Mekelesha
Also known as mekelesha spice, mekelesh
Dry spice blend
Quick answer
An Ethiopian mixture of warm spices — cardamom, clove and cinnamon with ginger, fennel or fenugreek — ground together and added to a wot to give it more flavour, doro wot above all.
In essentially every version: Cardamom (korarima), Cloves, Cinnamon (Ceylon).
3 distinct versions are set out below. None of them is presented as the correct one, because there isn’t one.
What goes in it
The defining core first, then the versions, with what each ingredient is there to do.
| Ingredient | Role | How essential |
|---|---|---|
| KorarimaThe source writes cardamom and identifies the plant as Aframomum corrorima, korarima. | primary aromatic | defining |
| Cloves | primary aromatic | defining |
| Cinnamon (Ceylon)The species of cinnamon is not stated. | supporting aromatic | usual |
Informants in one southern district describe it in two ways. Most give a warm mixture of cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ginger, fennel and pepper; another adds fenugreek, coriander, caraway and black cumin to the clove, cinnamon and cardamom. An earlier survey in the northern city of Bahir Dar lists the first six and nothing else, and the southern study cites that survey, so the two lists may not be independent. Ethiopian spice blends in general vary between regions, and no source found gives proportions.
The versions
Each attributed to whoever describes it. The sources say what goes in and how it is made and give no amounts, so none are shown.
Mekelesha with fennel and ginger
Regional traditionSpice users interviewed in the Boditi and Bedessa markets of Wolaita, southern Ethiopia, as recorded by Wendimu and colleagues · no amounts given · medium confidence
Cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, fennel seed and pepper, ground together in a mortar into a powder that is added to doro wot.
Made with: Cardamom (korarima), Cloves, Cinnamon (Ceylon), Ginger, Fennel seed, Pepper (written as black pepper). The source gives no amounts, so none are shown.
Mekelesha as listed in Bahir Dar
Regional traditionPeople interviewed in three markets of Bahir Dar, in north-western Ethiopia, as tabulated by Demeke and Getahun · no amounts given · low confidence
Cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom, fennel and black pepper. The survey lists the spices that go into the condiment and says nothing of amounts or method.
Made with: Cinnamon (Ceylon), Cloves, Ginger, Cardamom (plant not stated), Fennel seed, Black pepper (as written). The source gives no amounts, so none are shown.
A list in a table of a carelessly edited paper, with English names only.
Mekelesha with fenugreek and coriander
Regional traditionA second description from the same Wolaita market interviews, recorded by Wendimu and colleagues · no amounts given · low confidence
Dried clove buds combined with fenugreek, coriander, caraway, black cumin, cinnamon and cardamom, used in cooking.
Made with: Cloves, Fenugreek, Coriander seed, Caraway, Cinnamon (Ceylon), Cardamom (korarima). The source gives no amounts, so none are shown.
The source also names black cumin. It is left out of the ingredients because the English name does not settle the plant: in Ethiopian sources it may mean nigella, and the same study gives the Amharic name of nigella to black cardamom.
Using it
Added to a wot to give it more flavour; the first description is of a powder added to doro wot. It is also used, with dried garlic and ginger, in nech shiro, the shiro made without berbere.
Warm and sweet-spiced rather than hot: clove and cardamom lead, with cinnamon behind them.
Mild; the heat of a wot comes from berbere, not from this.
- Doro wot
- Wot generally
What to use it on
Chicken
ClassicGround mekelesha is added to doro wot, the Ethiopian chicken stew, to give it more flavour.
How: In doro wot
Allergens and safety
Not among the substances that must be declared as allergens under EU Regulation 1169/2011 Annex II or under the United States major food allergen rules. That is a statement about labelling law and not about whether allergy occurs: allergic reactions to spices are documented in the clinical literature and are simply not a labelling category. Where a ground spice presents an allergen risk it is usually through adulteration or shared processing equipment rather than through the plant itself.
Culture and origin
Ethiopia, where it is one of the spice blends, with berbere, mitmita and awaze, behind dishes such as doro wot and shiro; the blends vary from region to region.
Wolaita, southern Ethiopia
Ground in a mortar from spices sold in the local markets, chiefly for doro wot.
Bahir Dar, north-western Ethiopia
A survey of 169 people in three markets of the city counted it among eight condiments in routinely prepared dishes, beside spiced red pepper, mitmita, the green chilli sauce datta, shiro and spiced butter. Asked to rank six of them by preference, the informants put it fourth, behind red pepper, a bean condiment and datta.
The paper prints the name as Mekalesha and Mekele-Sha.