What Wat- Shiro Wat, Doro Wat

 It wasn't until I read a novel set in Ethiopia that I heard of Wat- Ethiopian stew and Injera- fermented flatbread. I made Shiro Wat all through last winter and loved it so much, but then suddenly realised that I didn't need to just make it plain & smooth. Oh my goodness what a marvellous dish Wat is! 

It's kind of like "stone soup" as you start out with a wee handful of ingredients and you cook and stir and add some water and then a bit more water until suddenly you have a fragrantly delicious meal that fills the whole pot!  

Wat is really just a sauce made with onion, spices, tomato, chickpea flour, butter and water.

Cut up and gently fry 2 onions in some butter, ghee or olive oil. Or use a whole lot of onion weed instead, or a couple of leeks.

Add salt, ground pepper & a pinch of sugar.Add more butter or olive oil. 

And a tbsp of Berbere spice mix or:

2 tbsps paprika, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp ground fenugreek, 1/8 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of cloves. Add a little chilli if you want some heat.

It would be good to make up a little jar with this mix so you didn't have to get out all the spices each time.

I am still experimenting with the spices. But you can google Shiro Wat for some other ideas.

Then a large tbsp of tomato paste and a cupful of chickpea flour, add some water and stir it all together. As it thickens add more water & more water and some more butter or oil and keep stirring.

This is now Shiro Wat. You can blend it smooth or leave it as is.

You can add all kinds of greens, some chickpeas, shredded chicken, mushrooms, sweetcorn or anything that you think might work for you. Add chopped fresh coriander near the end of cooking if you like.

If you have added chicken the stew now becomes Doro Wat.

You may be confused about the oil and butter- use as much as feels good to you, but when you add enough and it all goes glossy and thick it'll taste amazing!

We love paneer cubed and fried a little on top. The cashews worked well too.

This tastes even better the next day and keeps really well.