Here is another of the Ethiopian recipes that my 11 year old taught me. She made the recipe the week after she got home. We all loved it, though it is quite spicy and we had to down lots of water along with it.

Today when I made it, I thought I'd make it just a little less spicy. I added a couple tablespoons of berbere and thought it had a decent bit of heat. But the 9 year old kept coming through the kitchen, shaking her head, and saying, "More berbere..." I added a few more shakes of berbere, but still it did not meet her approval.

Finally, I got out a little pot and let the 9 year old spice a small portion of the stew the proper way. She dumped 1/4 of a cup MORE berbere into it -- for about 2 cups of stew!

She then proceeded to tell me that when her Ethiopian mom made doro wat for Christmas, she used two chickens, a liter of oil, and a kilo of berbere! True? I don't know-- but doro wat made like that would have an unbelieveable kick! Anyway, here's my daughter's recipe.

Siga Wot

3 lg Onions --mince fine or puree in food processor
1/2 c. oil
5 Potatoes, cubed small
2 tomatoes -- chop very fine or puree in food processor
2 c. Water
2 lb hamburger, browned with 5 garlic cloves.
1/4 c. berbere (or less if you like it mild)

In dry pan over moderate heat, stir fry the onions for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the oil and berbere and cook for about 1 minute longer. Add the potatoes, water, hamburger and tomato paste and stir well. Cook, covered, over medium heat for about 30 mins, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir frequently. Turn heat down and add a bit more oil if it starts to stick. There should be a moderate amount of sauce.

Serve warm with injera or rice.