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Key Wot (Spicy Slow-Cooked Beef Stew with Berbere)
Tender cubes of beef simmer slowly in an unctuous, mahogany onion-and-berbere gravy enriched with fragrant spiced clarified butter.
The story
Hailing from the northern and central Ethiopian highlands, Key Wot is the crowning jewel of festive tables during Orthodox Christian feasts like Fasika and Genna. The sauce relies on a traditional water-based onion breakdown technique called kulet, where puréed red onions are sweated dry for over half an hour before fat is ever introduced. This intensive caramelization releases deep umami and natural sweetness that balances the fiery pungency of the sun-dried berbere chili blend.
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