Crock Pot Doro Wat

I've posted before how much we enjoy Ethiopian cooking in our home. In fact, it's a weekly tradition! After we arrived home with our newly adopted 9-year-old son, we would make a point of taking him out for Ethiopian food, but it would be a $50-$75+ meal each time. On the heels of an adoption, and for a family of 5 living on one income, we quickly realized that was not an option very often! Additionally, it was important to me (and, I believe, for our son) for the distinct and wonderful smell of berebere and other Ethiopian spices to not simply remind him of Ethiopia or a restaurant... but of HOME. I have adapted many recipes but have only taken the time to post a couple. I have been terrible about blogging for the past couple of...years. The ones I have written about are here. I know there are many others making it better, but I've been asked how I do it, so I want to be sure and share. Sometimes I get more "gourmet" when I have time: freshly-chopped red onions, organic, fresh chicken marinated in lime juice, and cooking it in wine. But today I'm sharing what I make on a busy day. :)

As a busy mom, I utilize my crock pot multiple times per week. During the school year it is a huge time saver. In the summer there are just as many reasons to use it (not to mention "menu plan"!). So, why not for Ethiopian food?

Here is my Crock Pot Doro Wat. (In fact, my Ethiopian son just came in, lifted the lid of the crock pot and said "I don't think I can wait for dinner! I want some NOW!" :)

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Crock Pot Doro Wat (Spicy Chicken Stew with Hard Boiled Egg)

1 bag boneless, skinless frozen chicken

1 bag frozen, chopped onion

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

4-6 tablespoons bere bere (if you're new or sensitive to spicy-ness, you may want to start with 2)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 tablespoon cardamom

1/2 tablespoon garlic powder

1/2 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon black pepper

5-6 hardboiled eggs

sea salt to taste

Thaw the chicken, then stir all the ingredients together in the crock pot.
After about 5 hours on "low" setting, or whenever the chicken is cooked, use a fork to shred it into bite-sized pieces that will be easily picked up when eaten with injera.

Add a few hard boiled eggs which have been pierced with a fork. OR, you can slice them up. I don't want the whole thing to get too "eggy" so I just put them whole and we cut them when we serve it, or half them on our plates.
Today I added my version of Chickpea Paste ("But-etcha") My VERY simple version. I cooked some chickpeas over the weekend, but you can also use canned.
Once the chicken mixture is cooked, spoon some of the sauce into the chickpeas with a little water.
Use the Braun or the blender to mix it all up into a yummy and nutritious paste.

Tonight I also served it with "ayb" (cottage cheese... nice with spicy food, especially on a hot night) as well as some English peas. It turned out betam konjo!

Let me know how yours turns out, or post your modifications in the comments. I love learning how other people do it!

Enjoy!