Doro Wat is a flavor-packed Ethiopian stew with tender cooked chicken in a fiery Berbere spiced sauce topped with boiled eggs. Traditionally slow cooked for hours, this Instant Pot recipe delivers authentic taste in a fraction of time. So go ahead and create the flavors of your favorite Ethiopian restaurant dish at home!
What is Doro Wat?
Doro Wat (also spelled doro wot, doro we’t or doro wett), is a spicy chicken stew that is Ethiopia’s national dish. This famous African dish, has chicken simmered in caramelized onions and robust Berbere spice blend to make a flavored packed dish.
After enjoying it for years in restaurants, I am excited to share my EASY take on the Doro Wat recipe. This is my attempt to capture the flavors using ingredients I already have in my pantry. For example, I use my homemade ghee instead of the spiced Ethiopian ghee AKA Niter Kibbeh. I also use homemade berbere spice blend that I make using the spices in my kitchen. Best of all, this modern take on the traditional recipe always delivers 100% of the authentic flavors.
How to serve Doro Wat?
Doro Wat is traditionally served over spongy Injera bread made from Teff flour along with sides such as Misir Wat. I am yet to master the Injera bread recipe, although I enjoy this dish with homemade Parathas to mop up all that spicy delicious sauce and hot steamed rice.
Step by step recipe to make Instant Pot Doro Wat:
Step 1: Marinate the Chicken
- Hard boil eggs. I use the Instant Pot to hard boil the eggs, but you can also hard boil them on stove top. Add 1 cup of water to the instant pot insert. Place eggs on the trivet and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Allow 5 minutes natural pressure release and then release rest of the pressure and open the Instant Pot. Run cold water over the eggs or put them in an ice bath. This allows the eggs to stop overcooking. Peel and slice the eggs and keep aside
- Add lemon juice and salt to chicken, mix well and it keep aside
Step 2: Sauté onions, ginger and garlic
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté (Hi) mode and heat ghee
- Add onions and sauté them for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Place a lid on top to speed up the process
- Add garlic and ginger and cook for a minute
Step 3: Deglaze, add chicken and spices
- Turn the Instant Pot off and add ½ cup of water and deglaze the pot using a wooden removing all the browning or stuck bits
- Add the chicken and mix well
- Layer over Berbere spice mix and tomato paste. Do not mix
Step 4: Pressure Cook
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing and adjust the cook time to 8 minutes. Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then open the Instant Pot
- Mix well. The stew may look a bit watery at this point, mix gently and simply allow it to cool down for 5 minutes and the stew will continue to thicken
- Stir in the reserved hard boiled eggs, garnish with chopped cilantro and enjoy hot.
Don’t have an Instant Pot? Here is how you can adapt this recipe to make on a stove top:
Follow the recipe as is up to step 3 above. Then mix everything with an additional cup of water and cook covered on medium low heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Make sure to stir the chicken a few times and add more water if needed. In the end, taste and add more salt and Berbere spice if needed. Add boiled eggs and garnish with cilantro.
Note, Skinless chicken drumsticks can be substituted with:
- bone-in or boneless thighs
- whole bone in chicken cut into pieces or chicken breasts
- For boneless breasts or thighs that are cut into small 2-inch pieces, reduce the pressure cook time to 5 minutes
Cooking chicken in the Instant Pot is hassle free with perfectly cooked chicken every time. Here are some of my favorite chicken curry recipes that we often enjoy in my home:
- Healthy “Butter” Chicken
- Restaurant Fav Chicken Tikka Masala
- Mom’s Authentic Chicken Curry
- Royal Mughlai Chicken Korma
- Spicy Homestyle Chicken Karahi
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out this collection of 115+ quick and easy recipes
★ Have you tried this recipe? We love your feedback, Please click on the stars in the recipe card below to rate.
Doro Wot
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken drumsticks 8 pieces, skin removed
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 large red onions finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger grated
- 2 tablespoon garlic pressed
- ⅓ cup Berbere spice blend
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 hard-boiled eggs peeled and sliced into half
Instructions
- Hard boil eggs. I use Instant Pot to hard boil the eggs but you can also hard boil them on stove top. Add 1 cup of water to the instant pot insert. Place eggs on the trivet and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Allow 5 minutes natural pressure release and then release rest of the pressure and open the Instant Pot. Run cold water over the eggs or put them in an ice bath. This allows the eggs to stop overcooking. Peel and slice the eggs and keep aside
- Add lemon juice and salt to chicken, mix well and keep aside
- Set the Instant Pot on Saute (Hi) mode and heat ghee. Add onions and saute them for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Place a lid on top to speed up the process
- Add garlic and ginger and cook for a minute. Turn the Instant Pot off and add ½ cup of water and deglaze the pot using a wooden removing all the browning or stuck bits
- Add the chicken, layer over berbere and tomato paste. Do not mix
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to sealing and adjust the cook time to 8 minutes. Allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then open the Instant Pot. Mix well. The stew may look a bit watery at this point, mix gently and simply allow it to cool down for 5 minutes and the stew will continue to thicken
- Stir in hard boiled eggs, garnish with chopped cilantro and enjoy hot
Video
Notes
Don’t have an Instant Pot? Here is how you can adapt this recipe to make on a stove top:
Hard boil the eggs on stovetop. Follow the recipe above but after adding chicken, Berbere and tomato paste, mix everything with additional 1 cup of water and cook covered on medium low heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Make sure to stir the chicken a few times and add more water if needed. In the end, taste and add more salt and berbere spice if needed. Add boiled eggs and garnish with cilantro.Note, Skinless chicken drumsticks can be substituted with:
- bone-in or boneless thighs
- whole bone in chicken cut into pieces or chicken breasts
- For boneless breasts or thighs that are cut into small 2-inch pieces, reduce the pressure cook time to 5 minutes
Nutrition
♥ Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for tasty and easy video recipes. Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out our delicious Instant Pot Recipe board on Pinterest.
Sandhya says
I used the Berebere spice from Whole Foods. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of the spice mix. It was extremely spicy.. had to tone it down with more tomato paste and coconut milk.
Any recommendations?
Archana says
Yes, I should have mentioned, store bought spices can have different spice/heat levels. So you have to add per the package directions.
Kim says
This was amazing! That said, I think I will need to cut back a bit on the cayenne pepper next time I make it. The chicken and egg alone was delicious and just the right heat, but naan dipped in the sauce was over the top hot!!!!
As always, thank you for sharing your recipes.
Kim