Dabbo (Ethiopian Bread)

Dabbo (Ethiopian Bread)

Slices of Bread Made In Ethiopian House hold

Being Indian I am more into chapatti/roti/parantha/puri all sort of Indian bread, thus have only basic knowledge of baking a bread. I was really intrigued by Ethiopian families baking their own bread on regular basis. They bake 3-10 kg. big bread for the consumption of the family members. It was a wonderful experience watching them bake the bread. I wish to share their method of making the bread. They do not use egg, butter, milk in making bread. Bread being staple food along with Injera is eaten during fasting also and any form of animal product is taboo during fasting, also even poorest of the poor can afford to make this bread here. My Ethiopian friend Mulgeeta was kind enough to allow me to take the picture of bread baking and share the recipe.

Preparation Time: 15-20 min.

Fermentation Time: 3-4 hours

Baking Time: 2 hours

Servings: Bread of 3 Kg.

Ingredients Required For Making Dabbo:

• 3 kg. Refined Flour

• 1 Eating Spoon Dry Yeast

• 1 eating Spoon Sugar

• Water

• Banana leaves

Directions For making Dabbo:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in 2-3 eating spoons of water.

• Add 1-2 eating spoons of refined flour and keep aside for the yeast to rise.

• Sieve the refined flour and add yeast solution.

• Mix nicely.

• Add water in little proportions and knead the flour yeast mixture to make soft dough. 1-1.5 Lt. water is required for making the dough. The dough should neither be hard nor runny. It should be soft and pliable.

• Cover the dough and keep aside for fermenting for 4-5 hours.

• The dough will rise and become pourable, not watery.

• Do not beat this dough, if done so the air trapped in it will escape and the bread will not rise, and will not come out soft.

• Line a bread baking dish with banana leaves (Here they line it with leaves of similar plant called false banana, it is similar to banana but it neither fruits nor flowers).

Bread Baking Dish Lined With False Banana Leaves

• Pour the fermented dough on the in the container lined with banana leaves.

Ashakhale Pouring the Batter for bread

• Sprinkle some Nigella / Sesame seeds and spread the dough uniformly. Make depressions with the fingers.

Bread Dough with Nigella seeds in the baking dish layered with False banana leaves

Making depressions with fingers

• Cover the fermented dough in the bread baking dish with banana leaves.

Covering the dough with false banana leaves

• The oven for making bread here is called Dabbo Miltad and has two different plugins for heating from bottom and top.

Aleminish showing the locally made Dabbo Miltad with two ends to heat top and bottom

Dabbo Miltad from inside

Muluget placing the bread baking dish with bread dough in Dabbo Miltad

• Place the baking dish with bread dough in the bread oven (Dabbo Miltad) and heat it from the bottom.

• After 40-45 minutes check, baking has started and the dough starts rising.

• Bake for another 15-20 min.(Total 55-65 min.). The dough will have risen completely.

Rising Bread after 45 minutes

• Heat the oven from the top now for 30-40 minutes. The top and sides of bread will become golden brown.

• Remove the bread from oven. Remove the top leaves and carefully remove the bread and place on a plate for cooling.

Ethiopian Home Made Bread

Home Made Bread Slices

• Bread here like Injera is kept in Mosab for storing.

Tips:

• Add water in little proportions and knead.

• Kneading has to be done at least for 15-20 minutes after the dough consistency is attained. More the kneading better the bread will be.

• One cup of this dough can be stored in the fridge for future use. For next time you make bread you will have yeast culture with you. Take it out 2-3 hour before making the dough and allow the yeast to multiply and grow. Use this for fermenting rather than dry yeast.

Suggested Variations:

• Instead of refined flour Mixture of whole wheat flour and refined flour in 1:1 ratio can be taken to make the bread healthier.

• Barley flour can be added in 3:1 ratio.

• Once the pink dots start appearing on the top then, remove the bread baking dish from oven and remove the leaves, polish the top with egg white (Beat 2 egg whites and with the help of a brush polish the top with egg white), then baked for 5 minutes. The top will become shiny and light brown.

• Sugar can be sprinkled on the top 5 minutes before switching off the oven.

• Milk and water mixture in 1:1 ratio can be taken for kneading the flour.

• Add raisin, nuts, dry plum pieces, dry apricot pieces and you will have fruit bread.

