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Atakilt Wat – Ethiopian Cabbage Potato Carrots. Easy spiced side full of amazing flavor. free of Dairy, egg, corn, soy, yeast, nut, gluten, grain.
Seattle has an abundance of Ethiopian food. After Indian, Ethiopian is always the next choice when we want some spice and deep flavors in the meal. The veggie platter filled with 2 to 4 different simmered lentil dishes, greens, simmered okra, cabbage pcarrot wat, all served up over the huge Injera. There are several Ethiopian restaurants in Seattle. A lot of them however are usually a miss when it comes to maintaining the taste and quality of the food. Or maybe I am picky 🙂 Seattle-lites, what is your favorite Ethiopian restaurant?
Atakilt Wat/ Atkilt wot is a cabbage side that is so close to the Indian cabbage dishes and yet has its own flavor profile. The traditional recipe may or may note use uses niter kibeh which is butter/ghee slow-infused with whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, fenugreek, cloves, ginger, garlic etc. by cooking everything on low heat for hours. You can make niter qibe/ kibeh with coconut or olive oil(see my second book for a recipe) and use about a Tbsp in this recipe instead of all the spices and oil. Since I don’t usually have the infused oil ready, I add the spices to oil in the second step to infuse the oil while cooking (indian food style) for my interpretation of atakilt wat. You can omit the spices. Cook the dish at lower heat for best results. Serve with Ethiopian flat breads or other flat breads and lentil stews.
More Ethiopian from the blog.
Steps:
cook the onion, garlic, ginger for 5 minutes.
Add all the spices and cook to infuse the oil to make a quick niter kibeh.
Add the veggies, cover and cook until tender.
Serve hot.
Video:
Atakilt Wat - Ethiopian Cabbage Potato Carrots. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil or vegan butter, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 green chili, chopped (optional)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 to 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds or powder
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/8 tsp cloves powder
- a generous dash of black pepper
- 3/4 cup sliced carrots
- 2 medium potatoes, chopped, 1.5 loaded cups
- 1/2 head of cabbage, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add 1 tsp oil and heat at medium-low. Once hot, Add garlic, ginger, chili, and onion. Mix, cook for 4 minutes.
- Add the cumin, turmeric, fenugreek seeds, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper. Mix and cook for 3 minutes to infuse the oil and to continue cooking the onion to golden.
- Add the carrots, potato and mix well. Add cabbage and 1/4 tsp salt. Mix well, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir once in between.
- Add 1/4 tsp or more salt, and 1 tsp olive oil. Mix in. Deglaze at this time with water if needed Cover and Cook for another 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. *
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love Ethiopian food, but haven’t made it at home… and of course you make it look so easy and delicious!
That looks so delicious and I bet so aromatic! You have put 3 of my favorite ingredients in this dish…potatoes, carrots and ginger!
Queen Sheba
hmmmm……yummy dish…looks delicious!
This sounds so delicious! I have half a head of cabbage right now in the refrigerator, and this would be the perfect use for it. Thanks, Richa!
I love your recipes and have tried several. I was wondering, I have problems finding Fenugreek spice in Canada. Would you be able to recommend what type of ethnic grocery might sell it? Keep the recipes coming, please.
you can order it online. or find it in indian stores.
I buy my fenugreek seeds at Bulk Barn in Canada.
The restaurant is not fancy, but it’s kid friendly and not crowded. They were very accommodating when we did an large family adoption celebration last year (two of our grandsons were adopted from Ethiopia a few years ago) about arranging the tables for a large group and accommodating our different preferences and the kids need to move around.Thanks for sharing
I like Enat Ethiopian and Cafe Jebena. I haven’t tried Adey Abeba yet though. I’ll have to add it to my list! Thanks for making Ethiopian food look easy! It’s one of my favorites, but I have yet to attempt it at home. I’ll try this one!
Enat is absolutely the best Ethiopian restaurant in Seattle. They will also accommodate gluten free requests for bread, provided, of course, you give 24-hours notice prior to picking up your food. Enat doesn’t do that strange salad thing I’ve seen at other Ethiopian places. I’ve never been to Ethiopian, but, I’m guessing the salad is a hybrid American addition rather than being part of the traditional fare offered. That being said, I like that Enat skips the out-of-place green salad with Italian dressing. I’m a dedicated vegetarian and Enat always cooks great food. One veggie combo to go will feed two (I always have leftovers if I’m not sharing.) Service at Enat is warm and friendly and usually quick when ordered in person at the bar, unless there’s a football game on, in which case they’re usually very busy. You might wait a bit longer than usual, but, it’s still worth the wait. Enat is THE ONLY place I go to for Ethiopian food.
Mmm, looks tasty! =P
We’ve tried several Ethiopian restaurants in Seattle. Our favorite is Adey Abeba (https://adeyabeba.net/). It’s family run, they are very friendly and the food is excellent. The restaurant is not fancy, but it’s kid friendly and not crowded. They were very accommodating when we did an large family adoption celebration last year (two of our grandsons were adopted from Ethiopia a few years ago) about arranging the tables for a large group and accommodating our different preferences and the kids need to move around. And the food is the best Ethiopian we’ve had in Seattle. The vegetarian plate is terrific (even my non-vegan family members like it).
Where is it? We looked for an Ethiopian restaurant there last summer (had found one the prior summer but it was no longer there). We LOVE Ethiopian food.