Ethiopian Lentil Stew is made with lentils and vegetables and spiced with Berbere, which is basically a traditional spice-mix made with serrano peppers along with some whole spices. This is such a flavorful and aromatic stew, that being super healthy it's also finger-licking delicious.
I once went to an Ethiopian restaurant when we were living in Michigan. I would say It was more like a house with different rooms and one common table in each of them. So everybody sat together and ate from a single plate. All the Ethiopian dishes I tried had rich and layered flavors just like Indian ones. It was an interesting experience.
Basically, Ethiopian cooking has 3 build blocks -
- Injera ( Ethiopian bread like roti): This is made from self-raising wheat flour and water.
- Nit'ir qibe (Spied butter): This is purified spice butter which is the base of cooking almost every Ethiopian cuisine. Sometimes it's simmered with Indian Basil ( Tulsi) to get an extra layer of aroma and flavor.
- Berbere (spice mix): This is a complex blend of chilies and spices. It gives the cuisine a rich & warm flavor. Best for winter dishes.
WHAT IS BERBERE?
Berbere is an Ethiopian Spice Blend that is is made by blending different chilies & spices together. I read somewhere that in Ethiopia, it takes days to make Berbere. They dry the chilies for three straight days in the sun , stone-ground them and other spices separately. After mixing all the spices with chilies, they again set the blend in sun to dry. It kind of reminds me of my childhood. Back at home, my mother used to sun dry species for Garam Masala. I think Ethiopian cuisine is similar to Indian cooking in various aspects, so I had to try berbere...
Just like Garam Masala that we use in Indian cooking, Berbere is also a universal seasoning. And each family has its own recipe for this seasoning. It can be used in stews, or as a rub, or any recipes that require a little spiciness. I have made it in bulk and using it in most of my recipes to make them extra spicy.
ETHIOPIAN SPROUTED LENTIL STEW
Being a vegetarian Indian, I eat lentils almost every day. And I like Ethiopian Sprouted Lentil Stew because they cook easily and are more nutrient-rich. Sometimes I use fresh sprouted green lentils for this recipe. Berbere gives a layered complex flavor to lentils resulting in a layered flavored rich dish. Enjoy the dish with Injera, Bread or Roti.
HOW TO MAKE ETHIOPIAN LENTIL STEW
STEP 1 - SAUTE: First and foremost is the saute the veggies including onions and tomatoes with some garlic. then add rest of the vegetables you want to add in the stew like squash, zucchini, bell peppers, french beans, etc.
STEP 2 - ADD LENTILS: Then add lentils of your choice and kidney beans and stir. Add vegetable stock or water along with Ethiopian spices.
STEP 3 - PRESSURE COOK: Then pressure cook for 30 minutes using Soup setting of Instant Pot until everything is cooked properly.
STEP 4 - ADJUST & SERVE: Adjust the spices, if needed. And serve hot with your favorite bread and enjoy.
- TOMATO BASIL SOUP
- HOMEMADE BREAD BOWL
- PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS
- TRI-COLORED SPROUTED LENTIL SOUP
- FOCACCIA BREAD
Ethopian Sporuted Lentil Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
Berbere (Makes one Cup)
- ½ cup Serrano Chilies or other ground Chilies
- ½ cup Smoked Paprika
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon Ginger Powder ground
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 1 teaspoon Green Cardamoms freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg ground
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Dried Basil
- ¼ teaspoon Cloves ground
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon ground
- ¼ teaspoon Allspice ground
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Cilantro dried
Ethiopian Sprouted Lentil stew
- 4 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 cup Lentils
- ½ cup Kidney Beans rinsed & soaked for 6=8 hours or overnight
- 1 medium Red onion minced
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Can Tomatoes 15 ounce
- 1 cup Vegetables (sweet potato, squash, bell peppers, and more)
- 4 cups Vegetable Stock
- 2 teaspoon Berbere
- 1 tablespoon Honey dark
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon Parsley chopped
- 1 medium Lemon juice
Instructions
HOW TO MAKE BERBERE:
- Add all the ingredients (except basil and cilantro) in either a spice grinder or mortar pestle, and ground them finely.
- Add grounded spices in a bowl and mix it with cilantro & basil until evenly combined, and store in an airtight container.
HOW TO MAKE ETHIOPIAN LENTIL STEW:
- Press Saute and add oil to the inner pot of Instant Pot. When the oil is hot, add minced onion to it and cook for 3-4 minutes. When onion started to change color add garlic and cook for 1 minute and add canned tomatoes.
- Add vegetables of your choice in the pot like sweet potato, bell peppers, squash, etc and mix.
- Cancel Saute and add lentils and kidney beans to the pot. Add vegetable stock and rest of the ingredients (including Berbere, Honey, Salt, and Parsley) and close lid.
- Pressure cook using Soup setting for 20 minutes. When timer beeps NPR (No Pressure Release) for 10 minutes and then Quick Release.
- Serve with Bread and some spiced Olive Oil and enjoy.
Video
Notes
Gauri
This was so good! I served it with some sourdough bread. It was a big hit for the whole family- including my more picky kid. (I did add a lot more berbere than what was listed in the recipe. The vegetables I used were carrots and mushrooms.)
SunGari
Awww you made my day....thank you for the feedback. I too sometimes add a lot of Berbere to make it spicy. I hope it was not too much for you