Gomen Wat is a traditional Ethiopian collard green recipe. Vegan and gluten-free as written, this is a flavorful and nutritious side dish - perfect for adding some spice to your dinner!
2tomatoesdiced finely, substitute tomato paste or sauce
1jalapenojulienned or sliced into thin strips, adjust to spice level
6clovesgarlicminced, measure this with your heart!
1teaspoonginger paste
1teaspooncumin powdersee notes for spice blend
½teaspooncardamom powdersee notes for spice blend
½teaspoonred chili powdersee notes for spice blend
2lbscollard greens or kalesee notes
1teaspoonsalt
1tablespoonchopped basiloptional, for garnish
Instructions
Wash the greens thoroughly. Then, chop them as small as you can. You can either do this by hand, or you can just add them to a food processor and blitz them.
Add one tablespoon of avocado oil to a large skillet and heat on medium-heat. Then add the chopped onions, tomatoes, minced garlic and a pinch of salt to the skillet and sauté until soft (about 5 to 7 minutes).
Once the mixture is cooked, add the ginger paste to the skillet and toss to coat. Turn down the heat at this stage so that the mixture doesn't burn.
Now, add cumin, cardamom and red chili powder to the skillet along with ¼ cup of water. Allow it to simmer a bit to indicate it's well combined. Note: If using just mitmita, add a teaspoon of the spice along with the water. Don't allow this to cook for too long since it can form a bitter taste.
Now, add the chopped collard greens or kale to the skillet in small increments. Stir so the greens the spice mixture mix quite well together, and increase the heat to medium-high. Cover, and allow it to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, checking on it every 5 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn.
Season the dish with salt to taste, and then add the sliced jalapeños. Cover and allow this to cook for another 5 minutes, until the raw taste is gone from the jalapeños. Garnish with basil (optional) and serve hot!
Notes
Choice of skillet: It's important to use a large skillet for this dish. We'll be using a large amount of greens to start with, and though they'll reduce quite a bit at the end, it's important to have sufficient space to add the greens at the beginning so they don't cook at different rates!
Going oil-free: This recipe can easily be made oil-free. Start with a splash of vegetable broth while cooking the onions and tomatoes. Then, add a bit more in place of avocado oil. It tastes just as delicious!
Amount of garlic: I tend to use anywhere between 4 to 6 cloves of garlic in this recipe because it really brings out the flavors! But if you're not a garlic fiend, please feel free to reduce this to suit your taste!
Spice blend:
Traditionally, gomen is made with a spice blend called mitmita. This is made with dried and ground African bird's eye chili, garlic, ginger, cardamom, cloves and peppercorns.
Since mitmita is not super easy to find in all the places, so I've used a spice blend that mimics the flavor reasonably well!
Kochkocha (which means "spicy pounded green pepper sauce" in the Oromo language) is a green spicy sauce made with onions, basil, cumin, ginger, cardamom and nearly a pound of jalapeños. If you wish, you can also make this sauce separately and then add this at the very end, right as you add the julienned jalapeños.