Awaze

It is fermented, which is what makes it a paste rather than a blend.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 150 g mild red chillies, stemmed
• 4 hot red chillies, stemmed
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• 3 cm ginger, peeled
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons salt
• about 100 ml water

Method

1. IT IS FERMENTED, WHICH IS WHAT MAKES IT A PASTE RATHER THAN A BLEND. Its article's Description says so in the first line -- A FERMENTED RED PEPPER PASTE MADE WITH A VARIETY OF SPICES, INCLUDING ONION, GINGER, GARLIC, ROSEMARY, THYME, CORIANDER, CINNAMON, CARDAMOM, FENUGREEK AND CUMIN -- and the article sits in the category Plant-based fermented foods. Stir the same spices into water and you have a wet mixture; leave it to work and you have this.
2. WHICH ALSO MEANS THE SALT IS STRUCTURAL, NOT SEASONING. Two teaspoons in this quantity is what keeps the ferment going the right way for a week on a shelf.
3. GRIND THE CHILLIES, ONION, GARLIC AND GINGER TO A THICK PASTE. A little water, no more than a hundred millilitres in all, and only as much as the blades need. Loose paste ferments fast and sour; thick paste keeps its sweetness.
4. THE GROUND SPICES GO IN AFTER THE GRINDING, NOT WITH IT. Coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, fenugreek, cumin, and the dried rosemary and thyme rubbed between the palms.
5. PACK IT INTO A JAR, PRESS THE AIR OUT, AND LEAVE A FINGER OF SPACE. Fermenting paste rises. Press the surface flat with the back of a spoon so nothing sits dry above the line.
6. LEAVE IT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS, OPENING IT ONCE A DAY. It will smell sharp and faintly of vinegar by the third day. Stir, press flat again, close it.
7. THEN COLD, AND IT GOES ON IMPROVING FOR A MONTH. The heat softens and the fenugreek comes forward.
8. IT IS A MARINADE AS WELL AS A CONDIMENT. The article records both uses, and the two varieties it names are berbere awaze and mitmita awaze -- the same paste with one of the two dry blends worked through it.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Ethiopia · All recipes