How to make
Heat the butter with olive oil or oil in a pot. Fry finely chopped or grinded onions, garlic and tomatoes in them (5-6 minutes).
Add the Ethiopian curry berbere, bay leaf, washed red lentils, tomato paste, broth, sugar and salt. Usually, on the package of the lentils it says not to add salt during cooking, but only after the lentils are ready.
I did not comply with this, but followed the original recipe, where it says to add salt. Of course, there was no problem and everything worked out perfectly.
Cover the pot with a lid, leaving it slightly ajar.
Boil for 20-30 minutes on moderate heat. Follow the package directions as there are types of red lentils that are ready in less time as well. If necessary, add water, but keep in mind that the dish should become thick.
For the consumption of Ethiopian lentils (misir wat) in Ethiopia, they use thin bread instead of utensils. It is used to break and scoop the food from the plates, that is why the dish must be thick. This Ethiopian bread is called Injer.
Serve these delicious lentils the moment they are ready. Sprinkle with dried coriander or parsley.
* The specific taste of Ethiopian lentils comes from the special Berbere curry powder, which makes the taste rich and irresistible. If you don't have one, you can make one yourself or, as a last resort, use ordinary curry powder, but the taste will differ from the authentic one.
** I cooked these lentils a bit thinner than usual so we could eat it with spoons since I didn't have any of the traditional Ethiopian bread. But definitely next time I plan to make the bread as well, so that everything is the way it should be.
