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small batch misir wat recipe
Sep. 14th, 2012 10:12 pmThis turned out rather well, so I thought I'd share. It's vegetarian and can be made vegan (just substitute oil for the butter).
I had a uniquely difficult day. It resulted in me eating very little because of an upset stomach and when I'd gotten home and calmed, I made a late night snack. (I'm going for Ethiopian on Sunday with a friend, but sometimes a girl needs some wat Right Now.) If you have berbere on hand and spiced butter, your own recipe is likely to do you better. This is a makearound for a late night snack or an inexpensive adventure.
You will need:
1/2 package frozen onions
Most of a stick of a butter (you don't have to use that much, but me and my not eating meant I was happy to use as much as I saw in the more generous recipes). You could also use oil. Ideally clarified spiced butter, but I didn't have any, I love butter, there you go.
1/2 cup red lentils, WELL WASHED and make sure there's no gravel in there
1 tablespoon cheapish Hungarian paprika (the kind in the red can)
1 tablespoon ancho chili (I ran out of aleppo)
1 tablespoon really good sweet paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
a few fenugreek seeds or a pinch of fenugreek powder
An inch of peeled ginger, finely chopped or grated
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
Salt, the saltening, added later
3 or chopped tomatoes
Water, various amounts
In a large pot, melt the butter and toss in the onions, heat on medium while you wash the lentils and gather the spices. You can let the lentils soak a bit after washing them a couple times. That helps get whatever weird stuff is on them off again. Or not. Up to you.
When the garlic is chopped, add it. Ginger, ditto. Then let those cook a bit. You want the onions to cook to a mellow stage. Frozen onions are usually sharper, ime, and mellow after cooking.
Add the powdered spices and cook for a couple minutes.
Drain your lentils and add them. They should be thoroughly stirred in so they get coated and cooked in oil.
I then added about 2 and a half cups water and then add the tomatoes. Bring to a gentle boil and then lower to a simmer for about thirty or forty minutes, stirring only occasionally (they'll be soupy for about this long).
As they get mellower and soak up liquid, they will get stickier, so you'll need to stir more often.
I like mine very very soft, so I cook them over an hour total. At this point, add some salt to taste.
When they're done, you will need to stir each time to serve, as the oil separates a bit. OK, a lot.
Serve with flatbread, toast, rice, pita, injera, etc. This is not terribly spicy, because it's paprika instead of, you know, actual berbere. Adjust to your own palette. If it's a bit spicy, eat with cottage cheese, a traditional way to mild things out.
Or you can do as I did, which was add some additional grated ginger and salt, and then eat it with a spoon.
Mmmm.
I had a uniquely difficult day. It resulted in me eating very little because of an upset stomach and when I'd gotten home and calmed, I made a late night snack. (I'm going for Ethiopian on Sunday with a friend, but sometimes a girl needs some wat Right Now.) If you have berbere on hand and spiced butter, your own recipe is likely to do you better. This is a makearound for a late night snack or an inexpensive adventure.
You will need:
1/2 package frozen onions
Most of a stick of a butter (you don't have to use that much, but me and my not eating meant I was happy to use as much as I saw in the more generous recipes). You could also use oil. Ideally clarified spiced butter, but I didn't have any, I love butter, there you go.
1/2 cup red lentils, WELL WASHED and make sure there's no gravel in there
1 tablespoon cheapish Hungarian paprika (the kind in the red can)
1 tablespoon ancho chili (I ran out of aleppo)
1 tablespoon really good sweet paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
a few fenugreek seeds or a pinch of fenugreek powder
An inch of peeled ginger, finely chopped or grated
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
Salt, the saltening, added later
3 or chopped tomatoes
Water, various amounts
In a large pot, melt the butter and toss in the onions, heat on medium while you wash the lentils and gather the spices. You can let the lentils soak a bit after washing them a couple times. That helps get whatever weird stuff is on them off again. Or not. Up to you.
When the garlic is chopped, add it. Ginger, ditto. Then let those cook a bit. You want the onions to cook to a mellow stage. Frozen onions are usually sharper, ime, and mellow after cooking.
Add the powdered spices and cook for a couple minutes.
Drain your lentils and add them. They should be thoroughly stirred in so they get coated and cooked in oil.
I then added about 2 and a half cups water and then add the tomatoes. Bring to a gentle boil and then lower to a simmer for about thirty or forty minutes, stirring only occasionally (they'll be soupy for about this long).
As they get mellower and soak up liquid, they will get stickier, so you'll need to stir more often.
I like mine very very soft, so I cook them over an hour total. At this point, add some salt to taste.
When they're done, you will need to stir each time to serve, as the oil separates a bit. OK, a lot.
Serve with flatbread, toast, rice, pita, injera, etc. This is not terribly spicy, because it's paprika instead of, you know, actual berbere. Adjust to your own palette. If it's a bit spicy, eat with cottage cheese, a traditional way to mild things out.
Or you can do as I did, which was add some additional grated ginger and salt, and then eat it with a spoon.
Mmmm.