Ethiopian Meat Dishes #1: Doro Wot
Doro Wot is one of the most beloved Ethiopian dishes popular among meat lovers. It is the flagship dish that is prepared during any special occasion, holiday festival, or religious celebration. It would certainly be consumed every day had it not been for the especially long time it takes to make the dish.
Doro Wot is a type of chicken stew that is uniquely Ethiopian and is made with chicken parts, eggs, onions, and lots of berbere and niter kibbeh. But what makes Doro Wot so great and gives it its unique flavor is the sauce that mainly consists of onions cooked slowly for such a long time that they turn into a sort of a purée. The long cooking time gives the eggs and the chicken meat time to absorb the sauce and all of its flavors.
You can find the recipe for Doro Wot here.
Ethiopian Meat Dishes #2: Tibs
Tibs is another very popular dish that’s usually reserved for holidays and special occasions. It is made by cutting beef or lamb meat into small pieces and cooking them along with onions, peppers, and niter kibbeh. It is usually served along with mitmita, a hot and spicy powder with the omnipresent berbere mixed in.
You can find the recipe to make Tibs here.
Ethiopian Meat Dishes #3: Kitfo
Kitfo is another distinctively Ethiopian meat dish, which is mostly prepared during special occasions and holidays celebrated in Ethiopia. Kitfo is made from minced lean beef meat cooked with mitmita and niter kibbeh; and is usually served with Ayib. The quality of Kitfo highly depends on how good the meat that is used to make it is. And the meat can be well-cooked, semi-cooked (leb-leb) or raw depending upon your preference.
You can find the recipe to make Kitfo here.
Ethiopian Meat Dishes #4: Tere Siga (Q’wirt)
Tere Siga directly translates to ‘raw meat’ in Amharic, which is exactly what it is. It is certainly not a dish for the faint-hearted. However, it is a delicacy that is widely enjoyed throughout Ethiopia. While there are people that like to eat Tere Siga on a regular basis, it is a dish customarily reserved for special occasions and celebrations. Tere Siga is served with some mitmita, an Ethiopian powdered seasoning mix similar to berbere.
The most popular theory on how Ethiopians started eating Tere Siga goes back to war times in the 16th century – when soldiers started to hunt for meat during the day and ate their meat raw at night so that they would not be spotted with the smoke that would otherwise form while they were cooking their meat.
Please be careful when sourcing the meat for your Tere Siga, as raw meat could carry pathogens that could cause such illnesses as salmonella and tapeworms.
Ethiopian Meat Dishes #5: Minchet
Minchet is basically a type of stew that is made with ground meat cooked with onions and some berbere and served with a couple of boiled eggs placed on top.
Although not very common in most Ethiopian households, Minchet is one of the best meat dishes available in most Ethiopian Restaurants. It is often served as the centerpiece of Maheberawi, a meat-heavy mixed platter dish. However, it can also be ordered separately by itself.
You can find the recipe for Minchet Abish here.
Ethiopian Meat Dishes #6: Quanta Firfir
Quanta Firfir is a variation of Firfir that is made with Quanta (Ethiopian beef jerky) included in the mix.
You can find the recipe for Quanta Firfir here.
Ethiopian Meat Dishes #7: Key Wot
Key Wot is a great Ethiopian beef stew dish. The meat is usually cut into small pieces, and cooked with berbere, and some tomatoes, onions, fenugreek, cumin, and garlic to make the sauce. Key Wot is similar to Minchet, but it is made using meat cut into small pieces, not minced. Like Minchet, it is usually served with a boiled egg or two placed on top.
