This is my first attempt at an ethiopian dish that's made with red lentils. Due to my graduate student-sized wallet, a continued interest in Ethiopian food, and the convenience of living in West Philly where the ethnic diversity abounds.... I bring to you.... lentil mush! Also known as MISER WAT. It's made with a stock spiced butter, red lentils, spices, onions and garlic. It can be eaten with rice or a similar grain, plain, or the authentic way -- with Injera, which is a tortilla shaped, spongy, Ethiopian 'bread' made out of teff flour. It's an amazing dish that's economical, filling, flavorful, and healthy. The hardest part is going to be getting outside to find the right spices. But I assure you, if you can find an international store that has everything, I'm sure your unique experience will pay for the effort it takes to get there.
Before you make Miser Wat, you'll need some Niter Kebbish. Mmmm don't we all love ourselves some Niter Kebbish. It's basically butter with spices. First things' first. I only had 2 sticks of butter, so instead of using 1lb of butter (like the recipe I used indicated), I used 1/2 lb of butter. I kept the same amount of spices. In my head that made a lot of sense
('cut the fat, keep the flavor, genius...')
You'll need:
0.5lb butter (2 sticks)
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
2, 1/4'' slices of gingerroot, fresh
3 Cardamon pods
1 Cinnamon stick
3 Cloves
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
Melt butter over low heat, let it bubble a little bit, add everything, simmer on low low heat for about an 1 hour. Don't let it burn. Strain the butter somehow so the solids and crap are left behind. I used the coffee cradle of an old fashioned espresso maker because it was all I had. I don't need no kitchen gadgets, I'll burn myself for free, thank you very much.
Alright. So I know Cardamon pods may not be the first thing in your spice rack, but I've been gathering spices like a squirrel slowly over the last couple of years. I'm finally putting them to use. Also, if you don't have something, don't fret. It's a bit of an experiment every time anyway. If you can't find everything, it's okay, just call it 'your version' and move on.
Alright, put this in the fridge and save for later. You won't need all of this for the Miser Wat, so you can make more dank Ethiopian food with it another time.
On to the main feature: MISER WAT
(makes about 5 servings) You need:
2 Onions
2 Garlic cloves
2 tsp Gingerroot, peeled and minced
1/4 c Niter Kibbeh (or if you skipped part 1, butter)
1 tsp Tumeric
2 Tbs Paprika
1/2-1 tsp Cayanne Pepper (please, don't add too much, you'll ruin the whole deal)
3/4 lb Red Lentils (or Miser if you get it from a foreign place)
4 c Water or Stock
Salt and Pep to taste
Alright. Pretty simple ingredients. (Minus the whole Niter Kibbeh deal... but if you are in a time crunch and just don't care about authenticity, use butter.) Pretty cheap ingredients. I mean, the dish is kinda weird if you think about it.... lentil mush with sponge bread. But I've romanticized this cuisine borne out of economic necessity to be a desired exotic delight. Whatever, caviar is uber weird, and that costs a buttlode! But if 'gross' and 'weird' are merely perceptions dependent on geographic/cultural boundaries... then I'm allowed to think lentil mush is bomb diggity and a Tastykake is robot food.
Here's what do to:
- Puree onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor.
- Heat your choice o' fat (butter or niter kebbeh...mmm) in a BIG SAUCE PAN.
- Add Turmeric, Paprika and Cayenne pepper and stir rapidly to color oil and cook spices through, about 30 seconds.
- Add onion mixture and saute on medium until you can't smell the raw onion smell, about 5-10mins
- You might want to transfer to a BIG POT now
- Pour in 4 cups of your choice liquid
- Add lentils
- Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30-40 minutes until the lentils are tender
- Stir in Salt and Pepper to taste
- Serve with Injera (the sponge bread), or however else you deem delicious
- Can store this in the fridge for about 1 week, or freeze for 2. (Actually I have no idea if that's true, I'll get back to you in about 2 weeks.)
Alright.... so that's the way to do it.... for all those putting off work by reading this blog, all the face book-esque people who like 'browsing' other people lives, or those who are scientifically inclined to review prior experiments for a more well rounded understanding of the experiment...... here are some notes on my experience:
Ingredients: Tumeric is an amazing spice. It's flavorful, looks cool, and it dyes everything yellow. My yellow dish sponge actually looks newer. I used too much cayanne pepper. When I told a friend he asked, "wow, how did you let that happen?" Crazy, I know... I even took a picture of my little cayanne pepper pile, and never thought, hmm, maybe my mouth is going to be on fire. Just, use half of what I used.
one -almost two- garlic cloves committed voluntary suicide here:
niter kibbeh with spicesMeasuring out the lentils... Nearly busted my scale trying to measure them all out... I ended up using only 3/4 lbs lentils instead of 1 lb. as the instructions I read directed. I still found the final product to taste a little too 'beany' for my liking.
ta da! Lentil mush! All the ingredients were so vibrant up until the final product, which now, looks pre-t-t-y unappetizing. But believe me, it's great. Plus, you eat it by tearing off a piece of injera and scooping up a bite-size portion of Miser Wat with it. Doesn't everyone love eating with their hands? Anyway...
Comments/recommendations:
The final dish still tasted a little too 'beany' or grainy as opposed to rich and flavorful. So I'd recommend cooking and tasting until the lentils are really nice and soft. (I think I got impatient and just cut it at 35 mins.) I think another way to combat this would be to be a little heavy handed with your choice o' fat. (Logic: beany/grainy = dry/raw/healthy, so rich/flavorful = fatty/unhealthy... I'm trying to find a balance.) Also, as I pointed out earlier, I used way too much cayanne pepper for some unknown reason. It masked the other flavors of the dish, which was really disappointing. However, I have confidence that reducing the spice will make the other flavors stand out.
Stand by for more attempts at similar Ethiopian dishes... after I manage to finish all 6 servings of this stuff.
