Ethiopian Chicken Wot Recipe
This is an Ethiopian recipe for a very hot (key words here are hot, toasty, spicy) sort of stew-like stuff. I am posting it in reference to recent
discussion on injira, the spongey millet bread upon which wot is eaten. This recipe comes via my Mom who obtained it directly from a
foriegn student who used to live with us, who is an awesome cook, BTW.
Wot (this is a chicken version, it can be made with other meats)
1 whole chicken, skinned and cut into serving peices ( or 6 legs and 6 thighs)
8 pounds of onions, chopped FINE, 1 pound of mashed garlic, 1/4 pound mashed ginger, 2 ladles full of ethiopian chili powder (bere bere)
Note: Mommy says nothing else will serve, although chili powder is the closest), 1 to 1 and a half lbs butter (M. says Ethipians like to see it
swimming on top), Salt and pepper to taste, Nutmeg or cumin optional. 1 hard-boiled egg per person.
Cook onion over low heat, not in any fat, for a long time, stirring constantly over very low heat until all the water is evaporated. Continue
stirring until onions are slightly brown. THEN add the butter; cook about 15-20 minutes still over low heat. Add 1 tbsp hot water from time
to time (texture should be kind of pasty).
Add bere bere. If it looks too dry, add hot water and stir. Cook it about 30-45 minutes - keep stirring frequently. Keep adding hot water if
necessary. Be careful not to let it brown, because chili powder will become bitter. Add garlic and ginger and simmer 15 moreminutes. Add
water as needed.
Meanwhile, with your other set of free hands, wash chicken peices well, and let stand in salted in lemoned water. Then squeeze each peice
really hard to get out as much water as possible.
Then, make little slits in the meat so the sauce will penetrate. Cook the meat in the sauce until meat tis tender, about 30 minutes. Stir from
time to time. All this has been uncovered, by the way. Add spices to taste just before removing from stove. Add 1 hard-boiled egg per
person, which have been slit (the eggs, not the people), and cook just long enough to heat through. Serve with lots of bread (injera).
KENYAN SAMOSA
Patricia had often tried to make samosas at home but with little success, I sugested this recipe to her and others.
Ingredients: 200 gms flour For filling : 150 gms minced meat 1 bunch of DHANIA 3 chopped onions 1/2 tsp mixed spices 1/4 tsp white
pepper 4 green chilies 1/2 tsp cummin seeds 2 gloves of garlic 1 finger fresh ginger
You can add spices as you choose. You will also need salt to taste, oil for deep fat frying, a little flour for making paste and some slices of
lemon for sprinkling the ready product.
Fry the minced meat with all the onions and all the spices in a little oil. Mix the dough with water until you have a consistent structure as
for CHAPATI. Divide it into small protions, add some margine and roll out the 6cm cube into a thin round shape about 6cm 12-15cm.
Brush with oil, dust with abundant flour, place another round on top after having rolled as the first. Repeat this operation so that you now
have three layers rolled out, oiled and dusted with flour.
Roll out the triple layer until quite thin. Put on a hot pan free of oil. Do not allow to brown. Only cook lightly. Turn to cook the other side
only for about 30 seconds. It should now look like a whitish CHAPATI.
On taking it out of the frying pan separate the three layers from each other. They should readily come apart. Put aside covering with a
damp cloth to keep moist.
Mix the little flour and water to prepare a thin paste. Cut the rounds horizontally. Pick an lower edge and move toward centre, making a
triangular shape. Seal the sides with paste.
Fill with an appropriate amount of filling Seal open side When you have six deep fry and make the next ones. Serve with lemon slices
which when squeezed add an appetising flavour.
The words which are all caps are Kiswahili words. Dhania is a readily found spice here called cilantro. You need to have a thin dough, for
when you deep fry, the outside will be crunchy and inside doughy if the dough is thick.
I also have a recipe for MANDAZZIs but I will have to post it later. If you want to use the Kikuyu (one of the tribes) cooking method at
home, it simple:
Boil til soft.
SOUTH AFRICAN BILTONG
Ingredients needed:
Beef (Preferably Silverside/London Broil)
Rock Salt
Coarse Ground Black Pepper
Coarse Ground Coriander
Vinegar (preferably Apple-Cider vinegar)
Get some half-inch thick strips of beef (silverside - called London Broil in the US). Make sure it's cut with the grain. The pieces should
be about 6 inches long. Liberally sprinkle rock-salt on each side of the pieces of meat and let them stand for an hour. The longer you let it
stand the saltier it will become.
After the hour, scrape off all the excess salt with a knife (don't soak it in water!). Then get some vinegar - preferably apple-cider vinegar,
but any vinegar will do. Put some vinegar in a bowl and dip the strips of meat in the vinegar for a second or so - just so that the meat is
covered in the vinegar. Hold the biltong up so that the excess vinegar drips off.
Then sprinkle ground pepper and ground coriander over the meat on all sides.
Once you have done this, the meat is ready to dry. There are several methods of drying. One is to hang it up on a line in a cool place and
have a fan blow on it. This method is a bit difficult because if the air is humid the meat can spoil. The method I use is a home-made
'Biltong Box'. This is basically a sealed wooden box (you can use cardboard if you like) with holes in it and a 60w lightbulb inside. Just
hang the meat at the top of the box, and leave the lightbulb on at the bottom. The heat from the lightbulb helps dry the meat (even in humid
weather) in about 3-4 days. Remember, the box must be closed on all 6 sides except for a few holes (as per the diagram below). The
whole theory behind this method is that hot dry air rises thus drying the biltong. The holes are quite important as they promote good air
circulation in the box.
You'll know when the biltong is ready when it is quite hard, but still a bit moist inside. Of course, some people like it 'wet' and others like
it 'dry'. It's all a matter of taste. Most South Africans I know like it in between - basically just a bit red inside. If it has gone green, then
the meat has spoiled (i.e. don't eat it).
Variations include the above recipe, but add flavours like Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, tabasco sauce, soy sauce, etc.. Just brush
these sauces on after applying the vinegar using a basting brush.