Ethiopian Feast: Yekik Alicha (Turmeric Yellow Split Peas)
Don’t you think this dish is kind of unusually beautiful?
Maybe it’s just me, but I could not get over just how yellow these split peas came out! Between these and the lentils, which were brilliantly red, I felt like the colors were so rich I could paint with them! And quite frankly…I may as well have been if you saw my kitchen after I made them both, LOL.
Really these weren’t like super messy to make or anything, I’m just uncommonly messy. Like…it’s a real issue that everyone who knows me will attest to. And the more I think about how messy I am being, and try to be super clean, the worse it gets. No, I don’t know how that’s possible.
Let’s talk about Yekik Alicha. It’s an Ethiopian stew made with yellow split peas, but the overwhelming yellow coloring of the dish come from turmeric (the same spice that colored and flavored yesterday’s recipe). Yekik Alicha is a bit milder than Yemisir Wot, but arguably as delicious. Like the other dishes I have shared, this one starts out very similarly—with onions, garlic, and ginger cooked in oil. I kind of think of that like the Ethiopian version of mirepoix, lol.
I know I said the lentils were my favorite, but these are so super close behind! Really, you just need to make all of the recipes—I can’t stress that enough.
PrintYekik Alicha (Turmeric Yellow Split Peas)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried yellow split peas
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 small to medium yellow onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, pureed
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, pureed
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
Directions:
- Rinse the split peas and put them in a small saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for five minutes, and then turn off the heat and allow the peas to sit in the water until ready to use.
- In a large dutch oven, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add in the onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes. Add in the garlic, ginger, and turmeric, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Drain the split peas and add them to the pot. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Add in the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for around 45 minutes until thick and the split peas are tender. Season, to taste, with salt.
recipe adapted from here
This looks awesome! I’m a sucker for all sorts of legume dishes, like the lentils you posted and these (in fact, the “no legumes” rule was the deal breaker for me even considering Whole 30!). For some reason, I expected the ingredient list and/or the instructions to be more complex, but I’m pleasantly surprised at how simple this dish is.
Tomorrow is Melkam Gena – the Ethiopian Christmas celebration. I’m so impressed with your dishes and I can’t wait to see what my family has to say when they sample several tomorrow! I’ll let you know 🙂
Oh my gosh! How cool!! I hope they like them!
I made this following your recipe. It was so delicious and my 15 month old went crazy for it. It’s going to be a staple in our house. Thanks!
That makes me so happy to hear! I’m so glad!
[…] Not one thing. After some research, I knew that this was the recipe I had to make! I’m going to be completely honest and say that I don’t even know enough to adapt a recipe, so please go visit the original source at Spache the Spatula. […]
This looks delicious. Question about cooking the peas. how long do you let them sit in the hot water? I was using them in another dish this past weekend and they went from solid to mush pretty quick I’d like them to have some texture like these do. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
[…] found on The Daring Gourmet. African Bites supplied instruction for the collard greens, while Spache the Spatula inspired the yellow peas. Finally, YumUniverse provided directions for making […]
[…] oats w/ dehydrated beet, alfalfa, barley & pomegranate juice powders, walnuts, almond milk * Tumeric Yellow Split Pea (but exclude oil) * BerberĂ© Ethiopian Stew (but I used arugula instead of kale) * Chickpea Turnip […]
Hi, I am stuck at home using up things in my pantry. Which would work better for this recipe, dried green split peas or yellow lentils? Not sure what is the difference between them.
Thank you!
Hi Trudy! You could use green split peas! The taste will be slightly varied, but it should still taste delicious!
Thank you for the recipe. I made it exactly as outlined in the recipe and was a bit let down by the flavors at first. But the leftovers the next day! WOW! The flavors really melded in the refrigerator. I recommend mentioning that in your post. I can’t wait to make this again! Way better (and cheaper) than what I get at the local Ethiopian restaurant.
Oh gosh yes all of the Ethiopian dishes just get better and better in the fridge! SO glad you ended up liking it 🙂
This looks really delicious! however I cannot eat coconut oil can I substitute it with olive oil without compromising the flavour?
Yes! Or try avocado oil 🙂
I replaced the coconut oil by 1 tbsp of olive oil and cooked it in my Instant Pot for 15 min on manual pressure with NR and it came out perfect! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you for the cook times, I had forgotten. This recipe is missing a few key ingredients but it has the bones of a good yekik alicha. Try bishops weed (carom).
Mine turned out a lot less bright yellow than this, more brown, any ideas what this could be? I used 2 teaspoons of turmeric
[…] 7. Yekik Alicha (Turmeric Yellow Split Peas) […]
Hi, I tried this recipe and it was good, but couldn’t get it to come out as bright yellow as your photo, was more of an orange, curry colour. Any ideas why this could be?
The only thing I could think would be using green split peas instead of yellow?
it’s lit
Haha 🙌 Thank you
[…] to ferment and honestly, I was not impressed with my results, but the rest of it was delicious (yekik alicha, tofu tibs, misir wet, doro […]
Hi,
What does it mean to let the peas sit until “ready to use”? Are they soft enough to eat at that point? Hiw doesn’t usually sit for? I would like to try but want to make sure I allow enough time to prepare it.
Thanks!
Hi Lela! I just meant to leave them there until you have finished the other steps in the recipe. They are ready at that point!