from Spiced
Carom seeds are known as nech azmud in Ethiopia, meaning “white cumin,” and the Ethiopians and Eritreans use it widely in their breads, spice blends, and stews, such as this recipe. The prolonged cooking breaks down carom’s volatile thymol compounds, replacing the sharpness with a warm, earthy, beautifully bitter background note. But when sprinkled again as a finishing spice, they bring an herby jolt to this finished slow-cooked stew. Lesser known outside the Horn of Africa, duba wot is a fasting-time staple for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, when meat is avoided. Here, gourds and squashes thrive in cooler seasons, and duba wot follows the same flavor-building tradition as its famous twin doro wot, the chicken stew, relying on slow-cooked onions and the heady scent of Berbere. Duba wot is served as part of communal dining where each diner pinches off a piece of flatbread and scoops up the rich stew from a sharing platter.
INGREDIENTS
2 tomatoes, quartered
3 1/ 2 tablespoons neutral oil, plus extra if needed
1 small pumpkin, about 1 lb 9 oz / 700 g, peeled and cut into cubes
4 yellow onions, finely chopped
1-oz /30-g piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Berbere
1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain, nech azmud), ground into a coarse powder
1/ 2 teaspoon korerima seeds, crushed into a fine powder
salt
steamed long-grain rice, Injera, or flatbreads, to serve
DIRECTIONS
Fill a saucepan with water, bring it to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and drop in the quartered tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until softened, then lift the tomatoes out with a slotted spoon and let them cool enough to touch. Slip their skins off, place them in a blender, and blend into a smooth purée. Set aside. You can reserve the boiling water for use later in the recipe.
In a large, heavy Dutch oven (casserole), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin cubes, first moving and then turning them occasionally so they brown evenly. Cook for 15 minutes, or until golden and slightly charred. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
In the same pan, heat a little more oil if needed, then add the onions and season with salt. It may appear to be a lot, but this is really foundational to the flavor, so take 20–25 minutes to let the onions soften and caramelize and reduce to nearly half their volume. You can also keep the pot covered with a lid, which can help soften them faster. Once the onions are translucent, uncover and add the ginger and garlic, stirring until their raw aroma mellows, about 5 minutes. Pour in the tomato purée and simmer for 15 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in the spice blend and most of the powdered carom seeds, reserving a little for the garnish. Let it cook for 20 minutes, or until a thin layer of oil forms on top. Taste the stew and adjust with more salt or berbere, if needed.
Return the pumpkin pieces to the pan and add 1 cup (8 fl oz / 250 ml) of the reserved water from boiling the tomatoes, just enough to submerge them. Let it all simmer over medium heat until the pumpkin pieces are fork-tender and infused with the sauce’s flavors, about 15 minutes more.
Sprinkle with the remaining crushed carom seeds and the korerima powder for a bright, citrusy note and serve warm with rice, injera, or flatbreads
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: Check your bulk food store for unusual spices that the local grocer doesn’t carry. Alternatively, try a spice source online like The Gorgeous Spice Co. | You don’t just want to cook. You want to thrill. or The Spice Merchant l Spice Shop l Calgary
Excerpted from Spiced: Recipes Celebrating Spices from Around the World © 2026 by Priya Mani. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved. Spiced: Recipes Celebrating Spices from Around the World | Standard Edition | 9781837292653 – Phaidon