Nitir kebe is Ethiopian spiced butter that is an ingredient in many that country’s dishes. It certainly gives an exotic twist to a summertime favorite in the U.S.A.

Ingredients

Butter, Corn, African Bird Peppers, Ginger

Instructions

Nitir kebe is Ethiopian spiced butter that is an ingredient in many that country’s dishes. It certainly gives an exotic twist to a summertime favorite in the U.S.A. Be sure to buy ears with some of the stalk attached for a great handle. The spiced butter freezes easily.

Nitir Kebe

• 1 pound unsalted butter

• 1 tablespoon crushed African bird peppers, or substitute chiltepins, pequins, or ground cayenne chile

• 2 shallots, minced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamon

• 1.5 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 4 ears corn, husks and stalks attached

Allow the butter to soften at room temperature and beat in all the ingredients for the nitir kebe. Let sit for an hour to blend the flavors.

Remove any dried, brownish husks from the corn. Pull back, but don’t remove completely the husks and remove the silk. Soak the ears in cold water for 30 minutes to prevent the husks from burning.

Brush some of the butter on each of the ears and pull the husks back up over the ears and secure with string or a strip of corn husk.

Place on grill over a low fire, fairly far from the heat, and grill, turning often, for about 15 minutes. It’s a good idea to have a spray bottle with water handy in case the husks start to burn.

Yield: 4 servings

Heat Scale: Hot

West African cooking quite often uses the mixture of chiles and peanuts, which are called groundnuts there. This unusual soup uses peanut butter as the peanut source and is one that you can have it on the table in under an hour. Don’t eliminate mixing the peanut butter with a little of the soup before adding to the pot, or the mixture may curdle.

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, peanut preferred

• 2 carrots, peeled and diced

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• ½ teaspoon grated ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

• 6 chile piquins

• ½ teaspoon sugar

• 3 cups chicken broth

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter

• Salt to taste

• 1 cup cooked rice

• Garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Heat the oil in a heavy stockpot or saucepan add the carrots, onions, and ginger and saute until the carrots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chile, sugar, and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes

Remove the soup from the heat and put it in blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Strain the soup back into the pot and return and reheat.

In a small bowl mix the peanut butter with ½ cup of the soup until smooth. Stir this mixture into the soup and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until hot.

To serve, put some of the rice in the bottom of individual bowls, top with the soup, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Nitir kebe is Ethiopian spiced butter that is an ingredient in many that country’s dishes. It certainly gives an exotic twist to a summertime favorite in the U.S.A. Be sure to buy ears with some of the stalk attached for a great handle. The spiced butter freezes easily.

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter

• 1 tablespoon crushed African bird peppers, or substitute chiltepins, pequins, or ground cayenne chile

• 2 shallots, minced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground cardamon

• 1.5 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 4 ears corn, husks and stalks attached

Instructions

Allow the butter to soften at room temperature and beat in all the ingredients for the nitir kebe. Let sit for an hour to blend the flavors.

Remove any dried, brownish husks from the corn. Pull back, but don’t remove completely the husks and remove the silk. Soak the ears in cold water for 30 minutes to prevent the husks from burning.

Brush some of the butter on each of the ears and pull the husks back up over the ears and secure with string or a strip of corn husk.

Place on grill over a low fire, fairly far from the heat, and grill, turning often, for about 15 minutes. It’s a good idea to have a spray bottle with water handy in case the husks start to burn.