Mesir wat is a hearty and comforting Ethiopian red lentil stew. This is a flavorful recipe that uses berbere spice blend. All you need is few simple pantry ingredients to make this dish. Serve over injera for a delicious meal.
I make this Ethiopian red lentils recipe in the Instant Pot. This saves time and also makes it a perfect dish to make on a busy weeknight. Instructions for both stove top and instant pot are in the post.
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Table of contents
About the Recipe
I love Passport meals which means you go on a world tour without actually leaving your own kitchen. Trying out various international recipes has been my passion.
In my quest for vegetarian recipes, I found the amazing Ethiopian cuisine. It is a very vegetarian friendly cuisine. There are quite a few vegetable and lentil based dishes that are hearty and perfect options for vegetarians and vegans.
Misir Wot | Ethiopian Lentils
Misir Wat aka Mesir Wat is a delicious Ethiopian lentil stew. Wat is stew and Mesir Wat loosely translates to lentil stew. It is one of their most famous vegetarian dishes. It is easy to make, protein packed and absolutely delicious.
What makes Ethiopian food enticing to me is the use of spices, which makes it familiar to my Indian taste buds. They use flavor packed ingredients to enhance the taste of the dish. Like the aromatic ghee (niter kibbeh) or the berbere spice blend.
Though traditionally this recipe is made on the stove, I love using my Instant Pot. Because it makes cooking lentils quick and easy.
Ingredients
For the details of the exact quantities of each ingredient and the list of ingredients needed, check the printable recipe card below.
This is a simple, every day recipe that does not need any complicated ingredients. Most of them are pantry staples. Here is what you need to make this delicious Misir Wat:
- Red lentils (masoor dal in hindi) - these little pinkish-orange lentils are quick to cook. They become deliciously creamy in no time. Also there is no need to soak them before cooking.
- Berbere spice is an aromatic spice blend made with roasted and ground spices. You can use either homemade or store-bought. If you have a well stocked spice rack, then you can make this spice blend fresh at home.
- Onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies
- Tomato puree
Instructions
For the detailed instructions on how to make the recipe with exact timings, check the printable recipe card below.
Here is how to make misr wat aka berbere lentils recipe:
Misir Wot can easily be made on the stove top. But if you have an Instant Pot, then the whole recipe takes less than 10 minutes of hands on time. I have included instructions for both methods in the recipe card.
Instant Pot Misir Wat:
Heat Instant Pot on 'Sauté' mode. Add oil, onions, ginger, garlic and green chilies, cook till onions are translucent.
Add water, tomato puree, Berbere spice, lentils and salt. Mix well. Turn off the Sauté mode and turn the IP on manual/ pressure cook mode. Cook for 6~8 minutes with the venting knob in sealing position. Wait for the pressure to reduce naturally.
Open the lid and mix well to combine. If the mixture looks too thick, add ¼~½ cup of water and simmer till heated through. Stir in lemon juice and mix well. Serve hot with your favorite vegetarian Ethiopian dishes.
In the below photo, I served sourdough injera with (anti-clockwise from top) zigni wat (I used plant based ground beef), mesir wat and gomen wat. You can serve them with tikel gomen and tamatar salata.
Expert Tips
Here are a few tips and tricks to make this delicious Ethiopian lentil stew:
- Use low-sodium vegetable stock instead of water for added flavor.
- Depending on the spiciness of the berbere spice blend used, you can use more green chilies to make the stew spicy.
- Stir in lemon juice just before serving for a delicious finish.
- Leftovers taste great the next day. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm before serving.
How to Serve Ethiopian lentils?
Traditionally mesir wot is served with injera, a traditional Ethiopian flatbread. But if you don't have injera, then it is great to serve over plain rice as well. My kids ate it with roti as well.
So, this is a hearty and delicious side dish that can be served with any meal. To make this a complete meal, make Tikel Gomen and serve with injera as a meal.
You might also like
Here are a few more recipes with red lentils that you might like:
I love hearing from you!! If you’ve tried this and liked it, then don't forget to let me know. Give a star rating and let me know in the comments below. Also tag me in your creations on Instagram @cooks_hideout. I love sharing photos when people make my recipes. You can use the hashtag #cookshideout too.
