Ethiopian Lentils (and a trip to the market)

I took a trip to Kashat Market today to pick up a few vegetables, and this is what I returned with: Red peppers, eggplants, parsley (curly and flat), long beans, red onions, lemons, bulgar (cracked wheat), red lentils, and pita. Enough for a dozen meals or more. Total cost? $18.

The red lentils are for an Ethiopian dish called Mesir Wat. Here's a simple recipe I found.

Mesir Wat (Ethiopian Red Lentils)

Puree:

• 2 onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2t ginger

in a food processor or blender, adding a few teaspoons of water if necessary. Heat:

• 1/4 c clarified butter or oil

in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add:

• 2T paprika
• 1t turmeric
• 1/2-2t cayenne pepper (to taste)

and stir for a minute. The oil should pick up the color of the turmeric.

Add the pureed onion, garlic and ginger, and cook until mostly dry.

Add

• 1lb red lentils
• 4c water

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until lentils are cooked, adding water if the mixture gets too dry.

Salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a side dish, or as part of a traditional Ethiopian meal.

None of the recipes I've found specify exactly what kind of onions to use; a little research reveals that shallots have been the predominant allium grown in Ethiopia for many years. Red onions taste similar, and would make a reasonable substitute, I think.

Another bit of research suggests that rather than plain clarified butter, many Ethiopian dishes are cooked in a spiced butter called niter kibbeh. In addition to the spices already in this dish, it contains cardamom, nutmeg, fenugreek, cinnamon and cloves. But that's a project for another time. First, I have to try the basic recipe- and I'll report back how it went.