Authentic Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Spiced Clarified Butter)
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy.
If you love Ethiopian food and just can’t quite figure out how to replicate that flavor at home, you may be missing the ultimate secret ingredient: Niter Kibbeh!
What is Niter Kibbeh?
Niter Kibbeh (Nit’ir Qibe) is an ingredient integral to Ethiopian cuisine and is made by clarifying butter that has been infused with herbs and spices. In the process of clarifying the spiced butter, the same process used to make ghee, the butterfat is separated from the milk solids and water and the result is a highly aromatic and flavorful cooking fat. This clarified butter has a higher smoke point and longer shelf life than regular butter.
How To Use Niter Kibbeh
While niter kibbeh is famously used in Ethiopia’s national dish, Doro Wat, it is highly versatile and used to bring life and flavor to a wide variety of dishes, including Sega Wat, Misir Wat and Gomen. Include a dollop in your favorite stews, your beans and lentils, sauces and gravies, add some to your vegetables and eggs, use it to brown your meat or chicken, spread some on your sandwich…and then sit back and savor your meal.
Ingredients
For a truly authentic niter kibbeh you would include two Ethiopian spices that are very difficult to find outside of Ethiopia: Besobela and Kosseret. Besobela is also known as Ethiopian sacred basil though it tastes nothing like basil. It’s also traditionally included in Berbere, the famous fiery hot Ethiopian spice blend. Kosseret is in the verbena family of plants and likewise has a very unique flavor. There are no adequate substitutes for either. If you can find them, use about a tablespoon of each. If you can’t, simply omit them. The resulting niter kibbeh will still be incredibly delicious without them.
Another central ingredient to niter kibbeh is cardamom. But it’s not the green cardamom that most of us are familiar with. Rather it’s a type of cardamom that’s much bigger in size and is brown in color, known as korarima, false cardamom and Ethiopian cardamom. And it’s tastes completely different than green cardamom.
The bad news is that it’s nearly impossible to find. The good news is that you can substitute Indian black cardamom (pictured below in comparison to the more commonly known green cardamom). It more closely resembles Ethiopian cardamom in flavor than does green cardamom and is an absolutely vital spice in Ethiopian cooking.
Niter kibbeh is a wonderful and uniquely delicious clarified butter that you will fall in love with. And absolutely nothing compares to homemade niter kibbeh. Once you’ve made it (it’s super easy) and tried it (it’s incredible) you’ll make it again and again!
Authentic Niter Kibbeh Recipe
Let’s get started!
Toast the whole spices over medium heat in a dry skillet for a few minutes until very fragrant. Be careful not to scorch the spices or they will become bitter.
Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring it to an extremely low simmer. Continue to simmer over low for at least one hour or up to 90 minutes. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO BURN THE BUTTER. If it burns it will be bitter and there is no salvaging it.
Pour everything through a fine-mesh cheesecloth. (No need to skim off the foam, everything will be removed during straining.)
Pour the niter kibbeh into a jar, let it cool, cover so it is airtight. It will keep at room temperature for a few weeks, in the fridge for a few months, and even longer in the freezer (it will be hard in the fridge and freezer, let it come to room temp for easy scooping). Makes about 2 cups.
Enjoy!
For more delicious and authentic Ethiopian recipes, be sure to try my:
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address and we’ll send it straight to your inbox!
Authentic Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Spiced Clarified Butter)
Ingredients
- 1 pound unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 2-inch cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 3 BLACK cardamom pods (not the green cardamom variety)
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon besobela ,if you can find it, otherwise omit (see blog post)
- 1 tablespoon kosseret ,if you can find it, otherwise omit (see blog post)
Instructions
- Toast the whole spices over medium heat in a dry skillet for a few minutes until very fragrant. Be careful not to scorch the spices or they will become bitter. Set aside.
- Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring it to an extremely low simmer. Continue to simmer over low for at least one hour or up to 90 minutes. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO BURN THE BUTTER. If it burns it will be bitter and there is no salvaging it.
- Pour everything through a fine-mesh cheesecloth. (No need to skim off the foam, everything will be removed during straining.) Pour the niter kibbeh into a jar, let it cool, and cover so that it is airtight. It will keep at room temperature for several weeks, in the fridge for a few months, and even longer in the freezer (it will be hard in the fridge and freezer, let it come to room temp for easy scooping). Makes about 2 cups.
Nutrition
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Very satisfied. I have been searching in stores and online shops for years and finally found this. Thanks so much for helping me enjoy such a wonderful, tasty, and authentic experience of food far away from home.
Thank you, Rachel, I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Coming from someone whos household members often run outside when I begin to cook, this Niter Kibbeh may be the best smell I’ve ever created in my life. (I used the garlic I had on hand, which was fermented . . . we’ll see how that goes)
What a win, Jesse, congratulations and I hope you enjoy the end result!
I made some recently without the three specialty ingredients because I didn’t want to wait for spices in the mail. The smell while making it was intoxicating, and the flavor made me realize that I’ll be using this for more than just Ethiopian recipes. I’m ordering the additional spices now to make the complete recipe.
Looks like you crack the cardamom pods so that they are partially open before using?
Wonderful, David, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you! Yes, I typically crack them because the seeds inside is where the flavor is.
So I was able to find korarima (Kalustyan’s in NYC carries it) but it’s just the seeds rather than the whole pods. How much should I use? A Teaspoon?
Fantastic, Paul! Yes, I’d aim for a teaspoon. Happy cooking and please let us know how it goes!
I’m prepping to make injera and a few other Ethiopian dishes for Thursday’s dinner. I wanted to get a jump start on this. All I can say is wow. This is delicious. I’ve saved a little of the part that didn’t fully clarify to try dipping homemade soft pretzels into tomorrow.
Awesome, Mark, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Thank you for this recipe, which I’ll use for an Ethiopian raw beef dish. I’d like to say for any recipe using fresh ginger instead of dry powdered ginger, it’s very easy to use fresh turmeric root as well, instead of the dried.
I made this recipe using Miyokos ‘butter’ for my vegan daughters and they were ecstatic. It turned out beautifully. We all swooned over that Ethiopian carrot, cabbage, potato dish that is their favorite.
That’s fantastic, Michelle, thank you so much for the feedback!
Hi Kimberly, Thanks a bunch for sharing this recipe. I made a batch today and it turned out awesome! I can’t wait to use it even in other dishes like the Indian Daal. I strained the niter kibbeh using a stainless steel strainer. I used the leftovers from the strained niter kibbeh to make a broth for a curry. I just added 4 cups of water to the pot I made the niter kibbeh in and let the strained stuff boil for 2-3 minutes. Then I strained the broth and will be adding it to the curry I make later! Thanks again!
Thanks so much, Namita, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
The first time I made this I was very pleased. I’ve just made it a second time, though, and it turned brown within twenty minutes on the lowest possible heat setting on the stove. As far as I can remember, here are the only differences: 1) I used shallots instead of yellow onion. 2) I put it on a different burner which possibly gets hotter. 3) I didn’t stir it during those twenty minutes. Was failing to stir it a mistake? If so, how often should it be stirred?