Doro Wat (Ethiopian Braised Chicken with Hard‑Boiled Eggs)

Name: Doro Wat (Ethiopian Braised Chicken with Hard‑Boiled Eggs)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Ethiopian
Ingredients: 6 piece large eggs; 3 lb bone‑in chicken thighs and drumsticks; 3 cup yellow or red onion; 6 tbsp niter kibbeh (spiced clarified butter); 1 tbsp neutral oil; 3 tbsp berbere spice blend; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 6 clove garlic; 2 tbsp fresh ginger; 1 cup low‑sodium chicken stock; 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice; 1 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 1 tsp ground fenugreek; 6 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 piece small cinnamon stick; 4 pod green cardamom; 0.5 tsp ground turmeric; 0.25 tsp fenugreek seeds

A classic Ethiopian chicken stew — chicken pieces braised in a deeply spiced onion–berbere sauce and finished with hard‑boiled eggs. Rich in protein and built for training-day appetite.

AI image

1 hr 35 min

start to finish

25 min

hands on

Some skill

difficulty

servings

6 servings

Ingredients

For quick niter kibbeh (optional — makes ~6 tbsp)

6 tbsp unsalted butteror use ghee instead

For quick niter kibbeh (optional — spices for butter)

1 piece small cinnamon stick(optional)
4 pod green cardamomlightly crushed(optional)
½ tsp ground turmeric(optional)
¼ tsp fenugreek seedslightly crushed(optional)

Contains egg, dairy. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Roughly, per serving

560 kcal42g protein12g carbs36g fat

An estimate, not a lab analysis.

Method

Place eggs in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water by 1 inch and bring to a gentle boil.
Turn off heat, cover the pan and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes, then transfer to an ice bath to cool; peel and set aside.
If making quick niter kibbeh: melt butter and the optional whole spices in a small saucepan over low heat, simmer gently 8–10 minutes, strain into a jar and set aside.
Or skip this step and use ghee (same quantity) as a direct substitute.
Heat a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add the neutral oil and 6 tbsp niter kibbeh (or ghee).
Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply softened and caramelized — they should be richly brown and jammy.
Keep the heat at medium or slightly below so the onions slowly release moisture and caramelize rather than burn; scrape browned bits occasionally.
Add the minced garlic and grated ginger and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until fragrant.
Stir in the berbere and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes to bloom the spices.
Add the chicken pieces, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp ground fenugreek (if using), and turn the pieces in the sauce so they are well coated; brown for about 5 minutes.
Pour in the chicken stock and lemon juice, bring to a gentle simmer, cover the pot and braise until the chicken is tender and cooked through.
While the chicken simmers, slice or score the peeled hard‑boiled eggs (this helps them absorb sauce later).
Uncover the pot, nestle the hard‑boiled eggs into the sauce, simmer uncovered 8–10 minutes to let the eggs absorb flavor and the sauce thicken slightly.
Taste and adjust salt or berbere as needed, remove from heat, and let the stew rest 5 minutes before serving.
Serve hot with injera, rice, or flatbread and spoon plenty of sauce over the chicken and eggs.

Worth knowing

Berbere blends vary in heat — start with 2 tablespoons if you prefer milder, or use the full 3 tablespoons for a bolder stew.
Make the stew a day ahead: flavors deepen overnight and it reheats very well — rewarm gently on the stove.
To speed the onion step, chop onions uniformly and keep the heat moderate; patience here is the key to the stew's depth.
If you can’t find berbere, mix 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp ground coriander as a rough substitute, then adjust to taste.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze portions for up to 2 months.

Make it yours

Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.

High proteinMeal prep

More Ethiopian cooking

An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Ethiopian cooking, not any restaurant's recipe.