Berber

Classic for Ethiopian cuisine, the spicy blend, which features a rich spicy aroma, is called berbere. Notably, today every Ethiopian family has its own recipe for making a fragrant spicy berbere blend.

However, the method of preparing berbere seasoning is traditional, which involves frying red capsicum in a dry pan until it acquires a dark brown color. After that, ginger, black and long peppers, coriander seeds, Greek fenugreek and ajgon are added to it.

Finally, the fried spice mixture is ground and ground to a powdery state. In the finished spicy mixture of berbere, sweet notes in taste are due to the presence of components such as cloves, cardamom, allspice and cinnamon, which definitely bring a special delicacy and uniqueness to this seasoning.

Despite the fact that traditionally the use of berbere is characteristic of Ethiopian cuisine, today this fragrant spicy mixture is gaining popularity around the world. Berbere is usually added, first of all, to lamb-based dishes, while a sharper version of this seasoning is used in the preparation of vegetable stews, soups, as well as meals from stewed vegetables and meat. In addition, berbere is often part of rice dishes.

A much more burning and spicy berbere seasoning is presented in the form of a pasty mixture of red color, which is recommended to be used in small quantities. In general, both types of this mixture for their intended purpose are considered universal and suitable for a variety of dishes from meat, fish, poultry, legumes and vegetables.

Composition of Berbere

The composition of berbere is quite extensive - this seasoning includes many components that can be sorted according to the descending frequency of spices in different formulations. So, the main and unchanged components of bereber are hot pepper, sweet paprika, cardamom and fenugrek, which are used in equal proportions.

In addition, the composition of bereber is impossible without the addition of cloves, Jamaican pepper, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, turmeric, nutmeg, garlic, onion, ajgon (ajwana), thyme and basil.

In dry mixtures, these components are used dry, but these components acquire a special and far from nominal sound as part of a berbere in the form of a paste, to which they are necessarily added fresh. Ginger and hot pepper along with the rest of the ingredients are also used fresh in berber paste.