D.C. is unique in the world for its international street-food and you can smother it with any number of tasty sauces. Despite the distractions, this alone makes it a great place—where fusion isn’t always a carefully planned, trendy-new-dining-experience, but something that can happen on the street, every time a customer walks up.
Berbere is a spice blend from Ethiopia where they use something like ghee or clarified butter to make the sauce. In line with tradition, I use hollandaise as a base, but since mayo is more stable you might choose to go that way. In either case, the lemon works okay but if you have limes to use as the acid, substitute. You won’t regret it. This sauce isn’t a hot-fire kind of experience, its more of a flush of warmth across the palate. The spice mix is also great on its own as a seasoning or a rub so don’t be afraid to make too much.
- Hollandaise or Mayo, depending on your need—and made fresh, obviously. If you use 3 grams, or a teaspoon, as 1-part you should have enough to season about 12 cups of sauce.
- Salt to taste
- 4 parts Fenugreek (aka; Methi) Seeds
- 1 part Black Peppercorns
- 1 part Whole Cloves
- 4 parts Cumin Seeds
- 2 parts Green Cardamom Seeds, pods discarded and excluded
- 5 – 10 parts Dried Red Chiles, seeds and membranes removed and torn into small pieces.
- 2 parts Ground Ginger
- 48 parts Ground Paprika (yes, that much, sweet preferred, not smoked)
- 1 part Ground Nutmeg (see 3 below)
- 4 parts Turmeric (optional, see 4)
- 8 parts mix of Garlic and/or Onion Powder (also optional, see 5)
Make your base sauce. (It should be on the loose side since we’re adding a lot of dry to it.) Toast the fenugreek, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom seeds and red chiles until fragrant, then grind. Mix in the remaining ingredients into the sauce in parts with salt until the desired flavor is reached. Allow time for the spices to be absorbed. Adjust the thickness with water or acid as needed.
- There’s a difference of opinion over what actually goes into this. Fenugreek, green cardamom seeds, ginger, nutmeg, sweet paprika and some kind dried spicy pepper are certain. The rest is up for interpretation.
- Fenugreek is called Methi in India—same thing.
- You can switch the nutmeg out for a mix of allspice, nutmeg and/or cinnamon. Added together you’ll want the same original proportion of nutmeg. It’s still authentic, but I hate tasting Christmas when I’m not expecting it, so it’s a pass for me.
- If you think turmeric is just a food coloring, stop that shit, it has a flavor/identity of its own. It gives the Berbere an Indian/SE Asia edge to it. The flavor fits in as peppery, but the umami it brings is the best reason to add, so choose accordingly.
- The choice to use garlic and onion powder depends on what you think your sauce is going on. If it already has onions or garlic then you should leave them out, or just leave them out anyway. It doesn’t need it.
- If you don’t know how to make mayo and hollandaise and you weren’t discouraged to give up at the beginning of this page, I give you props for your tenacity. But also, stop sucking and learn how. When you do, you’ll suddenly become a well rounded human-being and more attractive. Also, it impresses the hell out of friends and family when you do it competently, with an air of nonchalance.
Berbere Sauce, Washington D.C.
