🇪🇹 Ethiopian · Fish & Seafood
🌶️ Ethiopian Bird's Eye Chilli Powder
ሚጥሚጣ — Mitmita
Ethiopian Mitmita — a very fine, orange-red powder of bird's eye chillies, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. Ethiopia's finishing spice — used on kitfo, gored gored, eggs, and anywhere a quick hit of intense heat and fragrance is needed.
Mitmita is the finishing spice of Ethiopian cooking — fiercely hot from bird's eye chillies but fragrant from cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. It is sprinkled on kitfo and gored gored, stirred into kibbeh, and used wherever a powerful finishing spice is needed. Finer and more aromatic than berbere.
Ingredients
Equipment: Dry pan, Spice grinder
- 20 dried bird's eye chillies (very hot)
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
Method
- Toast bird's eye chillies briefly in a dry pan — 1—2 minutes.
- Cool completely.
- Grind chillies to a very fine powder.
- Add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and salt.
- Grind together until uniformly fine.
- Store in an airtight jar.
Chef Tips
- Mitmita should be very finely ground — finer than berbere.
- Very hot — use sparingly if not accustomed to intense heat.
- The cardamom fragrance should be clearly present.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Coarse grinding — too chunky for the finishing applications.
The Science
Bird's eye chillies contain 100,000—225,000 Scoville Heat Units of capsaicin — among the highest of commonly used dried chillies. The cardamom's 1,8-cineole and the cloves' eugenol are both aromatic volatile compounds that partially offset the pure heat perception by stimulating other receptors simultaneously.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- Very high capsaicin — thermogenic and anti-inflammatory.
- Cardamom supports digestive health.
Cultural Note
Mitmita is Ethiopia's fiercest spice — the one that tests how much heat you can handle. The experienced Ethiopian eater uses it liberally on kitfo; the first-time visitor approaches it with caution. Its orange-red colour and intense fragrance are immediately distinctive.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Airtight jar — 6 months.
Reheating: Not applicable.
Serve with: On kitfo (ETH029), On gored gored (ETH028), On eggs, Wherever finishing heat is needed