This spicy, mouthwatering, and comforting one-pot chicken stew is slowly simmered in a blend of robust spices. This delightfully delicious chicken dinner is super easy! Pair it with injera and Ethiopian collard greens to complete your iconic Ethiopian experience.
Heat a large pot over medium heat, and when it's hot, add spiced butter and onions. Sauté onions, stirring frequently, until they are deep brown - 7-10 minutes.
After the onions are caramelized or reach a deep brown color, add some more oil, followed by the Berbere spice, garlic, and ginger.
Stir for about 2-3 minutes for the flavors to blossom and the mixture has a deep rich brown color. Be careful not to let it burn.
Then add about 2-3 cups water. Add chicken, tomato paste, paprika, basil, salt, and cook for about 30 minutes.
Throw in the eggs and lemon juice; thoroughly mix to ensure that the eggs are immersed in the sauce.
Continue cooking until chicken is tender about 10 minutes or more.
Adjust sauce thickness and seasoning with water or broth, lemon, salt according to preference.
Serve warm.
Notes
Instead of water, you can also use chicken broth to add more umami flavor to the stew. But go gentle on the salt as the broth already has salt.
The longer you saute the aromatics, the better, because sauteing releases the natural savory flavor of the aromatics as the onion caramelizes. But this requires frequent stirring to prevent them from scorching at the bottom of the pan.
If you don’t have spiced butter, either make your own blend or saute the aromatics in butter instead. Then add allspice, cardamon, cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg to compensate for the missing flavors.
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.