Berbere (Ethiopian Spice Blend)

Whenever possible, I make my own spice blends. There is just no comparison between store-bought blends and the freshness and vibrancy of ones that you can easily whiz up in your own kitchen. They keep well for months in a well-sealed jar in a dark and dry place. Recently I received a copy of Teff Love: Adventures in Vegan Ethiopian Cooking by Kittee Berns that is all about Ethiopian cooking, with a vegan approach. Berbere is a fairly spicy and wonderfully aromatic spice blend that is central to Ethiopian cuisine — indeed, the foundation of so many Ethiopian dishes — so I made up this colorful spice blend up before even cooking from the book. That will come soon, as I picked up a fresh bag of teff and it has always been one of my favorite grains. Regrettably, I haven't eaten it for sometime now, but armed with this new book and this spice blend, I'm looking forward to trying some of the recipes.

Oddly enough, the book did no longer encompass a recipe for the spice combination, so after performing some studies, I got here up with my own model with ingredients that many cooks will already have accessible in their pantry. If now not, if you stay in an urban middle, everything this is blanketed can without difficulty be determined at Indian and Asian grocery shops, or on-line if there isn't somewhere close by to gain the spices.

Other homemade spice blends you're positive to want to encompass to your pantry:

Chaat Masala

Curry Powder

Garam Masala

Sambar Powder