A couple weeks back, I noticed that they were selling Ethiopian bread at the Central Square 7-11. (Yes, at 7-11 — it’s Central Square, after all). I bought a large pack of fermented njira and set out to make some Ethiopian veggies to go with it.

In reading around on the internet, I decided there there were two fundamentals that could form the basis for my meal: Niter Kibbeh — an aromatic clarified butter, and Berbere, a red pepper and spice paste. I figure the Berbere would go well with a lentil, and that I could used the Niter Kibbeh with some steamed veggies — both dishes that I remember from some visits to Addis Red Sea in the South End. Surprisingly, I had all of these spices on hand, as they’re all favorites of the Indian arsenal. In a short time, the kitchen smelled just like an Ethiopian restaurant and the dishes came out great. Beginner’s luck, I guess. Here are the basic, and what I did with them:

Niter Kibbeh (adapted from from whats4eats.com)

1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, and 1 c. canola oil (can be made with all butter but I cut it down because my husband’s watching his cholesterol)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 – 3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T fresh ginger root, sliced
3 – 4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
3 – 4 whole cloves
1 t. fenugreek seeds
1/2 t. turmeric

Makes about 2 cups, which is enough as fat for quite a lot of food.

Place the butter and oil in a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on the lowest possible heat for about 1 hour. Pour off the clear liquid leaving solids at the bottom. (It helps to use a strainer for this). Store in the refrigerator or freezer as needed.

For the Niter Kibbeh dish, I steamed potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and some fresh green beans. When tender, I tossed them in this oil. Delicious and delicate!

Berbere Paste

This recipe adapted from Recipe Zaar.

1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cardamom
1/2 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. fenugreek seeds
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/8 t. ground cloves
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. allspice
2 T. finely chopped onions
1 T. finely chopped garlic
2 T. salt
3/4 c. paprika (adjust as desired)
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (adjust as desired)
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 c. water
1-2 T. vegetable oil

I simplified the original recipe significantly, and simply: 1) combined all dry ingredients (minus paprika and cayenne) in a coffee-grinder type blender, mixed them;
2) then added the wet ingredients; 3) then finally stirred in the paprika, cayenne, and oil. Since I didn’t have ground cloves or cardamom, I simply put whole cloves and shelled cardamom in my grinder (in step 1) and this was no problem. I stored this in a jar in the fridge for about a week (could probably be fine for a longer period) with a 1/4 inch of oil on top.

To cook up this paste, I heated canola oil on medium heat then stirred in a couple tablespoons full of Berbere. I let this “cook” in the oil, stirring constantly, for about 3-4 minutes until I could smell a change in the paste mixture. I then added this to cooked lentils (masoor dal, in one case, and whole moong in another). Both worked well. I made up my Berbere not very spicy and have to say that my son Mohan loves his Berbere moong.