Berbere Sauce

Rita~'s Note:

African Spice mix

• Total Time: 10 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 15

Yield: 1.0 cup

• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 4 whole cloves
• 8 cardamom pods
• ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
• ¼ teaspoon whole allspice
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds , whole
• ½ teaspoon coriander seed
• ½ cup dried shallots
• 3 dried red chilies
• 3 dried Thai chiles
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. In a small frying pan, combine the cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom pods, black pepper, allspice, fenugreek and Coriander seeds.
2. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.
3. Place in a blender or coffee grinder used for spices, add shallots and whirl until finely ground.
4. Discard stems and seeds from chilies. Break up the pods and process until ground.
5. Combine with the toasted seasonings and the remaining spices.
6. Refrigerate in a well-sealed jar or a tightly closed plastic bag.

Reviews

[Maito]

I used this spice mix in West African Barbecue Sauce. I subbed cayenne pepper for the chilis, and added a little paprika. This was very easy and gives you the freshness of all the spices. A quarter recipe makes plenty for several recipes. Thanks!

[Chef Kate]

I needed this for Yetakelt W'et and was so happy to find this recipe. I halved the recipe which gave me what I needed for the vegetable stew and left enough over to fill a small spice jar. The resulting stew was wonderful, in part because of this spice mix. Thanks, Rita!