Niter kibbeh, spiced Ethiopian butter, is not so much a sauce as a cooking medium, although it does make an intriguing simple sauce for pheasant, quail or white fish. Niter kibbeh (NIT-r KEB-beh) is the aromatic, clarified butter we cooked with at the Eritrean restaurant Horn of Africa I worked at in Madison many years
African Recipes
Africa is a very large and diverse place, with countless cuisines. Here you will find a selection of African recipes ranging all over the continent, from North to South, and many places in between.
I have traveled in East and southern Africa and have worked as a chef at an Ethiopian restaurant here in the United States, so you will mostly see recipes from there, although I love the food from Ghana and Senegal, so there is a smattering of recipes from there, too.
Some of my favorites are Venison Stew Tunisian, Coconut Curry Chicken from Kenya, and Ethiopian Tibs, a sort of hybrid stew and stir fry.
Berbere Spice Mix
Berbere spice mix is essential to Ethiopian cooking, along with the clarified spiced butter known as niter kebbeh. Berbere (ber-BERRY) is to Ethiopia what garam masala is to India. This is my berbere recipe. I learned this berbere recipe decades ago, while working as a sous chef at The Horn of Africa, an Ethiopian restaurant
Hunt Gather Talk: West African Seafood
In this episode, I talk with cookbook author Zoe Adjonyoh about her book Zoe’s Ghana Kitchen, and the role of fish and seafood in West African cuisine. This is a cuisine you’ll want to get to know.
Bamia: Egyptian Okra and Meat Stew
An Egyptian and eastern Mediterranean style okra stew with meat and tomatoes. Bamia, or okra, has been eaten in Egypt since antiquity. I use venison as the meat here.
Okra Stew
A West African inspired okra stew recipe with tomatoes that’s great served on its own, or as a thick sauce over fish or game.
Venison Stew Tunisian Style
A North African-inspired venison stew with potatoes, onions, harissa and bay leaves. A good change of pace from the same ole same ole…
Ghanaian Palava Sauce
A thick stew of meat – venison here – and greens, tomato, chile and squash seeds, palaver is a popular dish in Ghana.
Butternut Squash Curry
This squash curry from Ethiopia shares many of the same elements as an Indian curry, but with a slightly different mix of spices.