Berbere Lentils - Yemisir Wat - is a very popular and flavourful Ethiopian dish. These spicy lentils are usually served with Injera.
Originally published August 28, 2017. Updated on 7/1/2021
As you may know from previous blog entries - and social media posts! - we recently attended Folklorama, in Winnipeg.
It's my absolute favourite event every year, and has been kind of ... therapeutic?... since moving to the USA.
Anyway, I'm planning to do a write-up on it eventually, but in the meantime, back to today's recipe!
Berbere Lentils
The Ethiopian Pavilion is a must-stop for us, every time that we make the trip for Folklorama. It's not as big and flashy as many of the other pavilions, but what it DOES have is some of the absolute best food of the entire festival.
After returning from the trip this year, Porter requested that I figure out Ethiopian cooking - ESPECIALLY the firey lentils that he loves.
So, I did a bunch of research and put together recipes for both the berbere seasoning (which seems to vary wildly, based on who makes it!), and the lentil dish named for the seasoning. Made a batch, LOVED it.
Yemisir Wat
Couple days later, I get the following photo and a text of "YOU FINISHED THE LENTILS!?" from my husband:
... So I made another batch, and decided that I should probably blog the recipe. HIGHLY addictive stuff, this is!
How to Make Berbere Spice
First off, you'll need to make the Berbere Seasoning (Yemisir Wat recipe is below it!).
This makes more than you'll need for the lentils recipe, but is great in almost anything that could use a kick. Try it as a dry rub on chicken wings, as a seasoning for steak or burgers, or as a popcorn seasoning!
Berbere Ingredients
½ cup Whole Dried Chilies (Packed!)
1 tablespoon Coriander Seeds
1 teaspoon Cardamom Seeds
½ teaspoon Black Peppercorns
5 Whole Cloves
2 tablespoon Sweet Paprika
1 tablespoon Salt
1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
¼ teaspoon Allspice
¼ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
How to Make Berbere Seasoning
Measure chiles, coriander seeds, cardamom seeds, peppercorns, and cloves into a dry, nonstick pan.
Toast over medium heat, stirring constantly, until aromatic. Remove from heat, allow to cool.
In a spice grinder, process toasted spices into a fine powder. Allow to spices to settle a bit before opening the grinder – the powder can be irritating to the lungs and nasal passages!
Transfer to a small mixing bowl. Add remaining spices to the bowl, stir well.
Store in an airtight container until use.
Berbere Seasoning Nutrition
Calories: 18kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 263mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1544IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
More Seasoning & Condiment Recipes
Looking for some healthy recipes for tasty ways to add a little something extra to your dish? Here are a few ideas:
Basil Pesto
Canadian Popcorn Seasonings
Chow Chow Relish
Cilantro-Mint Chutney
Diana Sauces (Replica Recipes)
Hop Extracts
Seasoned Salt
Roasted Garlic
Vanilla Extract
Homemade Mayonnaise
Furikake Seasoning
Honey Dill Dipping Sauce
Honey Garlic Cooking Sauce
Hoppy Dill Pickle Relish
How to Make Compound Butters
Montreal Steak Spice & Marinade
Olive Salad for Muffalettas
Pistachio Dukkah
Porter's Yogurt & Ice Cream Topping
Roasted Beet Ketchup
Smoky Dry Rub for Wings
Sushi Sauce Recipes
Tangerine Thyme Dry Rub
Thai Cilantro Pesto
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Berbere Lentils - Yemisir Wat
Ingredients
- ½ cup Canola oil
- 2 Medium Yellow Onions finely chopped or grated
- ⅓-1/2 cup Berbere seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Puree
- 1 tablespoon minced, pressed, or pureed garlic
- 1 cup Dried Red Lentils
- 3+ cups Water
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- In a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat, cook onions in canola oil until soft.
- Add Berbere (Start with ⅓ cup if you’re not used to this!), ginger, garlic, and lentils, stir well. Add 3 cups of water, bring to a boil.
- Once mixture boils, turn heat down to medium or medium-low. Simmer lentils – stirring frequently – until water is absorbed and lentils are mushy. Remove from heat.
- Taste, add more Berbere if you’d like, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot, with injera.
Nutrition
Tia
Thanls SO much for this wonderful recipe!! We've had berbere on hand for months and haven't used. While I hate when people comment on their changes to the recipe, ours were unintentional and clearly shows the versatility of this recipe... We had one onion and no ginger left, so I used a little powdered to make up for it. This is PERFECT and mirrors our Ethiopian friends and the local restaurant 's recipe! Saved us tons of steps I saw in other recipes, and turned out amszing!! We'll make this several times a month! I can't say "thank you" enough!!!
Jennifer Speers
Looks and sound delicious- I will be trying this recipe in the near future. Question, I don't work with whole cardamom often at all, there are black and green kinds- is green always the preference in this dish and do you take the seeds out of the pod before grinding? Thanks!
Marie Porter
I've used both black and green, depending on what I have on hand - prefer the black. Just grind the whole pod.