Recettes

Homemade Pilau Masala

Pilau masala is the spice blend behind pilau, the spiced rice of the East African coast, and it is a short list of whole spices rather than a long one. Cumin, black peppercorns, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon are roasted briefly and ground, and that is the whole thing. The blend belongs to the Swahili coast, where centuries of Indian Ocean trade brought spices from South and Southeast Asia into the cooking of Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar. Pilau itself is a relative of the pilaf and pulao found from Persia to India, adapted along the coast into something distinctly East African, and the masala is the point at which that trade history is most visible. Whether to buy it or make it is the practical question. Pre-ground blends are widely sold and perfectly usable, but ground spices lose their volatile oils quickly, and the difference between a jar that has sat on a shelf for a year and spices roasted and ground the same day is not subtle. It requires no grinder: a mortar and pestle does the job, and the roasting step is what makes it worth doing at all, since brief heat opens up the aromatics before they are broken down.

★★★★★Les mieux notées

30 minEasyKenya

Recette de Debby · Africook

Awaze (Ethiopian Chilli Dip)

Awaze is the Ethiopian red chilli paste, built on berbere and loosened with an alcoholic liquid into a thick dip. It is extremely hot, it takes five minutes to make, and it goes with almost everything on an Ethiopian table. Berbere is what it is built on, and berbere is itself a blend: dried chillies, garlic, ginger, onion, rue seeds, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Awaze takes that and turns it into something spoonable. The liquid matters more than it sounds. Traditionally it is tej, the Ethiopian honey wine made with gesho, the shiny-leaf buckthorn, or areki, a strong spirit. This recipe uses red wine, which the contributor prefers and which is far easier to find. Its traditional place is at celebrations. Awaze is made for weddings and special occasions and served with raw meat, and gored gored, cubed raw beef with dipping sauce, is considered by many an unofficial national dish that no Ethiopian celebration is complete without. That is worth knowing about what the dip is for. Because of the wine, this is not alcohol-free, and mitmita, the other Ethiopian chilli blend with pili-pili peppers and cardamom, is a related but different thing.

5 minEasyEthiopia

Recette de Blessing · Africook