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This simple Ethiopian split pea stew, kik alicha, is a warming main dish with just six ingredients. Serve with Injera, flatbread or rice. (gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free). This post was originally published on Feb 7 2013
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My next choice of cuisine after Indian is Ethiopian. The dishes are so flavorful and well spiced. If you want to try making it at home, kik alicha is a wonderful starting point. It’s a very easy dish to make and doesn’t require a ton of spices or complicated processes.
Kik alicha is a spiced split pea stew that’s very similar in preparation to Indian split pea dal. You just sauté some aromatics, add your spices, then add soaked and rinsed split peas. Simmer, and you’re done!
For more authentic flavor, get some non dairy nitter kibbeh(Ethiopian spiced butter/oil), and use that to sauté the aromatics. You can make your own as well.
You can use yellow split peas, green split peas, or a mix in this recipe. The cooking time is going to depend on the age of your split peas. If your split peas are pretty fresh, they’ll cook to tender in 45 minutes to an hour. If they’re old, be prepared to let them simmer for more like two hours.
Cooking time also depends on how tender you want your split peas. Traditionally, kik alicha is quite soft, and then you mash some of the split peas after simmering. But if you want yours a bit firmer, you can start checking in on them sooner during simmering.
However you make it, this simple split pea stew is absolutely delicious, with flavors of ginger, garlic, and turmeric!
Why You’ll Love Kik Alicha
- delicious, protein-packed dish
- one-pot Ethiopian entree made with common pantry ingredients
- versatile! Make it hotter with green chili and berbere, if you like!
- naturally gluten-free, nut-free, and soy free
More Vegan Ethiopian-Inspired Recipes
- Lentil Sambusa– spiced lentil pastry
- Atakilt Wat – cabbage carrot potatoes
- Mushroom Tibs – spiced mushrooms
- Ethiopian Spiced Tacos
- Injera Bread
- Yediffin missir alicha – Lentils in Garlic Ginger Sauce
Kik Alicha (Ethiopian Split Pea Stew)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry split peas, soak overnight or 2 hours. Use yellow, green, or a mix!
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 4-5 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 serrano pepper, or jalapeño, chopped, optional
- 1/3 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon berbere spice blend, optional, for a spicier wat version
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Soak the split peas overnight or at least 2 hours in warm water, drain and rinse. See notes below for pressure cooker directions.
- In a deep pan, add the oil or non dairy nitter kibbeh(Ethiopian spiced oil). Once the oil is hot, add onions, ginger, garlic, and chopped Serrano or jalapeño, if using. Cook stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add splashes of water if needed to help cook the onion evenly. Add the turmeric and berbere, if using, and mix well.
- Add rinsed split peas, salt, pepper and water. Mix, cover and bring to a boil on medium heat.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until peas have softened to your desired consistency. Taste and adjust salt and spice if needed.
- Mash the peas if desired. Add some lemon juice, if desired, and serve. Tastes best with a sour flat bread, like Injera, but you can also serve it with rice or flatbread of choice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- dry split peas – Use yellow, green, or a mix of the two. Soak for two hours, then drain and rinse.
- oil – To sauté.
- aromatics – This is your onion, garlic, and ginger. You can also add a green chili, like Serrano or jalapeño, for more heat, if you like.
- spices – Turmeric is the main spice in kik alicha, along with salt and pepper, but you can also add some berbere for a hotter version.
- water – To cook the split peas.
💡 Tips
- Cooking time for the split peas will vary depending on how old they are and how soft you want them. They can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours or more. Older split peas need a lot longer to cook.
How to Make Ethiopian Split Pea Stew
Soak the split peas overnight or at least 2 hours in warm water, drain and rinse. See notes for pressure cooker directions.
In a deep pan, add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add onions, ginger, garlic, and chopped Serrano or jalapeño, if using. Cook stirring occasionally, until translucent.
Add the turmeric and berbere, if using, and mix well.
Add rinsed split peas, salt, pepper and water. Mix, cover and bring to a boil on medium heat.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until peas have softened to your desired consistency. Taste and adjust salt and spice if needed.
Mash the peas if desired. Add some lemon juice, if desired, and serve. Tastes best with a sour flat bread, like Injera, but you can also serve it with rice or flatbread of choice.
What to Serve with Kik Alicha
Serve this with rice, Injera, or your flatbread of choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Kik alicha is naturally gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free.
This simple stew is thick and hearty with subtle notes of ginger and turmeric. If you like a spicier dish, you can add green chili and berbere to up the heat and flavor.
I made my first batch and it was AWESOME! For some reason I had to cook for almost an hour and I think the peas could still have been softer. Also, I couldn’t find yellow so made it just with green. Thank you again! Oh.. made it oil free per your instructions. I don’t think this needs oil.
Awesome! split peas can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours to cook depending on the batch. Fresher splitpeas cook faster.
Is is possible to make this oil free?
yes. saute the onion garlic in a bit of broth and continue
I worked in an Ethiopian restaurant in Ann Arbor, MI for six years. This is their Ethiopian food cook book:
https://www.bluenilemi.com/bluenile/28/content.html
i am making this today and I am. It using a pressure cooker. It is not working out so I think a pressure cooker is the key. Plus it isn’t as yellow as the picture. Not sure why.
But I did make the jalapeño cheddar biscuits and they were good.
Hi Christine, i probably clicked the pictures when I made it with all yellow split peas. Also the turmeric matters. sometimes it adds a lot more color. Are you using a pressure cooker? Split peas are notorious in terms of cooking times as you never know how old they are. The older split peas take really long to cook, sometimes hours in a saucepan, so pressure cooker is the best option as even really old split peas will cook in almost the same time in a pressure cooker.
I’m wondering if you have an home made berbere recipe you like. I have most of the ingredients listed on the list from most of the sites but was wondering if you’ve ventured into making your own.
no, i havent made a berbere blend at home. Often not having the blend or seasoned oil stops me from making the food. i find it easier to use the whole spices directly as I dont cook Ethiopian often, which needs to be corrected. 🙂
Looks delicious. I’ve only decently had the oppurtunity to try Ethiopian food, on vacation, and I loved it. I just wanted to point out for some reason it lists eggs and dairy in this recipe under allergy warnings. As a fellow vegan and a fan of your work, I wanted to make you aware so people don’t mistakenly turn away from this recipe 🙂
thanks candice! its dairy, egg, gluten , free. Changed the wording to- free of dairy, egg, gluten and other allergens.
I would love to try this recipe but I don’t have a pressure cooker. Will it still turn out without that step? and do I just cook longer?
it is either or. Cook covered in a deep pan for 45 minutes or pressure cook for upto 20 minutes.
updated the instructions so they are clear.
Can you add any vegetables to the dish itself? Spring onions, mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini/courgette, cauliflower? Any of them suit?