page_title: Ethiopian cuisine
section_title: Traditional ingredients
hierarchical_section_title: Ethiopian cuisine / Traditional ingredients
caption_attribution_description: This file was uploaded with Commonist. English: Spices in preparation for making berbere. Clockwise from top left: nej asmud ("white pepper;" ajwain or possibly radhuni), korarima, tikur asmud ("black pepper;" nigella), and abesh (or abish; fenugreek). These and tchew (ጨው; salt) are added to dried and ground red pepper to make berbere. (Transliterations are approximate.)
context_page_description: Ethiopian cuisine characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of wat, a thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread, which is about 50 centimeters in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour. Ethiopians eat most of the time with their right hands, using pieces of injera to pick up bites of entrées and side dishes.
  The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church prescribes a number of fasting periods from any kind of animal products on Wednesdays, Fridays, and the entire Lenten season, so Ethiopian cuisine contains many dishes that are vegan.
context_section_description: Berbere, a combination of powdered chili pepper and other spices (somewhat analogous to Southwestern American chili powder), is an important ingredient used in many dishes. Also essential is niter kibbeh, a clarified butter infused with ginger, garlic, and several spices.
  Mitmita (Amharic: ሚጥሚጣ, IPA: [mitʼmitʼa]) is a powdered seasoning mix used in Ethiopian cuisine. It is orange-red in color and contains ground birdseye chili peppers (piri piri), cardamom seed, cloves and salt. It occasionally has other spices including cinnamon, cumin and ginger.
  In their adherence to strict fasting, Ethiopian cooks have developed a rich array of cooking oil sources—besides sesame and safflower—for use as a substitute for animal fats which are forbidden during fasting periods. Ethiopian cuisine also uses nug (also spelled noog, also known as "niger seed").
caption: Ajwain or radhuni, korarima, nigella and fenugreek (clockwise, from top) are used with chilis and salt to make berbere, a basic ingredient in many Ethiopian dishes.
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