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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.
This recipe has become a staple here! After ordering take-out a few times I thought I’d give it a whirl making my own. I, too, double the recipe and use vegetable stock instead of water. When I double it, I add a full teaspoon of turmeric and probably twice as much ginger (bc we love ginger!). It is so so so delicious! I think te key is to have good quality spices, as well as fresh ginger and garlic and you can’t go wrong. When we’re able to, we pick up injera bread from someone who makes it locally. When we don’t have any, we make it with rice and garlic naan.
Yay!! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
I liked this recipe. The stew was flavorful and easy to make. It was excellent served with rice. I recommend using the optional jalapeno or serrano pepper as otherwise I fear the stew might be too bland.
🙂 so glad you enjoyed and thank you for the suggestion to others!
I was looking for a Kik Alicha recipe after a friend shared some with me from a local Ethiopian restaurant. It was so incredibly easy to make. I’ve made it twice, always doubling the recipe because it gets devoured. When doubling the recipe, I use a 1/2 cup less liquid because I like my Kik Alicha a little thicker. I also used vegetable stock instead of water and it added another layer of depth to the dish. I brought some for my friend to try and she said it tastes exactly like the Kik Alicha from her favorite restaurant. I never write reviews, but I had to write one because this recipe is THAT good.
Thanks so much for your kind comment, Carly!
Richa, I would love to add potatoes, carrots, cabbage and perhaps celery to this recipe. Would this fit in well, and if so, when and how should I cooked these added veggies?
Add them halfway through cooking and add more spices and salt
Hi, Could you use red lentils for this?
Yes it will need less time to cook
Thank you so much, nice to see such a post to write such a beautiful post, and when I saw this post of yours, I was very happy to see its design and when I read it, I love to appreciate it. Because those who write such a beautiful post must get credit for it.
My partner and I make this recipe at least once a month. It’s an incredible recipe. We eat it with wheat berries and roasted cauliflower. Can’t wait for your instant pot cook book!
I’m excited for you both! thank you, Tom
That sounds delicious! This recipe sounds delicious and reminds me of the dahl my Mom makes. It’s Trinidadian and she chunkkays it – she fries the garlic and geera separately and then adds it to the dahl at the end. Sooo good!!! It’s funny because Richa’s name is close to mine, Rachel, and she looks like she could be my sister 😀 Richa I don’t know how to comment to you, directly! But Tom, I thought your idea of the wheat berries and cauliflower sounded great!!!
nostalgic
This was super yummy! We found it a bit watery, though. We cooked it in the instant pot. Should we’ve adjusted the quantity of water for a pressure cooker?
yes, thank you
Hi Richa,
I only have chana dal (no split peas) at home — but I do have a great Indian market very close by. Should I make a special trip to the market for peas or can I just substitute chana dal in this Kik Alicha recipe?
Yes that will work
Read through the recipe a few times so I’m not sure if I’m missing it or not. Do the instructions mention when to add the cloves and the berbere?
if you want to include the berbere or cloves (spice) just add in step 3 with the turmeric
Hi can you please tell me what is yellow split peas? Is it toor dal/ yellow moong dal or the peas used to make Ragda? Thanks.
Hi Sonal – yes it’s the same ones you would use for toor dal and can be seen here on the photo 2nd row up from the bottom of my Indian Dals Names article: Indian Dals Names. Moong dal peas are similar but not exactly the same as split peas. Ragda typically uses white peas.