Ethiopian

Hot and complex Ethiopian berbere adds a spicy kick to your average roast chicken; roasting root vegetables under the chicken turns this into a one-pan meal.

This hearty vegetarian Ethopian dish from chef Fanta Prada gets its gingery, garlicky kick from awaze, a versatile hot pepper seasoning with a myriad of variations.

Roasted carrots bathed in a buttery, lemony vinaigrette with awaze, a spicy Ethiopian condiment.

A mix of sweet and savory spices means this blend can be used on all kinds of dishes. Toss it with vegetables before roasting, use it as a dry rub on pork or poultry before grilling, or stir it into yogurt and serve with fruit.

Traditional injera takes a week to make, since you need four days to make the sponge, plus another three to prepare the batter.

This easy dinner is inspired by gomen, an Ethiopian dish in which greens are flavored with an aromatic spiced butter. Breaded tofu is a delightful counterpoint.

A cornerstone of Ethiopian cooking, this clarified butter is infused with spices and herbs native the region, giving it unique flavor and aroma.

This Ethiopian dish of chickpeas in a berbere-spiced, flaxseed-thickened sauce makes for a quick, filling, and wonderfully flavorful meal.

This spicy Ethiopian dipping sauce is made from whisking berbere spice blend honey wine, beer, arak, or even just a mixture of water and honey.

In the land of milk and honey, injera may be the staple, but it is not the only kind of bread. In the morning, it's dabo—honey bread—that graces the Ethiopian breakfast table. Unlike the pancakelike injera, dabo is a European-style loaf that is typically slathered with shiro, a chickpea spread. It highlights one of the distinctive characteristics of Ethiopian cooking: sweeteners are very rarely used, but an element of sweetness is introduced through other means, such as sugary coffees and teas; tej, a syrupy honey wine; or this dense breakfast bread, which lends a gentle sweetness to the start of the day.

In Ethiopia, the preparation of berbere takes days—chilies are dried in the sun for three days, then ground in a mortar and pestle, mixed with ground spices, and set in the sun to dry again—and it is usually made in huge amounts. Each Ethiopian family has its own recipe for this universal seasoning, with varying degrees of heat and spiciness. Traditionally, berbere is used to flavor Ethiopian stews, but I also like to use it as a rub for beef and lamb.

When I take people out for Ethiopian food for the first time, this chicken stew, called doro wett (also spelled doro we't, doro wat, and doro wet), is a great introduction. It's the first Ethiopian dish I ever had, and I immediately liked the tender meat, the spicy eggs, and the flavorful sauce laced with berbere and ginger. It's a great dish to make for people who haven't eaten African food before, because it's easy to understand and like. Don't be alarmed when the sauce doesn't bind together and thicken like a traditional European-style sauce—it should in fact be liquidy and broken to soak into the injera it is served on.

Berbere is a chile and spice blend used to season many Ethiopian dishes. Because authentic berbere can be hard to find, we developed our own recipe. Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 15 min