Ethiopian Peak-Harvest Vegetable Alicha with Cabbage, Carrots and Turmeric Butter

Melt the butter with the oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-low heat.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (55 g) unsalted butter or nit'ir qibe spiced butter
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
• 1 small green cabbage (about 2 lb / 900 g), cut into thick wedges
• 4 large carrots, cut into thick batons
• 1 lb (450 g) waxy potatoes, cut into large chunks
• 2 mild green chilies, halved lengthwise
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water or vegetable stock
• Fine sea salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Melt the butter with the oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-low heat.
2. Add the onions and a good pinch of salt and cook slowly for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until deeply soft and pale gold. This unhurried onion base is what separates a real alicha from a boiled vegetable pot — give it the full time.
3. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook 2 minutes more, until fragrant.
4. Add the turmeric, cardamom, and fenugreek and stir for 30 seconds to bloom the spices in the fat.
5. Add the potatoes and carrots, turning to coat them thoroughly in the yellow spiced butter.
6. Pour in the water, season with salt, cover, and simmer gently for 12 minutes.
7. Nestle the cabbage wedges and green chilies on top, cover again, and cook 15 to 20 minutes more, until everything is tender and the liquid has reduced to a glossy, buttery sauce that clings rather than pools.
8. Taste and adjust the salt. Let it rest off the heat for 10 minutes — alicha always tastes better once it settles.
9. Serve warm with injera, flatbread, or rice, spooning the buttery pan juices over everything.
10. Alicha is the gentle half of the Ethiopian stew repertoire, the counterweight to the fiery berbere-red wat: no chili heat, just turmeric, ginger, and the perfume of cardamom and fenugreek carried on butter. Traditionally it comes into its own during the fasting calendar and at the end of the summer rains, when cabbage, carrots, and potatoes come in together — which is exactly what the late-August market stall looks like almost everywhere. Served as one shared dish torn into with bread, it makes a case that a vegetable dinner needs no apology.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 290 kcal
• Protein: 6g
• Fat: 14g
• Carbohydrates: 39g
• Fiber: 8g
• Sugar: 12g
• Sodium: 480mg