Wat Spices (Ethiopian Spices)


Jill Norman "The Complete Book of Spices"


A wat is a traditional Ethiopian stew, spiced either with Berbere or this simpler blend of spices. The recipe below is taken from A Safari of African Cooking by Bill Odarty.

6 long peppers
3 tablespoons black pepper
3 tablespoons whole cloves
1 long nutmeg
a pinch of turmeric

Place a pinch of turmeric on the grinding stone and grind until a yellow coating of turmeric is spread over the working surface. Grind all the other spices together on the yellow grinding stone. These spices are added to the wat towards the end of cooking.