(via Facebook, traditional Eritrean painting)

Merry Christmas (yes, that’s right!) to all of our Eritrean & Ethiopian friends & twinships out there!

To celebrate this special day, we decided to make our country’s traditional spicy dish dorho tsebhi (also referred to as doro wett) for the first time! We knew the basic ingredients to get it started (berbere and red onions) and picked up a few pointers from our fav chef Marcus Samuelsson, but eventually had to call up our chief mama twinship for her incredible version of dorho tsebhi.  Dorho Tsebhi is a popular traditional chicken spicy stew served with injera and a simple green salad. Dorho tsebhi is a very bold-flavorful-rich-dish that requires you forgetting about your calories and carb intake and just enjoying the taste of ‘home.’ So, indulge…after all it’s Christmas (again!).

Oh, just in case you’re wondering,  “How is it Christmas for the twinship again?”  Here’s why! Eritrea (our motherland) is one of the oldest traditionally Christian countries where the church dates back to the  4th century. Many Eritreans and Ethiopians celebrate Christmas on December 25th. However, millions of Orthodox Christians (including Eritrean, Ethiopian, Russian and Armenian) celebrate  Christmas on January 7th as they follow the Julian calendar.

Mama Twinship’s Dorho Tsebhi— serves 6

• 2 medium red onions, diced
• 1/2 a cup of salted butter
• 1/2 cup of Berbere (we like our stew spicy)
• 2 table spoons of ground black pepper
• 2 table spoons of fresh ginger (make sure to peel & chop)
• 3 garlic gloves, finely chopped
• 1 can of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• 3 pieces of chicken breast (if you’re a vegetarian potatoes and vegetables are a great substitute)
• salt to taste

Directions

In a large dutch oven or large deep pan simmer red onions, olive oil and butter until onions are golden brown. After onions are golden brown mix in the remaining ingredients at medium to low heat and allow flavors to simmer. Within 20 minutes place chicken and boiled eggs and allow the meat and eggs to soak up the stew for another 20 minutes at medium to low heat.

Simple Side Salad 

Romaine Lettuce, Olive Oil, Beef Steak Tomatoes, Yellow Onions, Jalapeños Salt & Lime to taste. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve as a side salad.

Injera (we actually went to the store on Fairfax to purchase. Most Eritrean/Ethiopian restaurants sell it.)

The main spice behind the sauce can be purchased at any Eritrean and Ethiopian restaurant or spice market. 

After almost 2 hours of prepping and cooking — here’s how our dish turned out! In our tradition, we eat with our hands so break a nice piece of the injera and dip into the dorho tsebhi (chicken stew) and enjoy! 

xoxo,

Feven & Helena #twinship

P.S. Here’s a picture of Feven (left) our mother  and Helena (right) last Thanksgiving wearing our traditional Eritrean dresses (zuria.) 

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