Added: 05/15/2006 |
Ethiopian Sauce Berbere - Nothing Like it in the World!The old saying "Try it, you'll like it!" was never more appropriate!
Well, berbere - a common Ethiopian sauce that is hot and spicy tasting usually made with the seeds of cumin, cardamom, coriander, and fenugreek that are combined with garlic, ground cloves, turmeric, grated gingerroot, black pepper, salt, paprika, cinnamon, and dried red chiles, which all contribute to this sauce tasting a distinctive tangy flavor for ethnic foods.
Being an easy dish to cook, berbere is difficult to, because only the combination of those very ingredients can provide the original flavor. It is important to remember, that berbere is not the same as Indian curry, though they have many ingredients in common. Berbere (Zighini) is an Ethiopian spice mixture whose ingredients usually include chile peppers, ginger, cloves, coriander, and allspice. Berbere is used to flavor the traditional stews known as wats.
Berbere sauce is quite a unique thing - to cook it you should have much time and patience- in order not to eat it on the initial stage of the process.
First of all, make measures to prevent onion smell spread all over the house- close the doors. The onions can be overpowering, and they'll linger in your clothes, seep from your pores, and make you think you smell of them for at least at day. Obviously the more fresh air circulating around your cooking space, the better.
Well, you also need six fist-sized yellow onions, two small tomatoes, two boneless chicken breasts( in vegetarian variant they are replaced by any soy meat, or just beans) a small can of tomato paste, a cup of vegetable oil and a basic mix of seasonings: salt, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and berbere powder. The tomato paste is also optional. It thickens the sauce and deepens its red color, but what it adds in terms of flavor is negligible.
Berbere is a stew type of meal, rich in flavors and marvelous in taste. No other curry or similar dish has got the combination of Zest, flavor, taste and smoothness that berbere offers.
Well, to cook berbere, you should take 500 gms of onions and 5 large garlic cloves, chop it very finely and place in a non-stick pan. Roast for about 10 minutes in a low fire until they obtain slightly brown color. Add a little water and 8 tablespoons of oil or butter, according to preference, and sauté until the onions have melted into a paste like consistency.
Then stir it with 5/6 spoonfulls of berbere powder adding a bit of water. Add 500 grams of peeled tomatoes and 200 grams of tomato puree and wait until all water has evaporated and the sauce has maintained a consistency of a thick soup.
Finally add salt, place the pre boiled and peeled eggs and simmer for another 10 minutes. So the actual cooking part takes about an hour. You can cook it longer; it only improves the flavor of the berbere. What you have will be a chili-like consistency-a berbere sauce ready for putting atop spaghetti or injera.
Berbere is ready- now sit down and enjoy your masterpiece!
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