Berbere spice blend
Vegetarian
በርበሬ · bärbäre
A brick-red Ethiopian and Eritrean blend of roasted dried chillies and paprika with fenugreek, coriander, cardamom, ajwain, allspice, cloves, ginger and black pepper. Hot, earthy and warmly spiced, it seasons doro wat, misir wot and tibs.
Berbere spice blend is an Ethiopian condiment, ready in about 30 minutes and made with dried whole chillies, paprika and fenugreek. It serves 24 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Serves
- 24
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 8
Method
Step 1
Cut the chillies open, shake out the seeds and tear into flat pieces. Roast them in a dry pan over medium-low heat, pressing flat, for 1–2 minutes until they darken slightly, smell fruity and turn crisp on cooling. Remove.
- 3 min
- medium-low heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Roasting chillies gives off pungent fumes; ventilate the kitchen and keep your face back from the pan.
Step 2
Roast the coriander, peppercorns (opens in a new tab), allspice (opens in a new tab), cloves (opens in a new tab) and cardamom pods (opens in a new tab) for 2–3 minutes until fragrant and the coriander is a shade darker. Tip out.
- 3 min
- medium-low heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
Step 3
Lower the heat and roast the fenugreek (opens in a new tab) and ajwain (opens in a new tab) for about 1 minute, just until the fenugreek turns pale gold.
- 1 min
- low heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
Step 4
Tip the spices onto a cold plate and let them cool completely, about 10 minutes, before grinding — warm spices release oil and turn pasty in the grinder. Shell the cardamom (opens in a new tab).
- 10 min
Step 5
Grind the chillies and whole spices to a fine powder in a spice grinder in batches. Sift, regrind the coarse bits, then stir in the paprika (opens in a new tab), ginger, cinnamon (opens in a new tab), nutmeg (opens in a new tab) and salt.
How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands, Ethiopia · Well documentedIn Ethiopia berbere is traditionally made from sun-dried chillies pounded with fresh garlic, ginger and shallot, then dried again. This all-dry version with paprika is a common adaptation outside Ethiopia; korarima (Ethiopian cardamom) is replaced by green cardamom.Also popular in EritreaMore food from Ethiopia
- Dish
- Condiments, chutneys & relishes
- Cooking method
- Toasted
- Taste
- spicy (chilli heat), earthy, aromatic / warmly spiced, smoky
- Diet
- Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Batch cooking
- Cook more with
- Dried whole chillies · Paprika · Fenugreek · Coriander seeds · Cardamom · Black peppercorns
- Techniques
- Toasting · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Dry grinding
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
8 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 3 g · recipe makes 24
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 15%
- Carbohydrate 60%
- Fat 25%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 8 kcal | 278 kcal |
| Protein | 0.4 g | 11.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 1.6 g | 53.8 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 0.8 g | 27.9 g |
| Sugars | — | — |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 0.8 g | 25.8 g |
| Fat | 0.3 g | 9.4 g |
| Saturated fat | 0 g | 1.7 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 82 mg | 2739 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.2 g | 6.8 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 55 mg
- Calcium
- 7 mg
- Iron
- 0.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 5 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 28 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 1 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): ajwain.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Berbere is meant to be cooked slowly in niter kibbeh or oil with lots of onion; it is rarely sprinkled raw.
- Swap in a third hot chillies (such as árbol) for a fiercer blend.
Common mistakes
- Burning the chillies — they go from fragrant to bitter in seconds.
- Grinding with the chilli seeds in, which adds heat but a gritty texture.
Serve with
- Doro wat, misir wot (red lentils), beef tibs, shiro, zigni and mixed with oil or tej as awaze dip.
Food safety
- Store in a clean, completely dry, airtight jar away from light and heat; always use a dry spoon. Ground blends lose aroma steadily after the first month.
- Wear gloves or wash your hands well after handling chillies, and keep them away from your eyes.
Storage
- Airtight jar, cool and dark, for up to 3 months; store in the freezer to keep the red colour longer.
Variations
- Traditional wet-dried berbere: Sun-dried chillies pounded with fresh garlic, ginger, shallot and basil, dried again and ground with the spices; deeper and more savoury.
- Mitmita: A related, much hotter Ethiopian blend of bird's eye chilli, cardamom, cloves and salt, used for kitfo.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
About this masala
- Type
- Dry spice blend
- Texture
- Fine powder
- One batch makes
- about 72 g
- Keeps
- about 3 months
- Store
- Airtight jar, cool dark cupboard
- Recipe
- Adapted
Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands. Makes Berbere, the ingredient our dish recipes list. All masalas
Used in
Amounts are each dish’s own quantity, for the servings it is written for. “Make enough” opens this recipe scaled for that dish.
- Awaze4 tbsp · 25 g for 8 servings of 15 gMake enough
- Beef tibs1 tsp · 2.1 g for 4 servings · optionalMake enough
- Chechebsa1½ tsp · 3.2 g for 3 servingsMake enough
- Doro wat4 tbsp · 25 g for 6 servingsMake enough
- Misir wot2 tbsp · 13 g for 4 servingsMake enough
- Shiro1 tbsp · 6.4 g for 4 servingsMake enough
- Zigni3 tbsp · 19 g for 6 servingsMake enough
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
The spice and seasoning backbone
Spices, masalas & pastes
- Dried whole chillies, about 12 mild-to-medium dried red chillies (New Mexico or guajillo style), stemmed and deseeded; dry-roast until fragrant and pliable30 g
- Paprika, raw — mixed in after grinding15 g
- Fenugreek, seeds; dry-roast gently until pale gold4 g
- Coriander seeds, dry-roast until a shade darker6 g
- Cardamom, green pods (korarima if available), lightly roast, seeds only2 g
- Black peppercorns, dry-roast3 g
- Allspice, whole berries, lightly roast2 g
- Cloves, lightly roast1 g
- Ajwain, dry-roast briefly (stands in for Ethiopian netch azmud)1 g
- Ground ginger, raw — mixed in after grinding4 g
- Cinnamon, ground, raw1 g
- Nutmeg, freshly grated, raw1 g
- Salt, raw5 g
Reviews & corrections
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