Tsebhi dorho

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1.4 kgfree-range chicken, skinned and jointed into 10–12 pieces
• 2lemons, juiced
• 1 tspsalt

Tsebhi base

• 1.2 kgred onions, chopped as finely as you can manage
• 150 gtesmi (Eritrean spiced clarified butter)
• 4 tbspsunflower oil
• 6 tbspberbere
• 2 tbsptomato puree
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 1thumb ginger, grated
• 1 tspground korarima
• ½ tspground fenugreek
• 600 mlwater
• salt

To finish

• 6eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
• taita or injera, to serve
• 200 gajibo (fresh curd cheese), optional

Directions

1. Rub the chicken with the lemon juice and salt, leave 15 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Eritrean cooks always remove the skin, which would otherwise grease the sauce.
2. Score each piece twice to the bone so the berbere can get inside the meat.
3. Put the onions in a dry heavy pot over medium-low heat with no fat and no water at all. Stir every few minutes for 30–40 minutes until they weep, dry out and collapse into a soft, sweet, dull-gold mass.
4. Add the oil and half the tesmi with the garlic and ginger and cook 3 minutes until fragrant.
5. Stir in the berbere and tomato puree and fry gently for 8–10 minutes, splashing in a little water each time it catches, until the paste darkens to deep rust and the raw chilli smell has gone. Under-frying here leaves the whole stew gritty and harsh.
6. Add the water in stages, letting each be absorbed, and simmer 15 minutes to a thick glossy sauce.
7. Slide in the chicken, turn every piece to coat, cover and simmer very gently for 45–60 minutes, turning occasionally, until the meat falls from the bone and the sauce holds a ridge when a spoon is drawn through it.
8. Prick the eggs all over with a fork and add them for the last 15 minutes so they take on colour and heat right through.
9. Off the heat stir in the remaining tesmi, the korarima and the fenugreek, rest 10 minutes, then ladle onto taita with ajibo alongside to temper the heat.

Technique

• The dry onion sweat with no oil at all is the technique that defines Eritrean tsebhi. The onions must give up their water before any fat goes in, or the sauce stays thin and tastes raw.
• Skinless chicken and deep scoring are what let the berbere into the meat; in a tsebhi the sauce, not the bird, is the point.
• The eggs are pricked so the sauce colours them. One egg and one piece of chicken per guest is the customary serving, with something left in the pot.
• It improves overnight, and Eritrean households routinely cook it the day before a feast.

Substitutions

• No tesmi: melt 150 g butter with a slice of onion, 2 garlic cloves, a strip of ginger, 1 tsp fenugreek, 2 cardamom pods and a pinch of turmeric over the lowest heat for 20 minutes, then strain.

Variations

• Alicha dorho, the mild version built on turmeric and ginger with no berbere at all, cooked for children and for anyone avoiding chilli.

History

The wedding and holiday centrepiece: the chicken is jointed into twelve pieces, one for each apostle, and served with hard-boiled eggs.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tsebhi dorho?

Tsebhi dorho is a soup & stew from Eritrea: spicy chicken stew with boiled eggs, the festive centerpiece. The wedding and holiday centrepiece: the chicken is jointed into twelve pieces, one for each apostle, and served with hard-boiled eggs.

How long does Tsebhi dorho take to make?

Tsebhi dorho takes 40 min of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Tsebhi dorho?

Yes, within limits. No tesmi: melt 150 g butter with a slice of onion, 2 garlic cloves, a strip of ginger, 1 tsp fenugreek, 2 cardamom pods and a pinch of turmeric over the lowest heat for 20 minutes, then strain.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tsebhi dorho?

Rub the chicken with the lemon juice and salt, leave 15 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Eritrean cooks always remove the skin, which would otherwise grease the sauce.