Is Ethiopian Food Spicy? Berbere Versus Alicha Explained

Ethiopian food is often spicy, but not uniformly so. Stews built on berbere, a chilli-based spice blend, have heat, while dishes called alicha, cooked with turmeric and no berbere, are mild. So there is something to eat at every level of chilli tolerance: it is all a matter of picking the dish.

Two families of sauces

Ethiopian cooking divides into two main families. The first is berbere, a red blend of dried chilli and aromatic spices, which gives wots their heat and colour. It produces deep, fragrant, often hot sauces. The second is alicha, a mild preparation cooked with turmeric, garlic and onion, without berbere. The spices and their differences are detailed in berbere, mitmita and niter kibbeh.

Where the ge'eza dishes sit

At ge'eza, here is a general guide, taken from the menu:

• Bolder: Shiro Wot, chickpeas in a deep berbere sauce, 5,500 F; Siga Wot, beef simmered in an intense berbere sauce, 8,000 F, marked as spicy; Kitfo, seasoned with mitmita, 9,000 F, to be ordered 24 hours ahead; Tibs Firfir, lifted with berbere spices, 9,000 F.
• Mild: Alicha Siga Wot, beef gently simmered with turmeric, 9,000 F; Alicha Ater Kik, split peas with turmeric, 5,500 F; Tikil Gomen, cabbage with turmeric, 5,500 F; Key Sir, beetroot, 5,000 F; Gomen, collard greens sautéed with garlic, 5,000 F.
• In between: Tibs, meat sautéed with onions, tomatoes and fresh herbs, 8,000 F, which stays approachable.

How to choose by tolerance

If you are not used to chilli, start from an alicha dish and a vegetable dish, then add a little Shiro to taste. If you like heat, Siga Wot or Kitfo are for you. If the group is mixed, the beyaynetu brings together seven dishes of varied intensity: everyone doses to taste (see beyaynetu). One tip: injera, slightly sour, softens the sensation of heat.

Simply tell the team your tolerance when ordering: they will guide you. For a complete guide to first orders, see Ethiopian food, a beginner's guide.

And at breakfast?

In the morning, foul is cooked with green chilli, chechebsa with berbere and genfo is served with a well of berbere. Enqulal tibs contain jalapeño. So the dishes are fairly bold, but they are taken with bread, which tempers the heat.