Ethiopian Spice Guide
Ethiopian cooking is built on a small set of spices and blends. This guide covers each one we carry: its Amharic name, what it tastes like, and how it is used in Ethiopian and Eritrean kitchens. All of our spices are produced in Ethiopia and packed fresh in Canada, and ship across Canada and the United States.
The blends
Berbere (በርበሬ)
Ethiopia's essential chili spice blend. Deep red, warm and earthy, with a slow heat. Berbere is the base of most red stews. Ours is our family blend of 16 ingredients.
Use it for: doro wot, misir wot, shiro wot, key wot and awaze.
Mitmita (ሚጥሚጣ)
A fine, bright orange blend made with bird's eye chili. Much hotter than berbere, with a sharp, fast heat.
Use it for: kitfo first of all, plus ayib, tibs, boiled eggs and melted niter kibbeh.
Mekelesha (መከለሻ)
A warm, aromatic finishing blend with no chili. It goes in during the last minutes of cooking and adds a deeper, peppery warmth from long pepper, black pepper and cloves.
Use it for: finishing stews just before serving.
Single spices
Korerima (ኮረሪማ)
Ethiopian cardamom. Warm, smoky and floral, deeper and less sweet than green cardamom. Ours is whole seeds with the pods removed, so you can grind them just before cooking.
Use it for: kitfo, niter kibbeh, spiced ayib and stews.
Tikur Azmud (ጥቁር አዝሙድ)
Black cumin, also known as nigella or black seed. Warm, nutty and gently peppery. Sold as whole seeds.
Use it for: spice blends, niter kibbeh and bread.
Read our full tikur azmud guide
Nech Azmud (ነጭ አዝሙድ)
Ajwain seed, also called carom seed. Small and pungent, with a flavor close to thyme. Sold as whole seeds.
Use it for: niter kibbeh, spice blends, breads and stews.
Read our full nech azmud guide
Ird (እርድ)
Ethiopian turmeric. Earthy, warm and deep golden. Ird gives alicha, the mild yellow stews, their color.
Use it for: alicha, kik alicha, vegetable dishes and mild sauces.
Senafich (ሰናፍጭ)
Ground Ethiopian mustard seed. Sharp and pungent.
Use it for: serving on the side with tibs and kurt, next to awaze and mitmita, plus sauces and marinades.
Pantry essentials
Niter Kibbeh (ንጥር ቅቤ)
Ethiopian spiced clarified butter. Ours is made in Canada from Canadian butter, clarified and then infused with korerima, black cumin, ajwain and koseret from Ethiopia. It is one of the most versatile ingredients in the Ethiopian kitchen.
Use it for: doro wot, kitfo, genfo, tibs and many more dishes.
Read our full niter kibbeh guide
Mitin Shiro (ምጥን ሽሮ)
A spiced powder of chickpeas and split peas, blended with berbere and Ethiopian spices. Stirred into onions, oil, garlic, berbere and tomato before the water goes in, it becomes shiro wot in minutes.
Use it for: shiro wot.
Nech Shiro (ነጭ ሽሮ)
A mild, golden shiro made from chickpeas and split yellow peas with turmeric and aromatic spices, and no berbere.
Use it for: mild shiro wot, for anyone who prefers shiro without berbere, and for kids.
Read our full nech shiro guide
Recipes
See these spices in action in our Ethiopian recipes, including doro wot, shiro wot, misir wot and genfo, or browse our Ethiopian vegan food guide.