Several properties distinguish wats from stews of other cultures.
Perhaps the most obvious is an unusual cooking technique: the preparation of a wat begins with chopped onions slow cooked, without any fat or oil, in a dry skillet or pot until much of their moisture has been driven away.
Fat (usually niter kibbeh) is then added, and the onions and other aromatics are sautéed before the addition of other ingredients.
This method causes the onions to break down and thicken the stew.

Wat is traditionally eaten with injera, a spongy flat bread made from the millet-like grain known as teff.
  There are many types of wats.
The popular ones are doro wat and siga wat, (Ge'ez: ሥጋ śigā) made with beef.
Several properties distinguish wats from stews of other cultures. Perhaps the most obvious is an unusual cooking technique: the preparation of a wat begins with chopped onions slow cooked, without any fat or oil, in a dry skillet or pot until much of their moisture has been driven away. Fat (usually niter kibbeh) is then added, and the onions and other aromatics are sautéed before the addition of other ingredients. This method causes the onions to break down and thicken the stew.
Wat is traditionally eaten with injera, a spongy flat bread made from the millet-like grain known as teff.   There are many types of wats. The popular ones are doro wat and siga wat, (Ge'ez: ሥጋ śigā) made with beef.
Wat (food)