Berbere and Dabo Kolo

Recent chats with twitter friend, ShebaNYC from the Ethiopian eatery- Queen of Sheba in NYC, inspired this post. Some Ethiopian recipes-

Dabo Kolo is a savory snack- “Ethiopian Twiglets” you could call them, using a rich and lovely spice mix Berbere.

I’m told each Ethiopian family has it’s own personal blend for Berbere- a mix of a cuboard full of spices, in which hot red pepper and fenugreek are must haves.

Here’s our easy version, using ground spices.

Berbere

(Ethiopian spice blend)

1 teaspoon of each - ground ginger, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek and nutmeg, dried onion powder and freshly ground black pepper,

½ teaspoon of each- ground cloves, cinnamon and allspice

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon paprika powder

1 tablespoon ground turmeric

Method: Toast the ginger, pepper, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek, and nutmeg and onion powder in a frying pan until the spices become fragrant. Add the remaining ingredients and continue toasting for about 5 minutes whilst stirring continuously. Cool and store in an airtight jar.

Dabo Kolo

(Ethiopian bread snacks -our version) 

We like to add a bit of extra crunch to these bites, by adding poppy seeds, sesame seeds or sometimes chopped nuts.

250 g flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

50 ml sunflower oil

150 ml water

3 tablespoons Berbere spice

3 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon coarsely ground sea salt

Extra: sunflower oil for deep-frying

Method: Kneed the flour salt, sugar, 25mls oil and enough water to make a smooth, stiff dough, similar in texture to bread dough.  Roll out the dough on a floured board, to a thickness of 1 cm.  Brush with some of the remaining oil. Mix the Berbere, poppy seeds and course salt and sprinkle the dough with 1/3  of the spice mixture. Fold the dough up like and roll out again on a floured board. Repeat another 2x. Cut the dough into thin strips and cut the strips into pieces. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 180°C, add the Dabo Kolo  in batches and fry to a crisp brown. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with a little salt and extra Berbere.

Makes a big bowlful