Each year my family participates in Tsom(The Great Fast/
Lent). Tsom is a
55 day fast in which
we stay away from all food that contains animal products. During this time we
normally eat traditional Ethiopian vegan cuisine. Today, I am going to explain
how to make one of my favorite Ethiopian Tsom and vegan friendly dishes, a
lentil stew called “Miser Wot”, pronounced (Misr-whut). If you follow the
recipe correctly it should only take about 1 hour to make, including prep time.
Ok, now let’s get started with what you’ll need!
(photo
taken by Daniel Warshaw)
Ingredients:
● 1 cup of lentils ( you may use red
lentils if you would like it to be spicy)
● 1 cup of water
● Large spoon (preferably a wooden
spoon)
● 2 onions
● 2 tomatoes
● ½ cup of olive oil
● 2 tablespoons of Berbere ( Ethiopian
spice)
● Kosher salt
● Injera ( Ethiopian flatbread)
Instructions:
- First rinse out your lentils until they are clean. Once your lentils are clean place them in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 20-30 minutes. You want to rinse your lentils to make sure that there is no debris or dirt on them.
- While your lentils soak in the water you can now cut up your onions and tomatoes. Your tomatoes need to be cored and chopped. As for your onions, make sure they are finely diced. By cutting your onions and tomatoes now you are not only prepping for later, but also adding flavor to our mixture.
Pro Tip: The finer you cut your
onions and tomatoes the more uniform your stew will be.
- Next, take a large pan and heat it over your stove, on medium heat. Then, add your ½ cup of olive oil. Mix the oil around the pot for about 5 minutes (do not let the oil come to a boil).
- Now you can add your Berbere. Berbere is very spicy so be cautious of how much you add to your mixture. Berebere is a popular spice and is added to almost all our dishes it gives a lot of flavor.
Pro Tip: Don’t add too much or else
your tongue will burn!
- Now you can add your lentils. You want to make sure you are continuously stirring the pot so that the mixture doesn't get too clumpy. If your Miser is too clumpy it will be hard to grab with the injera, which what you’ll be eating the Miser with.
- After about 10 minutes of mixing the lentils you can add your tomatoes and onions. Continue mixing.
- Now add your salt. There’s no limitation when it comes to how much salt you want to add. I normally add around 2-3 teaspoons depending on how much I’m making.
Pro Tip: If you accidentally add too
much salt, just add more water and mix well!
- Now you can let the mixture sit, place a cover over the pan and let it simmer for 30-45 minutes. Be sure to check on your Miser every 5 to 10 minutes and give it a stir. After 30 minutes you can switch the fire on low heat.
Pro Tip: If you want the Miser to
have a thinner consistency, add more water to the pan.
Now
your Miser Wot is ready! This dish is normally served warm, with a plate of
injera. It can be eaten for breakfast,lunch, or dinner!Injera is an Ethiopian
flatbread made with Teff flour we serve with every dish, in place of utensils.
If you really want to serve this dish traditionally you can lay it on a huge
tray so the everyone can eat it all together. Enjoy!
15 comments:
Bezawit! I've never really read "how to" posts on the blog, and after reading yours I'm impressed! I like how you first described the significance of this dish and brought something to the table that is unique and important to you. The list of ingredients and the steps themselves were very specific which I admired, that way we can accurately create and be fulfilled by this dish. The "pro tip"s are helpful as well in order to master the perfect miser wot. Thanks for sharing!
!This dish sounds so delicious! It sounds like it has plenty of protein! which is always great! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Diego Armando Carrillo
Period 1
I loved how you included your family in the how to and how you guys all do this fast together! I also liked how you included some details on Tsom as well! You made it very easy to understand and I loved how you included the pro tips too. Very well written and I loved the picture you included so we could get a visual as well.
Sounds delicious! I love how you gave a background to this recipe and didn't just go straight to the steps. I can see that this dish has a significance to you. You created simple steps that are easy to follow and made sure to list every ingredient needed. The way you wrote out this recipe makes me feel like I can just go make it right now. I've read some recipes on this blog, but I've never really seen anyone write pro tips. Interesting!
This sounds absolutely amazing! I always love when you bring your family's food to our group get-together, and I hope to try this in the future. Although I'm not familiar with some of the Ethiopian ingredients, this recipe is definitely something I will be trying, especially because of the complexity of this dish despite the easy to follow instructions.
This sounds so good!I love how the first part was a description what this recipe meant to you and your family. You made the steps easy to understand and also I like how you added tips to help! Good Job.
This dish sounds so good! I’d really love to start eating a wider variety of cultural foods and your directions are a great way for me to get into that. This post makes a great dish simple enough for even me to understand how to prepare it. Thank you for sharing!
Zachary Judson period 4
Wow thanks for this. This dish sounds real good. I've never heard of it before but I like trying new things so it would be nice to try this one. Your directions made it seem like something real quick to make.
Austyn Coleman
Period 1
Good job on this easy to follow recipe ! It sounds delicious, I hope I get to try it one day. I love how you included the reason on why your family eats this unique dish.
I loved how you made this about a traditional food your family makes and something a lot of people don't know about! The dish sounds very good and would like to try it some day. Great job!
Bezawit I loved learning about the Tsom(The Great Fast/ Lent) as I wasn't aware of this practice before. I absolutely loved how you incorporated this tradition into your post because it shows how much this dish means to you and how much value it has. This dish definitely seems something similar to what I have eaten before in India. I would love to try to make this dish and see if it tastes similar to what I have in mind. Thank you so much for sharing!
Wow, I was intrigued by the title and I’m glad I clicked on your post. I have never heard of this dish but I really commend you on your choice because it livens up the blog. I really enjoyed the fact that you added the “pro-tips” which not only added to the effect of the entry but also gave the reader the opportunity to challenge themselves or make sure the dish comes out as intended. Great job Bezawit
Wow you did a great job with the description of your how-to. I love how this recipe has a background and meaning to it. Since I have a jar of lentils I’m happy to try making this recipe.
I've tried this food before but I've never really indulged in the secret of making it (even though I'm Ethiopian). It's good to know how this dish is finally made. Thanks Bezawit!
i had no idea what this was when i read so it intrigued me to find out. after reading the ingredients and looking at the picture of it, it sounds and looks amazing.
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