Ethiopian Spice Names in English
Ethiopian recipes are full of spice and herb names that are hard to find in English. This guide gives the Amharic name of each one, its English name, and where to get it.
You don't need to hunt down every spice on this list. Most of them are already in our blends. Our berbere alone is made from 16 traditional ingredients, and every blend we sell is made by our family the way we make it at home.
Ethiopian spices and blends we sell
| Amharic | English | Shop |
|---|---|---|
| Berbere (በርበሬ) | Ethiopian chili spice blend | Shop Berbere |
| Mitmita (ሚጥሚጣ), also mitimita | Hot bird's eye chili blend | Shop Mitmita |
| Mekelesha (መከለሻ) | Finishing spice blend, no chili | Shop Mekelesha |
| Korerima (ኮረሪማ), also korarima, kororima | Ethiopian cardamom. Related to black cardamom, but a different plant | Shop Korerima |
| Tikur Azmud (ጥቁር አዝሙድ) | Black cumin, nigella, black seed | Shop Tikur Azmud |
| Nech Azmud (ነጭ አዝሙድ) | Ajwain, carom seed, bishop's weed. Not cumin or caraway | Shop Nech Azmud |
| Ird (እርድ) | Turmeric | Shop Ird |
| Senafich (ሰናፍጭ) | Ground mustard seed (mustard powder) | Shop Senafich |
| Niter Kibbeh (ንጥር ቅቤ), also nitir kibe | Ethiopian spiced clarified butter | Shop Niter Kibbeh |
| Mitin Shiro (ምጥን ሽሮ) | Spiced chickpea and split pea powder | Shop Mitin Shiro |
| Nech Shiro (ነጭ ሽሮ) | Mild shiro powder, no berbere | Shop Nech Shiro |
| Beso (በሶ) | Roasted barley flour with cinnamon and peanuts | Shop Beso |
| Genfo (ገንፎ) | Barley, wheat and corn flour for genfo porridge | Shop Genfo |
Already in our blends
Looking for one of these? It is already in a jar we sell.
| Amharic | English | Already in our |
|---|---|---|
| Besobila (በሶብላ), also besobela | Ethiopian sacred basil. Not the same as sweet basil | Berbere, Mitin Shiro, Nech Shiro |
| Koseret (ኮሰረት), also kosseret | Lippia abyssinica. No common English name | Niter Kibbeh, Mitmita |
| Tena Adam (ጤና አዳም), also tenadam | Rue | Mitin Shiro, Nech Shiro |
| Abish (አብሽ) | Fenugreek | Berbere |
| Timiz (ጥምዝ) | Long pepper | Berbere, Mekelesha |
| Kundo Berbere (ቁንዶ በርበሬ) | Black pepper | Berbere, Mekelesha |
| Kemun (ከሙን) | Cumin | Berbere, Mekelesha |
| Gewz (ገውዝ) | Nutmeg | Berbere, Mekelesha |
| Kerefa (ቀረፋ) | Cinnamon | Berbere, Beso |
| Kurunfud (ቅርንፉድ) | Cloves | Mekelesha |
| Zinjibil (ዝንጅብል) | Ginger | Berbere, Mitin Shiro, Nech Shiro |
| Rosemary (ሮዝመሪ) | Rosemary | Berbere, Mitmita, Mitin Shiro, Nech Shiro |
| Nech Shinkurt (ነጭ ሽንኩርት) | Garlic | Berbere, Mitin Shiro, Nech Shiro |
| Key Shinkurt (ቀይ ሽንኩርት) | Red onion | Berbere, Mitin Shiro, Nech Shiro |
| Shimbra (ሽምብራ) | Chickpeas | Mitin Shiro, Nech Shiro |
| Kik (ክክ) | Split peas | Mitin Shiro, Nech Shiro |
| Gebs (ገብስ) | Barley | Beso, Genfo |
Other Ethiopian pantry names
| Amharic | English |
|---|---|
| Dimbilal (ድንብላል) | Coriander seed |
| Ensilal (እንስላል) | Fennel |
| Anis (አኒስ) | Anise |
| Tosign (ጦስኝ) | Ethiopian thyme |
| Karya (ቃሪያ) | Green chili pepper |
| Tej Sar (ጠጅ ሳር) | Lemongrass |
| Ye Lauro Kitel (የላውሮ ቅጠል) | Bay leaf |
| Begdonis (በግዶኒስ) | Parsley |
| Nana (ናና) | Mint |
| Baro (ባሮ) | Leek or green onion |
| Misir (ምስር) | Red lentils, for misir wot |
| Fetto (ፌጦ) | Garden cress seed |
| Telba (ተልባ) | Flaxseed |
| Selit (ሰሊጥ) | Sesame seed |
| Nug (ኑግ) | Niger seed |
| Suf (ሱፍ) | Sunflower seed |
| Teff (ጤፍ) | Teff, the grain injera is made from |
Keep exploring
Learn what each spice we sell tastes like in our Ethiopian spice guide, or cook with them from our Ethiopian recipes.