Berbere Spice is a spice blend that originates from Ethiopia and Eritrea. In Ethiopia, this spice is used in virtually every dish as it provides the foundation for the flavor. The spice blend contains a variety of spices such as coriander, allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, fenugreek, ginger, black pepper and red chili peppers.
You can buy Berbere Spice in most grocery stores or you can make it yourself. It’s not too hard to make and you will enjoy the freshness of the ingredients.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
6 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods (use green if possible)
3/4 teaspoon whole allspice berries
1 cinnamon stick (about 1-inch long)
5 dried red chile peppers (you can use any type except chipotle)
4 teaspoons ground turmeric powder
4 teaspoons paprika powder (you can use sweet or hot)
2 teaspoons ground ginger powder**
In a large bowl, combine the lamb, Berbere Spice, ginger and garlic. Toss to coat evenly. Marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Add the onion and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add the lamb mixture and sauté until meat is browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste and chicken stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until lamb is tender, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with cilantro sprigs.
For the lamb:
To make the berbere spice mix, combine all ingredients in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind to a powder.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Cook lamb, turning occasionally, for 8 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer to a 5L (20-cup) slow cooker.
Add onion, garlic and ginger to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until onion is soft. Add water, scraping base of pan with a wooden spoon to remove any cooked-on bits. Add stock cube and spices to pan. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat and pour over lamb in slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on high for 4 hours.
Add sweet potato to slow cooker for final hour of cooking time or until sweet potato is tender and lamb is falling off the bone. Stir through spinach until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper before serving with couscous.
Berbere is a spice found in Ethiopia. It has a rich red color and adds a very nice flavor to stews and other dishes. In Ethiopia, it is used mainly with meat. Today, I will show you how to make Berbere Spice.
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cardamon powder
2 Tablespoon sweet paprika
2 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper (I like using freshly ground black pepper)
1 teaspoon salt (I like using flakey sea salt)
2 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon ginger powder or fresh grated ginger
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Store in an air tight container. Use as desired. This can also be used as a rub for meats before roasting it in the oven.
Berbere is a spice blend used in Ethiopian cooking. Berbere is a bright red, medium-hot chili pepper powder with a complex flavor that combines heat and fruitiness with notes of garlic, ginger and coriander. You can make your own berbere spice at home or buy it ready made. If you make it yourself, it will always be fresher than anything you buy in the store, and you can adjust the spices to suit your individual tastes.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
10 black peppercorns
5 allspice berries
5 dried red chilies (such as arbol) stemmed and halved lengthwise
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
4 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled and smashed to break skins (about 2 tablespoons)
3 (3 inch) strips orange peel (no white pith), from 1 orange Directions: Use a coffee grinder, mortar and pestle or food processor to grind or crush each ingredient into a fine powder or paste. Blend all ingredients together in a large bowl. Store berbere in an airtight
Making Berbere spice is an easy and fun process. You will need to make sure you have the following ingredients ready:
– 1-Cup dried red chilies
– 1-tablespoon cardamom seeds
– 2 -teaspoons coriander seeds
– 2 -teaspoons fenugreek seeds
– 2 -teaspoons cumin seeds
– 1 -teaspoon black peppercorns
– 3 – Tablespoons paprika
Once you have these ingredients handy, you can start to process them in a food processor or spice grinder. Make sure the spices are ground into a fine powder and mixed well. You can then store this spice in an air tight container for future use.
The Berbere spice is mainly used to add flavor to the traditional Ethiopian dish called wat. It is also used in other meals such as the Tagine. This spice is a mixture of several ingredients including cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and ginger, which are all ground together to form this spice.
Berbere Spice Recipe
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon Cardamom seeds, 1/2 teaspoon Cloves, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon powder, 1/4 teaspoon Ginger powder, 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper or Allspice or Nutmeg (optional), 3 tablespoons Paprika
How to Prepare it: Use a mortar and pestle to grind the cardamom seeds into smaller pieces. Add in the cloves and continue grinding until they are crushed too. Add in the cinnamon powder, ginger powder and any other spices you want to use then continue grinding until everything is well mixed. Add in the paprika while continuing grinding until everything is well combined. Store in an airtight container for later use.
The Berbere spice can be used with many other dishes apart from wat and tagine depending on your preference. The spices can be bought already pre-ground or you can buy them whole and grind them yourself at home to make the spice.
