Siga (Beef) Wat

(Originally posted on June 16th, 2006)

If you’ve never tried Ethiopian food, you should. It’s tasty and fun to eat since you use your hands. Siga wat is one of the standard dishes, and it’s best eaten with injera (traditional spongy Ethiopian bread; your best bet is to buy some at an Ethiopian market/restaurant if there is one nearby, since I have no idea how to make it.)

This recipe is adapted from here, but modified in a way I like.

Ingredients

• 2-3 onions
• One head of garlic
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon berbere (Ethiopian spice; if unavailable use cayenne)
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 1 Tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sweet basil
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 pounds sliced or cubed beef
• 1 can tomato paste

Instructions

1. Chop the onions and the garlic cloves. Put them into a heavy dish without oil or water. At high heat, stir constantly until the onions appear translucent.
2. Add olive oil. Lower heat to medium, and simmer uncovered for a few minutes and then add beef. Stir for about 15 min.
3. Add all spices.
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.
5. Add tomato paste and stir until completely blended. Simmer 15 minutes.
6. At this point, the sauce should be thick and dark red/brown. Serve with injera and enjoy.

Eat up. Serves 4.