Ethiopian Spices

Whole foods has jars of berbere. No idea is it is good.

esey international market in west orange. It's a great local store run by very nice people. If you time it right you can even pick up injera!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/esey-international-market-west-orange

Thanks for this, Carolanne! I usually make my own berbere, but it's a bit of a pain and sometimes you just want to be able to buy it. I had no idea Esey Market was there.

JCSO, you're welcome! Do you mind posting your Berbere recipe?

Thanks!

carolanne said:
JCSO, you're welcome! Do you mind posting your Berbere recipe?
Thanks!

Well, I actually misplaced one I devised years ago, so have just been using and modifying recipes I find online. Every cook makes it a little differently, but this one is probably worthwhile:

http://www.thespicehouse.com/recipes/berbere-spice-paste-recipe

But that's actually a recipe for awaze, which is berbere made into a paste with wine and oil. I have sometimes used lemon juice instead of red wine. (Put a thin layer of oil on top before covering and storing in the fridge.)

If you only want to make the powder (it certainly keeps longer and you can just add wine and oil before cooking with it), there's this. I like that the cook uses ajwain (oregano seeds), but he also uses curry leaves and mace, which I don't, plus he removes the cardamom seeds from the pods before grinding, which I think is slightly unnecessary, and he uses fenugreek seeds while I use the powder because it's more convenient and probably just as aromatic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFuZ99U-Nyo

ETA: Just noticed something--I would not use garlic powder! Substitute dried onion flakes or onion powder instead, and then cook with fresh garlic if you're using it.

(Also, Ethiopians/Eritreans cook onions differently: slice very thin, then cook dry, on medium heat, stirring frequently, in an open pan until they're transparent and withered, but not browned. The flavor is concentrated and delicious.)