Berbere
Bringing that flavour of Ethiopia to your kitchen.
Both full of flavour and heat, this spice is not for the faint of heart – or taste buds. Our version of Berbere has been crafted to bring the heat but not so much its unbearable!
Berbere is fantastic as a rub for meat, poultry and fish, a seasoning for stews, soups, grains, and vegetables. Berbere is a wonderful all-purpose seasoning and a must have for your pantry with a flavour profile of hot, peppery, earthy & richly aromatic, this flavourful spice is used in Ethiopia cuisine on & in just about everything.
In Amharic, the state language of Ethiopia, ‘barbare’ means pepper or hot. Not surprisingly, berbere spice, the flavour backbone of Ethiopian cooking, gives traditional Ethiopian dishes that fiery kick.
Two thousand years ago, it was part of the Aksum kingdom, which included parts of modern-day Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen, and southern Saudi Arabia. More importantly, it bordered the Red Sea and scholars speculate that the name ‘barbare’ came from ‘papare,’ the Ge’ez word for pepper (Ge’ez was the language of ancient Ethiopia). the more probable theory is that berbere came at a point in Ethiopia’s history when the independent Axumite kingdom controlled the Red Sea route to the Silk Road. The Axumites knew the secrets of the monsoon winds and harnessed it to send their ships toward India in summer, and back again to Africa in winter.
Berbere may be considered as an exotic spice blend and difficult to use, it’s more of a spicy general-purpose blend, packed full of flavour and consisting of a range of very common spices. You don’t have to be cooking Ethiopian cuisine to utilise Berbere it works exceptionally well as a “dry rub” use it as an addition to Sauce and stews for a spicy kick of flavour the possibilities are endless.
Traditional ways to use Berbere are as a seasoning for Doro wat (chicken Stew), Misir wat (spiced red Lentil stew), Chechebsa (Ethiopian flat bread breakfast) or can be added as a base or Awaze (spicy sauce)
If you're looking to make a great marinade for your chicken, 1 tbsp of berbere with a pinch of salt and rub all over the chicken allow to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight and then cook using your favourite method. - Delicious.
Fry it! Braise it! Smoke it! Roast it! BBQ it! Chef it!
