I was craving lentils today so I decided to make misir wat. Misir wat is an Ethiopian lentil stew that is easy to make and has an incredible depth of flavour. Lentils are also nutritious. They’re a great source of protein, fiber, iron (which I really need), folate, and vitamin B6. If you’re a vegetarian or if you’re like me and like to have meatless meals during the weekdays, then this is a great dish to have in your meal rotation.
To make misir wat, you’ll need niter kibbeh which is a spiced clarified butter. I have posted my recipe for niter kibbeh here. You’ll also need berbere spice which you can probably find at an African grocery store or on Amazon (disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Amazon or the recommended product). You can also make your own (recipe here). Berbere spice is a hot spice blend so use less than the amount that I’ve listed in this recipe, if you want a milder stew. You can also use more tomato paste than I’ve listed in the recipe to make the stew less spicy. Misir wat is often served with injera or rice. The instructions for making this stew are on the recipe card below. I’ve slightly changed the recipe from when I first posted it to enhance the flavour of the stew. Enjoy!
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Misir Wat (Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew)
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry red lentils
- 2 medium onions (minced; you can use red or yellow onions)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tsp ginger (minced)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp niter kibbeh
- 1 tbsp berbere spice
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2¾ cups vegetable broth (you might need to add more broth depending on how thin you want the stew to be)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- salt (to taste)
- 2 sprigs cilantro (for garnish)
Instructions
- Coarsely chop the onions and use a food processor to mince the chopped onions.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the niter kibbeh over medium heat.
- Add the onions, garlic and ginger, and cook for 15 minutes or until the mixture turns to a puree. Turn the heat to low once the mixture starts to boil and stir the mixture while it's cooking to prevent burning.
- Add the black pepper and all the other spices, cook for 1 minute; continue to stir the mixture to prevent burning.
- Wash the lentils with water in a sieve over the sink. Add the lentils, tomato paste, broth, and salt to the onion mixture in the pot. Mix the ingredients together. Turn the stove to medium heat, cover the pot and bring the stew to a boil.
- Once the stew starts to boil, turn the heat to low and let the stew simmer on low heat for 35 minutes or until the lentils are soft and the broth is reduced to your liking. Gently stir the stew occasionally as it cooks and add more broth if the stew gets too thick for your liking.
- Serve with injera or rice.
13 Comments
Cori
March 6, 2023 at 8:25 amDelicious!
Maryanna
May 13, 2021 at 10:17 pmHow much Berbere should I add if I would like it mild? I am not good with too hot and spicy but I love mild spices.
Meals by Mavis
May 13, 2021 at 11:28 pmHi Maryanna,
It depends on how spicy the berbere spice you’re using is as different brands/recipes have different levels of spiciness. If you’re using my recipe for berbere spice, 1 teaspoon of it will give you a mild level of spiciness with this recipe; the recipe as is has a medium level of spiciness for me, although I have family members that would describe it as mild. Since, what’s mild for me might be different for you, I’d advise you to take a little bit of the berbere spice and taste it before you add it to the stew. Doing that will help you to decide how much of it you should add to the stew.
Sarah
March 21, 2021 at 10:26 pmI love this dish at restaurants and wanted to find a recipe I can make at home. This one is easy and yields great results. I couldn’t find niter kibbeh so I just used plain ghee and it turned out great. Very delicious, light and satisfying. It has become a staple in my recipe rotation. Big fan of your recipes!
Meals by Mavis
March 21, 2021 at 11:47 pmHi Sarah,
Thanks for the feedback. I’m glad that the recipe turned out well for you. Ghee is a good substitute for niter kibbeh, which can be difficult to find in stores. I do have a recipe on here for making niter kibbeh at home (click here for the recipe link), if you’d like to give it a try at some point. It’s very easy to make and uses ingredients that you’ll normally find in stores.
Ann HARTQUIST
March 2, 2021 at 8:02 pmWe have lentils quite frequently. Usually soup. I loved making the lentil stew. I even make the injera, my favorite.
The lentils take about 30 minutes as to cook. Such an easy meal and so easy and nutritious. We enjoy Ethiopian cuisine and make or order it frequently.
Thank you for sharing.
Ethiopian cc
Thank you for sharing. I am Assuming you don’t sell or give away the email addresses. Please don’t
Meals by Mavis
March 2, 2021 at 8:11 pmHi Ann,
The system collects email addresses as part of spam prevention. WordPress websites get quite a lot of spamming attempts, so I take every precaution to block them. I don’t sell or give away email addresses. Your privacy is protected. I’m glad that you enjoyed the misir wat. Ethiopian food is delicious.
Sue Walter
February 2, 2021 at 10:42 pmThis recipe tastes exactly like the spicy red lentils at my favorite Ethiopian restaurant. We had Ethiopian take out the other night and had a bunch of extra injera. That inspired me to try to make these myself to eat with it. This recipe was spot on and so delicious. I ordered Berbere spice on Amazon which made it very easy to prepare. Thank you for sharing!
Meals by Mavis
February 3, 2021 at 10:14 amThanks for your feedback, Sue. I’m really glad to hear that you loved the recipe and it’s as good as that of your favourite Ethiopian restaurant. Take care!
Kim Vogt
January 27, 2021 at 11:10 amAre you sure the salt count is correct? I have to watch my sodium but this sounds delicious. I only see stock and added salt and pepper as sodium contributors?
Meals by Mavis
January 27, 2021 at 3:36 pmHi Kim,
The nutritional information is an estimate generated by the recipe card. Because this recipe includes salt “to taste”, the sodium will depend on how much salt you end up adding to get the flavour of the dish to your liking. The amount of sodium that is given on the recipe card doesn’t include the salt “to taste”, just the sodium that’s in the stock and any of the other ingredients. Since, you have to watch your sodium intake, my advice would be to make the dish with just the stock and see how it tastes. If it tastes flat, you can add a pinch of salt to improve the taste, but use your judgment and not add more salt than you should have. You can also use low sodium stock and not add anymore salt, if the sodium in the recipe is already too high for you. I hope that helps.
Maddie
January 14, 2021 at 8:27 pmI had never had this before and I love exploring new recipes! Great depth of flavor. My lentils cooked in only about 20 minutes. Thanks for sharing! I love the turmeric flavor with the red lentils.
Meals by Mavis
January 14, 2021 at 8:47 pmThanks for sharing your experience with the recipe, Maddie. I’m glad that you enjoyed it.