Berbere Spice Blend
The essential complex spice blend of Habesha cuisine, the soul of doro wat and countless other Ethiopian and Eritrean dishes.
Condiment
Vegan
How this varies: Some Ethiopian and Eritrean households add dried besobela (Ethiopian holy basil) or a pinch of rue for a more herbal, savory note — berbere recipes are strongly regional and family-specific, so a "core" 12-15 ingredient version like this is a reasonable general-audience baseline rather than the only correct formula.
Ingredients
- 8-10 whole dried chilies (a mix of Kashmiri and New Mexico/guajillo, or dried Ethiopian mitmita chilies if available), stemmed and seeded
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds, toasted
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted
- 2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns, toasted
- 1 tsp korarima (Ethiopian black cardamom) pods, seeds only (or substitute green cardamom)
- 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp allspice berries
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp dried onion flakes
- 1 tbsp dried garlic flakes
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Steps
- Toast the whole dried chilies in a dry skillet over low heat 1-2 minutes until fragrant and pliable but not scorched; let cool, then grind to a powder.
- Toast the fenugreek, coriander, cumin, peppercorns, korarima, cloves, and allspice in the same dry pan over low heat until fragrant, 2-3 minutes; grind to a fine powder.
- Combine the ground chilies and ground toasted spices with the paprika, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, dried onion and garlic flakes, and salt.
- Mix thoroughly and store in an airtight jar away from light for up to 6 months.
- Use generously in doro wat, or bloom in warm niter kibbeh or oil to build a stew base.