Berbere Spiced Lentils

Also known as misir wat, these Ethiopian spiced red lentils are easy to make and pack in a ton of flavor in a simple-looking package. We made misir wat when Adiam Tsegaye joined us for a collaboration dinner in 2022. The flavor in this dish comes from berbere, a complex spice blend consisting of various chiles, warm spices like allspice and cinnamon, and punchy, earthy spices like cumin and cardamom. While we were lucky enough to use Adiam’s mother’s homemade berbere, any store-bought kind