Niter Kibbeh Recipe

By
Max Falkowitz
Max Falkowitz is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Max Falkowitz
Max Falkowitz is a food and travel writer from Queens. From 2012 to 2015 he worked at Serious Eats, first as New York editor and later as features editor. He's also the co-author of the Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook with Helen You, and the author of the trivia game Taste Test: 200 Trivia Questions for Food Nerds.
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Updated Mar. 06, 2020

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Niter kibbeh is a spice blend always at the peak of freshness since you lock the flavors intoclarified butter. There are as many recipes for niter kibbeh as there are Ethiopian cooks; this ingredient list is just what I've found most satisfying and well-balanced. The coriander and bay leaves aren't strictly traditional, but they help unite this diverse array of spices into a satisfying whole. If you're cooking vegan, swap out the butter for oil. Ethiopian dishes are some of the best vegan fare I know, and vegan niter kibbeh is almost as good as its dairy counterpart.

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Recipe Facts

Cook:105 mins
Total:105 mins
Serves:12 servings
Makes:1 1/2 cups

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  • 1poundunsalted butter

  • 1smallonion, minced

  • 6clovesgarlic,去皮,smashed

  • 2inchesginger,去皮,sliced thin

  • Two 3-inch stickscinnamon, or1teaspoonground

  • 8crushedcardamompods, or 1/2 teaspoon ground

  • 1teaspoonfenugreek, whole or ground

  • 1teaspooncoriander, whole or ground

  • 2cloves, or 1/8 teaspoon ground

  • 2bay leaves

Directions

  1. In a saucepan, slowly melt the butter on low heat. Meanwhile, toast the spices. If grinding, toast beforehand.

  2. Add all the spices to the butter, and reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Keep an eye on the pot every few minutes to make sure it’s not boiling as the water evaporates. The milk solids will rise to the surface of the pot as the water cooks out.

  3. Let the butter simmer, with just a few bubbles popping through, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Like a good stock, longer cooking is better, but it needs to be gentle so the milk solids don’t burn. If they do, the niter kibbeh will be irreparably bitter.

  4. When the solids have turned a pleasant brown and plenty of time has past, line a mesh strainer with a cheesecloth or paper towel and place it over a small storage container. Strain the butter well, making sure there are no milk solids or spices in the final product. Your niter kibbeh will last for months in the refrigerator. The larger a batch you make, the less butter you’ll lose to straining.

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Nutrition Facts(per serving)
252 Calories
28g Fat
1g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 252
% Daily Value*
Total Fat28g 36%
Saturated Fat 18g 88%
Cholesterol73mg 24%
Sodium2mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate1g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein0g
Vitamin C 1mg 3%
Calcium 7mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 15mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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