Name: Ye’misser Wot Be’timatim (Red Lentils in a Spicy Tomato Sauce)
Yield: Makes 5 cups
Cuisine: Ethiopian
Ingredients: 1 cup dried red lentils; 5 cups water; 1 red onion, minced (2 cups); 6 cloves garlic, pressed or grated (1 tablespoon); 3 tablespoons Ye’qimem Zeyet or extra-virgin olive oil; ½ teaspoon salt, plus more if desired; ⅛ teaspoon ground cardamom; ½ teaspoon Ye’wot Qimem (optional); 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger; 2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste; 1 tablespoon mild paprika; 4 tablespoons ground berbere (page 21) or Berbere Paste; 2 cups reserved lentil cooking water or Sleepy Vegetable Stock, plus more if needed; 1 tomato, diced (1 cup)

Preparation info

Makes
5 cups

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Teff Love

By Kittee Berns

Published 2015

About

This easy variation of Ye’misser Wot contains more berbere since the addition of tomato tempers the heat a bit. Don’t be afraid to thin this out with extra water; it should be saucy and thick like a chowder and spread when you spoon it on top of injera.

Ingredients

1 cup dried red lentils
5 cups water
1 red onion

Method

Put the lentils and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir to keep the lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer uncovered, skimming off any foam that forms on the top with a large spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender but firm, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve the cooking water.

Put th