If you can find an Ethiopian restaurant or grocery store or a nice spice store you can find some of these ingredients (mostly berbere spice blend or real nitter kibbeh which isn't vegan) otherwise you can follow the secondary recipes to make them from scratch. Apologies for the slightly orientalist language below, this recipe is from the forks over knives cookbook but trust me, it's bomb. This dish (misir wot) is traditionally vegetarian anyway so I don't think making it vegan compromises the flavor at all. They recommend frying the ingredients in water to keep it healthier but frying in cooking oil works fine too and is a bit less fiddly.
Ethiopian Lentil Stew (Serves "4", we usually double this recipe and add chopped onions. I'd keep the water and spices the same when doubling.) it also works great in a slow cooker.
THIS EXOTICALLY FLAVORFUL soup from the horn of Africa is made with a spice blend called berbere and the spiced, clarified butter known as Nitter Kibbeh. You can easily make your own Berbere Spice Blend, or buy it in most spice stores. Its flavor is quite unique, so do not substitute curry powder; the minimal effort of finding or making the berbere spice is well worth it. See below for recipes for these ingredients.
1/4 cup Nitter Kibbeh.
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced.
2 to 3 tablespoons Berbere Spice Blend.
2 large tomatoes, diced.
1 1/2 cups red lentils (about 1/2 pound), rinsed.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Warm the nitter kibbeh, garlic, and berbere spice in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes, or until the tomatoes have started to break down. Add the lentils and 5 cups of water and bring the pan to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Additional ingredient recipes below: Niter Kibbeh
ETHIOPIAN CLARIFIED BUTTER is usually made from spices cooked in fat. This version suspends the flavor in caramelized onions to make a relish can be used in traditional recipes like Ethiopian Lentil Stew or as a topping for baked potatoes or steamed sweet potatoes, or mixed into cooked rice or quinoa for a flavorful change.
MAKES 1 1/2 CUPS (We usually double this recipe and freeze it in ½ cup batches)
2 pounds yellow onions, peeled and diced small.
9 cloves garlic, peeled and minced.
1 tablespoon grated ginger.
1/2 tablespoon turmeric.
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom.
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.
1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Place the onions in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir frequently, adding water only as needed to keep the onions from sticking to the pan, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the onions are browned. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water and scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to pick up and incorporate the bits on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree, adding water as needed to make a smooth and creamy consistency. This will keep, refrigerated, for up to 7 days.
Berbere Spice Blend
1 tablespoon paprika.
1 teaspoon ground allspice.
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
1 teaspoon ground cardamom.
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
1 teaspoon ground cloves.
1 teaspoon ground coriander.
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek.
1 teaspoon ground ginger.
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
1 teaspoon turmeric
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well to blend. Store in an airtight container. To make it less spicy, reduce or omit the cayenne pepper.
It's a lot of effort to make one batch of this but if you make a double batch of the nitter kibbeh and freeze it in small batches it cuts down on the prep time for future batches of stew considerably. Ditto if you keep some pre-blended berberre spices on hand. The stew itself also freezes well. To stretch it further you can serve it over rice, quinoa, couscous, etc. or with a side of injera bread.