Recipe Card
Mesir Wat
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
- 1" Ginger piece, finely grated
- 2 Garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 Green Chilies, slit
- 2 cups Water or Vegetable Stock
- ½ cup Tomato puree
- 1 ~ 2 tablespoon Berbere Spice blend
- ½ cup Red lentils/ Masoor dal, rinsed and drained
- To taste Salt
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
Instructions
To Cook in Instant Pot:
- Heat Instant Pot on 'Sauté' mode. Add oil, onions, ginger, garlic and green chilies, cook till onions are translucent, about 3~4 minutes. Add 2 cups of water*, tomato puree, Berbere spice, lentils and salt. Mix well. Turn off the Sauté mode and turn the IP on manual/ pressure cook mode.
- Cook for 6 minutes with the venting knob in sealing position. Once the timer goes off, natural pressure release for 10 minutes and quick release the remainder.Open the lid and mix well to combine. If the mixture looks too thick, add ¼~½ cup of water and simmer till heated through. Stir in lemon juice and mix well. Serve hot!!
To Cook on Stove Top:
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add onions, ginger, garlic and green chilies, cook till onions are translucent, about 3~4 minutes.
- Add water, tomato puree, Berbere spice, lentils and salt, bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer covered until lentils are cooked through, tender and creamy, this will take about 15~20 minutes.Season with salt and lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot over injera or as is.
Video
Notes
- Use low-sodium vegetable stock instead of water for added flavor.
- Depending on the spiciness of the berbere spice blend used, you can use more green chilies to make the stew spicy.
- Stir in lemon juice just before serving for a delicious finish.
- Leftovers taste great the next day. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm before serving.
PJ
Looks so good Pavani!Love the last click 🙂
Jayashree
That looks so creamy, filling and good.
nayana
Daal does sound very interesting...
Varadas Kitchen
Looks perfect for cold winter evenings!
Harini-Jaya Rupanagudi
Wow so close to our dal, right?
Jayanthi Padmanabhan
Such a hearty lentil stew. perfect for the cold weather..
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
looks so thick and creamy - perfect to pour over rice
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
looks so thick and creamy - perfect to pour over rice
Manjula Bharath
thats a super yummy stew looks fantastic dear 🙂 very comforting one !!
Unknown
This looks great! What kind of chili do you use as a "green chili" - jalapeno, poblano, or something else?
Pavani N
Hi, I used Thai green chilies here, jalapeno can also be used instead.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
This is so similar to our dal! I have fallen in love with the berbere spice mix as well and I have been using a bit of it in many dishes.
Kate A
By "tomato purée," do you mean tomato paste? This looks delicious!
cookshideout
Hi Kate, by tomato puree I mean pureed or blended fresh tomatoes. Hope this helps. Thank you.
Mayuri Patel
Mesir Wat is one dish that I've had the opportunity to enjoy with the famous injera. Makes a wonderfully delicious meal. That was the vegetarian option I was offered at a restaurant in Nairobi, along with a simple eggplant preparation too.
Ron
I used your recommended 3 cups of water to 1/2 cup of lentils and had a watery stew. I should have used 1 cup of lentils or 2 cups of water.
cookshideout
Hi Ron, sorry that the recipe didn't work for you. Thank you for letting me know. I remade the recipe today and I have updated the recipe accordingly.
Pavani
Sam
I've just gone to make this recipe and noticed that you don't mention when to add the berbere and tomato puree. I'm guessing after the onion mix has cooked?
cookshideout
Hi Sam, berbere is added after the onion is sautéed. I've updated the recipe. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Julia
I just made this delicious and easy-to-make meal and my whole family fell in love with it! I made a non-vegetarian version with turkey, marinated the meat with all of the spices and lime and added some soy sauce. You are very skillful with blending different spices. Your recipes always have fine proportions of the spices or ingredients added for enhancing the flavour such as lemon juice. On many other websites the recipes often feel too bland or imbalanced to me. And unfortunately many non-vegetarian dishes have too little variety when it comes to vegetables. With "Cook's Hideout" recipes the only thing I change is adding some meat and soy sauce to marinate it, because they are delicious on their own.
cookshideout
Hi Julia, you made my day with your comment. So happy to hear you like the recipes here. Thank you so much for taking time and letting me know.
Naomi
I made this today, and served it over some rice with veggies in it. I am absolutely in heaven! I've been hoping to find a dish using my berbere spices, and this is IT. I would recommend this to anyone, especially if you like a little heat in your food. This is perfect for me, and I didn't adjust anything at all. Thank you for sharing!
cookshideout
Hi Naomi, so happy to hear that you liked the recipe. Thank you for letting me know.
Regards,
Pavani