Berbere, baby

[John Rosevear]

I'm about to attempt Ethiopian cooking for the first time. I have a copy of Mesfin's "Exotic Ethiopian Cooking", which is still apparently the closest thing to a definitive English-language source, but it's not without its quirks. One of those quirks is its berbere recipe, which famously calls for epic quantities: 15 lb dried New Mexican chilies, 5 lbs garlic, etc. I don't really want to make a lifetime supply, and while I could scale it down, I figured it was worth asking this august group: Got a berbere recipe you like?

[Doodad]

We love Ethiopian from back in college when there was a great restaurant down the street. Funny, the service is a kind of benign neglect which is apparently that you never rush a guest. Dinner could take quite a while, but was always worth it. We had a hankering last week so I made this recipe for spice from cyber-kitchen. I seared the beef, put it in a crock pot with wine, added the spice to taste and then sauteed a bunch of onions in ghee (this is important) and put them in the crock as well. It was spot with what we had back then. Injera bread, greens and spiced cheese on the sides.

2 teaspoons cumin seed, or powder

1 teaspoon cardamom seeds (shell off husks), or powder

1/2 teaspoon whole allspice (or ground)

1 teaspoon fenugreek seed (or powder)

1 teaspoon coriander seed (or powder)

8 whole cloves, or ground

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, or freshly ground

5 teaspoons red pepper flakes or crumbled dried red peppers

1 tablespoon grated fresh gingeroot (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sweet paprika (can use hot)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Toast all the seeds and whole cloves in a small frying pan for 2 minutes, stirring constantly (open window or turn on the stove vent--it can smoke). Grind the spices in a spice grinder. If you are using pre-ground spices, ignore and go on to the next step.

2. Mix all remaining ingredients. Place in a tightly covered container and refrigerate