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Berbere and dilik
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Published 2023
Berbere is often incorrectly translated as chilli. The Portuguese brought chilli to East Africa from South America in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
From these original chillies came an indigenous variety, brown chilli peppers, endemic to modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea. These peppers are dried out and blended to create a unique chilli mix, giving birth to berbere. It is a unique blend, combining more than 20 different spices ground up: coriander, cumin, green cardamom, whole cloves, turmeric, ginger, garlic, red chilli, onion, salt and many more.