Berbere Spice is a one of the most basic elements of Ethiopian cooking. What salt and pepper are to American cooking, Berebere spice is to Ethiopian cooking. Well, sort of. One big difference……. HEAT! Think fiery….. hot…..spicy! It is a bright red spice mixture – largely due to the huge quantity of cayenne pepper usually found in the mix. What makes this spice so interesting is that it is not just about the heat. There are a lot of complex flavors going on here. This spice blend includes about a dozen different spices – most of which you probably already have on hand – besides maybe the cardamom and fenugreek??
There are many ways to make Berbere. Some recipes include spices that grow wild or are cultivated in Ethiopia such as korarima, ajwain, and nigella. Some recipes begin with whole seeds that are toasted and then ground. This makes for a more flavorful blend. But for our purposes, which is making this spice blend “kid friendly” (both in the “making” and “eating” categories!), we are going to make a few modifications.
“Kid Friendly” Berbere Spice
Most recipes use larger amounts of cayenne pepper than paprika, but since we are trying to appeal to the kiddos, we’re going to tone this down……considerably. Begin with a base of 1/2 cup of paprika and 1/4 cup of cayenne pepper. That’s the big pile in the middle of this picture – the bright red is the cayenne pepper; the more brown color is the paprika.
Then add the following:
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp fenugreek
- 1 tsp ginger
- 2 Tbsp salt
Mix all of the spices together in a bowl.
Store in a small jar with a cute label 🙂
Now, how to cook with Berbere. Try this very traditional Ethiopian dish called Doro W’et. Don’t worry. We made this one “kid friendly” too!
[gmc_recipe 2479]