Besso

Ingredients

Barley

• 300 gwhole barley grains, or 300 g ready-roasted barley flour

To mix

• about 400 ml water, hot or cold
• or milk, for a richer version

Savoury

• 60 gniter kibbeh, spiced clarified butter
• 1 tspsalt
• a little berbere, optional

Sweet

• 3 tbspsugar or honey
• a pinch of salt

To serve

• as a drink, or thick, eaten with a spoon

Directions

1. Heat a heavy dry pan over a medium heat and add the barley in a single layer. Stir it constantly and keep it moving throughout. It takes fifteen to twenty minutes and it needs continuous attention.
2. Take it off when it is a deep even brown and smells nutty rather than sharp. Do not let it blacken, since burnt barley is bitter and it ruins the whole batch.
3. Let it cool completely before grinding, since warm grain releases oils and grinds to a paste. Grind the cooled barley as finely as you can manage.
4. Grind it genuinely fine, since coarse grit is unpleasant in something mixed with water and drunk. Sift it and regrind whatever will not pass through. Ready-roasted besso flour is sold in Ethiopian shops and saves all of this.
5. Put the flour in a bowl and add the liquid gradually while stirring. Add the liquid to the flour rather than the other way round, and add it a little at a time.
6. Work it into a smooth paste first, then thin it out to the consistency you want. Hot water gives a smoother, more comforting result and helps the butter melt through. Stir in niter kibbeh, the Ethiopian spiced clarified butter, along with salt. Plain clarified butter works if you have no niter kibbeh.
7. Stir in sugar or honey and a pinch of salt. Adjust it with more liquid or more flour until it suits you. Serve it in a bowl or a cup, warm or at room temperature. Thick besso is often rolled into a ball in the palm and eaten in pieces.

Technique

• The barley is roasted before grinding, and that roasting is the flavour.
• It needs no cooking, which is why it was carried on journeys.
• It is eaten either thin as a drink or thick with a spoon.

Substitutions

• Ready-roasted besso flour from an Ethiopian shop.
• Plain clarified butter in place of niter kibbeh.

Variations

• Made sweet with honey, for children.
• Made with milk instead of water.
• Spiced with berbere, for a hotter version.

History

Oromo travellers and farmers carried roasted barley flour as a food that needed no cooking on the road.

Frequently asked questions

What is Besso?

Besso is a breakfast from Ethiopia: roasted barley flour stirred with water, butter and salt or sugar. Oromo travellers and farmers carried roasted barley flour as a food that needed no cooking on the road.

How long does Besso take to make?

Besso takes 10 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Besso?

Yes, within limits. Ready-roasted besso flour from an Ethiopian shop. Plain clarified butter in place of niter kibbeh.

What is the most important thing to get right in Besso?

Take it off when it is a deep even brown and smells nutty rather than sharp. Do not let it blacken, since burnt barley is bitter and it ruins the whole batch.