berbere

noun

ber·​be·​re ˌber-bə-ˈrā 

ˈbər-bə-rē

: a blend of powdered spices including red chili pepper that is used in Ethiopian cooking

… market places in Ethiopia … where again one encounters … excruciatingly hot berbere, the spiced dried powder without which no Ethiopian cook could prepare a meal.

—A. D. Krikorian, The Quarterly Review Of Biology, September 1996

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

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