The market · Fats and oils · East Africa

Niter kibbeh

Ethiopian spiced clarified butter: butter simmered with onion, garlic, ginger and spices such as korarima, besobela and fenugreek, then strained. The fat, and much of the flavour, in doro wat.

fragrant · warm · nutty

What to do with it

Rosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleNiter kibbeh would soften its edgeIbu Sari's Sambal ijoNiter kibbeh would soften its edgeKenji Hara's Milk punch, with hojichaNiter kibbeh would soften its edge
Classics built on it
EthiopianTihloBalls of dough made from roasted barley flour, dipped one at a time into a hot, spiced stew or berbere sauce.No one here has made it yetEthiopianZigniBeef stewed long with a mound of onions, berbere and spiced butter, often with tomato — red, thick and hot.No one here has made it yet

If you can't find it

Ethiopian grocers — but it's ghee you make yourself.

  1. 1Ghee
    Simmer butter with garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom and a little turmeric; strain
    You lose nothing — that's niter kibbeh.

Goes with

berberered onionshirored lentil

Knowing it

Where to buy
Ethiopian shops — or make it.
Worth knowing
Melt unsalted butter slowly with the aromatics and spices until the milk solids settle and colour, then strain through muslin. It keeps for months in the fridge.

Kitchens that keep it in

Ethiopia and EritreaEthiopianStews called wat, deep with berbere and spiced butter, eaten with the hands from a shared platter of sour, spongy injera.9 classics

More fats and oils

Fats and oilsAnnatto oilearthy, peppery, goldenrich2 classicsFats and oilsCoconut creamrich, sweet, nutty2 classicsFats and oilsDuck fatrich, savouryrich2 classicsFats and oilsGheenutty, toastyrich34 classics