Ethiopian Split Pea Recipe

Over the past few months, my husband and I have been eating at Ethiopian restaurants more frequently. Not only do they serve appropriate portions, but they use lots of spices for flavor and use many healthy ingredients (lentils, split peas, vegetables, etc).

So, being that I am trying to cook more at home, I have been trying to make several of the Ethiopian lentil recipes. For a few weeks, I tried the red lentil recipe (called Masir Wat, although I have seen many different spellings for that!). I even bought spices at Penzey’s Spices because I thought they would be better (they were!), but that did not help the bad recipes I tried. However, I do not give up when the going gets tough.

Instead, I tried a different Ethiopian recipe: Kik Alicha (yellow split peas). And guess what? It turned out great!! Score one for the registered dietitian who typically is not a good cook (though I’m quite good at desserts!).

Here’s my recipe for Kik Alicha

You can increase the volume of spices as you like; this recipe is not very spicy:

• 3 cups water
• 1 cup yellow split peas
• 2-3 Tbsp chopped onion (this amount varies depending on how spicy you want it)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

1. Cook water and split peas together for about 30 minutes in a pot. While you are cooking the water/split peas, cut up the onions and garlic.
2. Heat up oil in a small skillet, and add onions, garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Brown these ingredients.
3. Once you’ve cooked the split peas for about 30 minutes, the split peas should have soaked up most or all of the water. Add the oil/spice mixture to the pot and cook for another 30 minutes, stirring often. I had to add a bit more water to this mixture, but that depends on how hot you cook the mixture. The mixture will be a lumpy consistency (like lumpy mashed potatoes or mushy baked beans).
4. Serve with rice, with injera (Ethiopian “bread”), or eat it plain

Makes 2-4 servings

Nutritional Value of This Recipe

Thanks to my handy-dandy (expensive) recipe program, I was able to print out the following nutrition label for this exact meal:

What is great about this recipe is that, not only is it flavorful, but because it has some fiber and protein, when eaten as part of a balanced meal, it will help keep you full from one meal to the next! Happy Ethnic Eating!

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