Yebeg Wat

Eaten on the Ethiopian Orthodox calendar when the fasting period breaks. The most famous occasion is Fasika (Ethiopian Easter), the year's biggest break-fast, when families slaughter livestock at dawn after the overnight vigil and cook through the day. Note, however, that the most iconic Fasika dish is doro wat (chicken stew with whole boiled eggs); lamb is more a dish of households who can afford it, or of the extended feasting in the days after, rather than the universal centerpiece. The lamb itself carries Easter symbolism, echoing the ram God substituted for Abraham's son and read as a foreshadowing of Christ as the sacrificial Lamb. The hard-boiled egg sitting in the sauce absorbs berbere oil and becomes a delicacy in its own right — often given to a guest as a mark of respect. The egg is also widely said to symbolize resurrection, though this is more a popular reading than church doctrine.

The Fasika (Ethiopian Easter) lamb stew — families slaughter at dawn and cook through the day. Qulet is the load-bearing step: dry-cook onion-and-berbere paste 45 to 60 minutes before any liquid hits, or the stew tastes raw and sharp no matter how long it simmers.

Lamb shoulder cut into thumb-size chunks, simmered in a brick-red sauce thick enough to coat a piece of injera without dripping. Berbere does the heat; long-cooked onion does the body. Bone-in pieces are common — the marrow goes into the sauce. Served with injera and a hard-boiled egg sitting on top, scored so the sauce gets in.

The base is qulet — a slow-cooked onion-and-berbere paste, cooked dry in a heavy pot for 45 minutes to an hour before any liquid hits. The onions break down completely and the berbere blooms in their released sugars; only then does the lamb go in. Skip the qulet stage and the stew tastes raw and sharp no matter how long it simmers.