Dish of Beef Fenugreek Stew
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Beef Fenugreek Stew


Ethiopia   -   Abish Wat
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 12 cups
***
2-3/4 hrs
Yes		 This recipe is from the city of Harar, where fenugreek is a major spice. There, it is always served with injera bread, but rice works too.

1-1/2
1-1/2
8
2
1-1/2
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2
1/4
1/4
2-1/2
2
3
-------
5
1
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ar
#
#
oz
cl
#
---
T
t
t
T
t
T
---
c
t
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Beef (1)
Tomatoes, ripe
Onions, red
Garlic
Potatoes (2)
-- Seasoning
Fenugreek (3)
Cumin
Nigella
Berbere Spice (4)
Salt
Oil
----------
Water
Mekelesha (5)  
-- Serve with
Injera Bread
Do Ahead
  1. If not on hand, make Berbere Spice Mix - (15 min).
  2. If not on hand, make Mekelesha Spice Mix - (5 min).
  3. If not on hand (and if using) make Injera Bread - (1-1/2 hrs for 11 ea 9 inch disks).
Prep   -   (50 min)
  1. Cut BEEF into about 1 inch chunks.
  2. Scald TOMATOES 1 minute in boiling water. Quench in cold water, peel and chop fine.
  3. Quarter ONIONS lengthwise and slice thin crosswise. Crush GARLIC and chop small. Add both to Tomatoes.
  4. Grind together Fenugreek, Cumin, and Nigella. Stir all Spicing items into the Tomatoes.
  5. Peel POTATOES and cut into about 3/4 inch cubes. Hold in cold water until needed.
Run   -   (1-3/4 hr)
  1. Place Beef in a large saucepan with plenty of Water to cover well. Bring to a full boil for 2 minutes. Pour out into a clean sink and rinse off all the crud. Drain.
  2. Wash the saucepan and add 6 cups of Water. Return Beef to the pan and bring to a boil.
  3. Stir about 1/2 cup of the simmering liquid into the Tomato mix, then stir the mix into the pan, bring back to a boil and simmer covered until Beef is tender, 50 to 60 minutes.
  4. When the Stew has about 20 minutes still to go, drain Potatoes and stir in. Make sure they are covered with water. Bring back to a boil and simmer covered until Beef and Potatoes are tender.
  5. When Stew is done, adjust liquid and salt if needed, it should be reasonably soupy. If the Injera is used, it will absorb some liquid, and with rice it also needs a fair amount
  6. Stir in Mekelesha Spice and cook another 2 minutes.
  7. Serve hot. The traditional way is to put some Stew in the serving bowl, layer it with pieces of Injera, and pour the rest of the Stew on top of that. It is then served with more Injera Bread on the side.
NOTES:

  1. Beef:

      Weight (1/2 kg / 1# 2oz) is boneless with excess fat removed. This can be any cut suitable for stewing. Chuck is my preference as it cooks faster than Round.

  2. Potatoes:

      White Rose or similar work well in recipes of this sort. Avoid Klondike Gold type potatoes - they turn to mush if cooked a little more than the minimum. For details see our Potatoes page.

  3. Fenugreek:

      The people of Harar tend to use a lot of Fenugreek. This recipe includes a modest amount. In Harar, the Fenugreek is likely to be processed in various tedious ways to reduce the bitterness, but this quantity should be no problem, except perhaps for those "super tasters" who can't stand bitterness at all. Man up, guys.

  4. Berbere Spice Mix:

      This is the most essential spice mix in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is easy to make by our recipe Berbere Spice Mix.

  5. Mekelesha Spice Mix:

      This is a mix of aromatic spices used to balance spicy dishes. It is easy to make by our recipe Mekelesha Spice Mix.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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