Awaze sauce

Awaze is Ethiopia’s essential hot sauce: a thick, brick-red paste of berbere spices loosened with red wine or tej (Ethiopian honey wine), sharpened with garlic and ginger. One taste at an Ethiopian restaurant in New York and I was converted for life.

The engine of awaze is berbere — the great Ethiopian spice blend of dried chilies, garlic, ginger, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. The sauce is essentially berbere brought to life: wet, pungent and gloriously versatile.

It takes ten minutes to make and transforms everything it touches: grilled meats, tibs (Ethiopian sautéed meat), vegetables, sandwiches — anywhere you would reach for hot sauce, awaze does the job with more soul.

Awaze Sauce Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes (plus a few hours resting) · Cook time: 5 minutes · Total: 15 minutes active · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~34 per serving

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons finely ground berbere (awaze spice blend)
• ½ cup red wine or tej (honey wine/mead)

Instructions

1. Crush the garlic and ginger finely with the salt in a mortar.
2. Mix in the berbere, then work in the wine until you have a thick, smooth sauce.
3. Let it rest for a few hours before using — the flavors need time to marry.

Recipe Notes

• Awaze tibs — lamb or beef sautéed with this sauce — is one of Ethiopia’s most beloved dishes.
• Use it as a dip for vegetables, a spread for sandwiches, or a finishing drizzle anywhere hot sauce would go.
• It can substitute for dry berbere in stews and stir-fries.
• Traditionally it accompanies kitfo and zilzil tibs; it keeps well refrigerated in a sealed jar.