Berbere ( ''bärbäre'', ''bärbärä'') is a
spice mixture whose constituent elements usually include
chili pepper
Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...
s,
coriander
Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae.
Most people perceive the ...
,
garlic,
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...
, Ethiopian
holy basil (besobela) seeds,
korarima,
rue,
ajwain or
radhuni,
nigella, and
fenugreek.
[Debrawork Abate (1995 EC) EC">993 EC የባህላዌ መግቦች አዘገጃጀት raditional Food Preparation(in Amharic) (2nd ed.). Addis Ababa: Mega Asatame Derjet (Mega Publisher Enterprise). pp. 22–23. ] It is a key ingredient in the cuisines of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
and
Eritrea
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...
. Berbere also refers to chili pepper itself.
Berbere sometimes encompasses herbs and spices that are less well known internationally. These include both cultivated plants and those that grow wild in Ethiopia, such as korarima (''
Aframomum corrorima'').
See also
*
Mitmita, another Ethiopian spice mixture
*
Piri piri
*
List of Ethiopian dishes and foods
*
Seasoning
References
External links
Berbere recipe from RecipeLand.comImage of packaged berbere
Eritrean cuisine
Ethiopian cuisine
Herb and spice mixtures
{{Ethiopia-cuisine-stub