Doro Wat

Doro wat is the national dish of Ethiopia: a deeply spiced chicken stew built on a base of onions cooked down slowly with berbere, a fiery blend of chilli and warm spices, plus spiced clarified butter (niter kibbeh). Whole boiled eggs are simmered in the rich red sauce.

It is served atop injera, the tangy, spongy sourdough flatbread that doubles as both plate and utensil, torn by hand to scoop up the stew.

Doro wat sits at the heart of Ethiopian hospitality and religious feasting, traditionally prepared to break the fasts of the Ethiopian Orthodox calendar. Preparing it is labour-intensive — the onions alone can cook for an hour — making it a dish of celebration.

Sharing it from a communal injera platter, and the custom of gursha (feeding a morsel to a guest by hand), express the bonds of family and friendship.