Ethiopian Wat

I am back running Blogging Marathon #7 with Srivalli and 18 fellow bloggers. My theme for this week will be "Cooking from Cookbook". I like reading and collecting cookbooks like many foodies. If not for my husband who keeps reminding me the number of cookbooks I have, I would have probably bought a whole book shelf full of cookbooks. As of now, the real estate the books take is quite small, I still have a small rack in the basement with a few more books.

I really have to thank our county library system as we can borrow books online from other libraries in the county and I think I might be one of the library patrons who uses this feature the most. Most of the times I decide not to buy the book after borrowing it and making the dishes I like from it, in rare occasions I do end up buying the book from Amazon.

So for the next 7 days I will be posting recipes that I have made from 7 different cookbooks. For the first day of the marathon, I made this delicious Ethiopian Wat. This is a delicious one-pot dish that is great on its own, but is wonderful when paired with some freshly made Injera (recipe for this coming really soon).

Recipe is from 500 Vegan Recipes. Even though the dish is one-pot, it needs quite a few components prepared before everything goes into the pot. We need to make berbere spice powder and the baked berbere-spiced seitan before hand. 

For the spice mixture: 

Ingredients:

Cumin Seeds – 2tsp 

Cloves – 4 

Black Peppercorns – ½ tsp 

Ground All-spice – ¼ tsp 

Ancho-chili powder – 2tbsp

Paprika – 3tbsp 

Ground ginger – 1tsp 

Turmeric – ¼ tsp 

Cinnamon – ¼ tsp 

Salt – 1tsp

Method: 

• Dry roast cumin seeds, cloves, peppercorn for 1 – 2 minutes or until they smell fragrant and aromatic. Grind the whole spices into a powder. 
• Add the chile powder, paprika, ground ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Store in a air-tight container in a cool, dry place and use as needed. 

Baked Berbere-spiced Seitan

Ingredients: 

Vital wheat gluten – 2 cups Chickpea flour (besan) – 1 cup 

Berbere spice – ¼ cup (1 recipe of berber spice mixture from above) 

Water – 1 cup

Steak sauce – 2tbsp (I used tamari instead)

Tomato paste – 2tbsp

Extra virgin olive oil – ½ cup 

Method: 

• In a large bowl, combine spice mixture with gluten and flour.
• In a measuring cup, add water, oil, tomato paste, steak sauce and whisk until well combined. 
• Add the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and knead for 5 minutes or until everything is incorporated. 
• Set aside for 20 minutes to rest. 
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Divide the dough in half. Shape the dough into logs of approximately 6” long and 3” diameter. Wrap the logs tightly with aluminum foil. Bake seam side down for 1 hour. 
• Let cool before unwrapping. Store in a air-tight container in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for even longer shelf life. 

Ethiopian Wat:

Ingredients: 

Red onions – 2 medium, roughly chopped 

Baked berber seitan – 1 log (½ of the recipe from above), chopped into bite size pieces 

Potatoes – 4 medium, chopped into bite size pieces 

Vegetable Broth – 8 cups 

Carrots – 1 cup 

Dry red or green lentils – 1 cup (I used Masoor dal) 

Salt & Pepper – to taste 

Long grain rice – 1 cup 

Method: 

• Heat 2tbsp EVOO in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and pinch of salt and let them sweat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Add another 2tbsp of EVOO to the onions and deglaze the pan. 
• Next add the broth and bring the mixture to a boil. 
• Add the seitan, potatoes, carrots, lentils and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the flame to medium and simmer covered for about 30 minutes. 
• Stir in the rice, cover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through. Serve on its own or as a side to Injera.

Lets see what my fellow marathoners have cooked up for Day 1 of BM# 7.