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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.
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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.
An utterly delicious and flavorful recipe which is relatively simple to make! I highly recommend adding Berbere spice for an extra kick.
It’s become a staple in our household, which I tend to make in large batches so we have more of it. Thank you for the excellent recipe!
awesome!thanks
I love this recipe & I make it all the time! Perfect meal to eat when sick
yay
Made this using all yellow peas and a white onion and it was delicious! Made in the pressure cooker, I didn’t sautee the veggies first, just added it all in and cooked for 10 mins with natural release (oil free and it didn’t stick). Will be making this again!
SO DELICIOUS, thank you!!!! Just made it today and was so thrilled with the result!
Hi, dear Richa, you are a gal after my own heart! My favorite cuisine is Indian, and I have been falling in love with vegan Ethiopian food lately. I visited a bistro up in Gainesville recently, called Civilization, and I had the Ethiopian plate they offer, completely vegan. I loved the bread they served. It wasn’t that sour, but it was fluffy and dark and delicious. I recently got some teff flour. Gotta study more! I can’t get my head around fermenting something for three days, as it seems a bit scary. I can see fermenting something overnight, though. Smiles!
Yes, ethiopian restaurants generally have veggie plates which are vegan. The Injera bread is amazing indeed. i’ve made it twice since i posted this post. it takes 3 to 4 days and comes out really well. We have quite some ethiopian restaurants close by, so we just pick the bread up when needed 🙂 You can find a reipe fro the bread and many more amazing stews and dishes in Teff Love cookbook. Its a vegan ethiopian cookbook
Dear Richa, you are a gal after my own heart! My favorite cuisine is Indian, but I have been falling in love with vegan Ethiopian food lately. I visited a bistro called “Civilization” in Gainesville, and they had an Ethiopian plate, all vegan. The bread was something! I don’t think it was fermented very long, as it wasn’t sour. But it was fluffy and dark and delicious. Just acquired some actual teff flour. I gotta study more! (Like you, I don’t think I want to ferment anything for three days; sounds a bit scary!) Overnight, maybe. Smiles!
As an avid Ethiopian food fan since about 1999 when I first tried Axum in SF its been my favorite! This is a great recipe and tastes authentic. Thanks so much for sharing.
I’ve made this a couple of ti,mes for my family and it’s a huge hit. Thank you for publishing the recipe.
I hate commentators that say “it was great after I added/changed….”, but I’m going to be that guy. I added fresh mushrooms, portobellos because that what my son brought back from the store. It gave the stew a little extra heartiness and richness.
Hello! How would you modify these instructions for an Instant Pot, which doesn’t have a “1 whistle” setting?: “Or use a Pressure cooker: Pressure cook for 1 whistle on high and then simmer for 15-20 minutes.”
Cook them for the time you use for split peas. 7 to 8 minutes Manual on high pressure and natural release.