Doro Wat (Ethiopian Chicken Preparation)

Dora-Wat With Barbare Powder

Dora-Wat without Barbare Powder

Dora is chicken in Amharic (Language of Ethiopia). Wat is basically gravy. So Doro wat means chicken with gravy. This chicken preparation is not for weight watchers and people with heart ailment as it has ample of Chilies and butter / oil. Doro wat is made in every house hold as poor it may be on any good occasions. Those who cannot afford sheep/goat/beef, slaughter chicken as offering and make Doro wat to celebrate the festive occasion. There are two type of Doro Wat one with Barbare powder other with out barbare powder. It is extremely tasty but very rich as it has lots of oil / butter. In Ethiopia it is eaten with Injera/Dabbo. Try it with Nan / Tandoori roti / Kulcha or Chapatti this combination is simply irresistible. I did not make Doro-Wat but got the recipe and the pictures when Alenenish my Ethiopian daughter was cooking it for me in her house.

Preparation Time: 15-20 min.

Cooking Time: 3 hours

Servings 8 Large servings

Ingredients Required For Making Doro Wat:

• 1 kg. Chicken

• 1 Kg. Onion

• 100 gm. Ginger

• 100 gm. Garlic

• 500+100 gm. butter ml oil/600 gm. butter

• 2-3 Teaspoons Khemam Powder (Garam masala)

• 200 gm. Barbare powder

• 2-3 Teaspoon Red Chili powder

• 30 ml. Juice of Fresh Lemons

• Salt to taste

Direction For Making Doro-Wat:

• Peel and cut onions long thin pieces.

• Wash chicken in fresh water.  Sprinkle 4-5 ml. lemon juice on the washed and drained chicken and rub the juice nicely on chicken pieces. Wash again in flowing water and drain.

• Repeat the washing process 2 times more to make sure chicken is not emitting foul odor.

• Drain the washed chicken nicely.

• In a thick bottom pan take chicken and cook on high flame. Water will come out of chicken. Cook with stirring till all water evaporates. Take care chicken pieces do not get burnt. (Do not add oil/butter) or any spices).

• Take onions and 200 ml. water in a thick bottom cooking vessel and cook on low flame the onions till soft. Bring the heat to high and dry all liquid left in the vessel along with the onions.

• Add to the boiled onions

• Oil / Butter

• Barbare powder

• Garlic paste

• Ginger paste

• Cook with constant stirring till all ingredients mix and make a uniform paste. Add 250 water in small portions (10-15 ml.) while cooking to make sure none of the ingredients get burnt. This paste is called Shankurt Makulalath.

• The above process will take 90-120 minutes.

• Add chicken to Shankurt Makulalath.

• Cook for 40-45 minutes on low flame with continuous stirring, keep adding 100-150- ml. water in every 10 minutes. (1-1 1/2lt.Water maximum)

• Add Khemam powder (Garam masala), salt, and 100 gm. butter.

• Mix and cook with stirring for 10 minutes.

• Cover and keep for 10-15 min. 

Doro-Wat

• Take out in a serving bowl. The red color of chicken with floating red oil / butter does not require any garnishing. 

Dora-Wat

• Serve with plain boiled rice/Dabbo/Injera/Nan/tandoori Roti/Lachcha parantha or simple roti.

Tips:

• Cooking of chicken in Shankurt Makulalath has to be done on low flame. No using pressure cooker please.

• The pieces for this chicken preparation should be big. Aleminish had cut one big chicken to only 15 big pieces. Because cooking is done on low heat for long time with stirring otherwise the flesh from bones from small pieces will fall apart.

• Oil/butter and Barbare powder are the high light of this chicken preparation thus do not reduce it but surely can increase it.

• Barbare powder gives red color and increases thickness or the gravy along with giving wonderful flavor to the chicken and the gravy, the amount can be increased to 300 gm. but not reduced than above told amount.

• Marination of chicken is not required.

• Do not add oil / butter while cooking the washed and drained chicken as it is meant to dry off all the water from the chicken.

Suggested Variations:

• Olive oil (500 ml.) can be taken as cooking medium and then 100 gm. butter can be added.

• Boiled whole (Not cut) eggs can be added along with salt, Khemam powder and cooked for 10 minutes.