Awaze (አዋዜ): The Essential Ethiopian Hot Sauce

Order tibs anywhere worth its salt and a small dish of dark red paste lands beside it, unannounced. That's awaze (አዋዜ) — the essential Ethiopian condiment — and the meal doesn't fully begin until something has been dragged through it.

What awaze is

At its heart, awaze is berbere brought to life: the spice blend loosened into a paste with liquid and a little fat. The liquid is where cooks express themselves — tej (honey wine) for the classic fruity depth, or water, oil, honey, even whiskey in some households — plus garlic, ginger, and sometimes a spoon of mustard. The result is hot, tangy, faintly sweet, and profoundly savory: berbere in its most persuasive form.

On the table

Awaze is the constant companion of tibs, kurt and tere siga (raw meat), and kitfo — among the Gurage, a kibe-and-berbere version called chefuye plays the same role. Beyond dipping, awaze works as a marinade (awaze tibs is a menu staple), a sandwich spread with courage, and the fastest possible way to make anything taste Ethiopian.

Its fiery cousins

Awaze anchors a whole condiment shelf: daata, the hot seasoning paste served with meat dishes; koch-kocha, the fresh green counterpart; and senafich, the mustard. A proper Ethiopian table rarely fields fewer than two.

Make or pour

Whisk berbere with warm water or tej and a little oil until it reaches a thick, spoonable gloss; rest an hour. Or skip straight to ours — Awaze | Ethiopian Hot Sauce, made the traditional way — alongside Berbere for your own experiments. Meet its partner dishes in our tibs guide.