessed with an Ethiopian market here, we bought it freshly made! 

This was such a fun night of experiementing!  We will definately be making these recipes again, only with a couple changes.  Like I said, the Doro Wat we felt needed more chicken...but in all honesty we had SO much left over (since Monkey refused to touch it) that I really think we'll cut the entire recipe in half but leave in the same amount of chicken.  The shiro was REALLY great as leftovers.  We dipped pita chips in it (from Trader Joe's) like hummus.  Its additing...so good I can't stop! =)  The injera stays fresh in your fridge for a while, which is good because I swear we will never finish it!!!

I do have one question...or three for you all!!!  My good friend Niki pointed out how you really say injera (which I, of course, was mispronouncing) but I want to know how you say "doro wat", "shiro", and "berbere".  Its driving me crazy so someone please help!!!  I searched online and had no luck...but it did help me to stumble across this site!  The author shares his experience with Ethiopian cooking, and suggests ways you can use berbere in American dishes....things I am SO excited to try.  I thought I would share the advice here.

1. Meatballs - add ground beef, an egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and about a tsp on berbere and ROAST!  Um...YUM!!!
2. Mix berbere and olive oil to make a paste to rub on chicken breasts - fry in a pan of butter.  Mmmmmm!  Salivating! ;)
3. Mix berbere into a blend of sour cream and greek yogurt as a dip for as either a dip for veggies or in place of sour cream with grilled meats.  I'm likin' it!
4. 3-1 mix of olive oil and berbere...toss in fresh garlic and spread over pizza dough.  Top with grated Manchego and bake!  Wow...that sounds incredible!

Inspired yet???? :)