Niter Nibbeh a spice-infused clarified butter that is ever- present in Ethiopian cooking with an astonishing depth of flavor.
A breeze to make at home, all you need is patience, saucepan,spices and cheesecloth– to drain any spices and leftover butter residue
The butter is brought to simmer, together with spices and left to cook for a prolong amount of time. During which it turns into a light golden color with an intense flavor.
Great to use in place of butter and an essential ingredient in Ethiopian Cooking, you may switch out some of the ingredients here, or omit completely. When I read Marcus Samuelsson’s interpretation of this spiced butter, I quickly jumped on it .The addition of Basil, just does for me.
Now that you know how to make this Ethiopian Spiced Butter you can make some phenomenal-tasting Ethiopian food right at home.
Trying exploring this two fantastic and authentic Ethiopian dishes that call for Niter Nibbeh
Oh, they are AH-MAZING when served with toast or bread.
Ethiopian Spiced Butter (Niter Kibbeh)
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Ingredients
- 1 pound unsalted butter
- 1 small onion coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
- 1 Teaspoon cardamom
- 1 Teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger root
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 5-6 Basil leaves
Instructions
- Place butter in a medium saucepan and melt completely on low heat.
- Simmer without letting it brown, until the surface is completely coated with foam.
- Skim off the foam as it rises to the surface while cooking until nothing more remains.
- It should look quite transparent. Now, add all the ingredients: onions, garlic, ginger cumin, cardamon, oregano, turmeric, nutmeg, and basil. Continue cooking on low heat for about 15- 20mins.
- Pass it through a cheesecloth or sieve. It is now ready to be used. Store in a tightly covered container for about a month in the fridge.
Place butter in a medium saucepan and melt completely on low heat.
Simmer without letting it brown, until the surface is completely coated with foam.
Skim off the foam as it rises to the surface while cooking, until nothing more remains.
It should look quite transparent. Now add all the ingredients: onions, garlic basic, ginger cumin, cardamon, oregano, turmeric, nutmeg, and basil. Continue cooking on low heat for about 15- 20mins. Pass it through a cheesecloth or sieve. It is now ready to be used. Store in a tightly covered container for about a month in the fridge.
Lyly says
This looks and sounds tasty, can’t wait to try it. I wondered about the leftovers (onion, garlic, basil leaves etc.), is there any way to use it? It could be added to a main dish like curry or stew, do you think?
Thanks! 🙂
Imma says
You can definitely use the leftovers in some other dish :)! Thanks for stopping by Lyly.