🧈 Niter kibbeh
Also known as: tesmi, Ethiopian spiced butter
Ethiopian and Eritrean clarified butter simmered with spices (Ethiopian basil, fenugreek, korarima). Made like ghee.
Niter kibbeh is Ethiopian and Eritrean spiced clarified butter. Butter is heated slowly, as when making ghee, and simmered with spices: Ethiopian basil (besobela), koseret, fenugreek, cumin, coriander, turmeric, Ethiopian cardamom (korarima), cinnamon or nutmeg, along with onion, garlic and ginger. The butter is then strained to remove the milk solids and spices. The result is a fragrant golden fat.
In Tigrinya it is called “tesmi”. The product has Indian roots and resembles ghee, but its blend of spices gives it a distinctive, aromatic scent. A version for fasting days, made with vegetable oil, is called yekimem zeyet.
Niter kibbeh is the foundation of Ethiopian cooking: it is used to make wot stews (including doro wot), to dress kitfo (minced raw beef), pulses and vegetables, and is eaten with injera flatbread. It differs from ghee and Moroccan smen above all in its spices: ghee is made without them, while smen is aged until it develops a sharp aroma.
How it connects to milk
🧈 Niter kibbeh → made from → 🥛 Cow's milk → type of → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Made from
- 🥛 Cow's milk, 🧈 Butter
- How it is made
- 🔄 Slow baking
- Where it is traditional
- 🌍 East Africa
- Which peoples make it
- 🧑🤝🧑 Ethiopians
- Product type
- 🏺 Traditional dairy products
- Part of
- 🧈 Cream and butter
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between niter kibbeh and ghee?
The method is similar, but niter kibbeh is simmered with a blend of spices — Ethiopian basil, fenugreek, cardamom and others — so it is aromatic and spiced.
What is niter kibbeh used for?
In Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking — in wot stews, kitfo, and pulse and vegetable dishes.
What to read next
- 🌍 East Africa — Pastoral peoples for whom milk is the foundation of diet and status.
- 🥛 Cow's milk — The most widespread milk in the world: versatile, inexpensive and the basis of almost all dairy products.
- 🧑🤝🧑 Ethiopians — People of Ethiopia, a highland country in East Africa; their dairy staples are soft ayib cheese and the spiced clarified butter niter kibbeh.
- 🔄 Slow baking — Long simmering at ~90 °C: baked milk, ghee.
- 🏺 Traditional dairy products — Products made for centuries to folk recipes: fermenting, cheesemaking, slow baking, drying. Tied to regions and peoples.
Similar
🫖 Clotted cream · 🫕 Smen · 🧈 Ghee · 🥣 Rømme · 🧀 Ayib · 🥛 Öröm
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.