Re: [CH] Ethiopian food
Linda L Huegel (huegel@email.unc.edu)
Sat, 14 Sep 2002 11:54:48 -0400 (EDT)
On Sat, 14 Sep 2002, M. & L. Doster wrote:
> The interesting thing about Ethiopian cuisine is the use of many herbs and
> spices (besides the extensive use of hot peppers). I don't know too much
> about the actual pepper used, which is called berbere. Berbere is also used
> to refer to the pepper/spice blend used in cooking. I have a cookbook on
> Ethiopian cooking from Ethiopia and this is the recipe for the berbere spice
> blend:
> 30 ladles red pepper (a ladle = 10 tbsp or 3/4 cup)
> 5 ladles red shallot
> 5 ladles garlic
> 1 1/2 ladles ginger
> 1/2 ladle fenugreek
> 1 ladle Bishop's weed
> 1 ladle black cumin
> 23 pods cardamon
> 1/4 ladle kebebe sine (no English for this plant)
> 1/4 ladle hidar filfile
> 1/2 ladle cinnamon
> 1 ladle dry Bishop's weed
> 1/4 ladle black pepper
> 3/4 ladle salt
> 2 ladles water
>
I make a pretty good berbere powder - it's not dreadfully hot, but has an
incredible flavor. you can add cayenne powder after it's all mixed up or
actually, the apple smoked hab powder that so many of us are addicted to
would be WONDERFUL in this. Try it without doctoring the heat level,
first, though - it's VERY flavorful, and you don't want to lose that to a
heat that's just too far gone.
in a frying pan, toast together:
2 tsp cumin seed,
4-6 cloves, whole,
3/4 teaspoon decorticated cardamom (this means without the green cover),
about 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds.
when these are toasted, throw them while still hot into your spice mill
and add about 8-10 dried red chiles of your preference. i use dried thais
because i like their heat level and flavor, myself. you could use any red
chile of about that heat level, if you prefer another flavor.
in a plastic baggie (for mixking's sake) place this powder from your
spice mill. add to it, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric, a
pinch of salt (optional) a little cinnamon, and sweet paprika to double
the volume you already have. shake well, and place in an airtight jar.
the other main spice/flavoring agent used is niter kibeb, spiced ghee.
take a pound of butter.
add to it, over medium heat: one small onion, chopped fine
garlic to taste (i'm a fiend for garlic and i use about six cloves - it
gets overpowering really fast in this stuff)
about a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger -
this is about a three inch piece chopped fine if you don't grate it
1/2 to 3/4 tteaspoon turmeric
1 whole 4-inch cinnamon stick
about ten cloves
1/2 a whole nutmeg
a good shake of dried basil - maybe a teaspoon or thereabouts
about 25 fenugreek seeds - maybe 1/4 teaspoon
4-5 cardamom pods, broken up a bit.(or about a teaspoon of the
decorticated seeds.)
heat this all up, stir occasionally, and let it cook on low til the garlic
and milk solids and onions have started to brown. you want this to be a
slow process - if it's too fast, you won't get the wonderful nutty-sweet
flavor.
once everything cooks together, (which usually takes about 45 minutes to
an hour in my house, on my crappy electric stove), strain this hot butter
through a coffee filter or cheesecloth to get all the solids out. what
you're left with is bright golden spiced butter. (you can blame the color
on the turmeric - that's its' main function in this stuff)
Both the berbere and the niter kibeb keep really well, if you seal the
berbere in an airtight jar, and the niter kibeb in the fridge. I've kept
niter kibeb more than a year, it does not get rancid. the berbere loses
some of the subtler flavors after about six months, but i've never had a
batch stay in the house that long.
The berbere makes for a WONDERFUL dry rub for steak or chicken to be
grilled, or mix with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and LOTS of crushed
garlic for an incredible marinade.
The Niter kibeb can be used just about anywhere you'd normally use a
cooking fat, but only for savory dishes. sweet doesn't work as well as
i'd hoped with this stuff.
Have fun with it - it's good stuff:)
Linda
____________________________________________________________________________
Linda Huegel
ICQ:7956349 AIM:SCAWench
Others have the look of death, I have the grin of extreme pain.
eris@ntrnet.net huegel@email.unc.edu
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