Kolo
ቆሎ በቅቤ·(kolo be kibbeh)
Buna in the Suburbs: The Weekend Coffee Ceremony
The bare cast-iron skillet heats up. The hulled barley goes in. The grains pop. Before the clay jebena even hits the coals, the smell of roasting grains fills the air. Popcorn is fine, but a proper ceremony demands kolo. We skip the traditional mortar by using pearl barley and tossing the hot, crackling grains in berbere-spiced clarified butter. Add dry-roasted peanuts, and keep the bowl within arm's reach of the coffee pot.
Ingredients
- pearl barley2 cup
- canned chickpeas1/2 cup
- dry roasted sunflower kernels1/4 cup
- niter kibbeh or ghee1 1/2 tbsp
- berbere1 1/2 tsp
- ground korerima or cardamom1/4 tsp
- fine sea salt1/2 tsp
Method
- 01
Rinse the barley and leave it slightly damp.
Place the pearl barley in a strainer and run it under hot water, shaking off the excess but resisting the urge to dry it. This residual moisture steams the grains in the hot pan, allowing them to puff and crack instead of burning into rocks.
- 02
Dry-roast the grains in a heavy skillet.
Place a large cast-iron or heavy non-stick pan over medium heat with no oil. Once hot, add the damp barley and dried chickpeas.
- 03
Toast the mix until it crackles and pops.
Stir continuously with a wooden spoon for fifteen to twenty minutes as the water evaporates and the barley turns deeply golden. Listen for the popping; once the grains shatter crisply rather than breaking your teeth, pull them off the heat.
- 04
Bloom the spices in the clarified butter.
In a separate, small skillet, melt the niter kibbeh over low heat. Pull it off the heat immediately so you don't scorch the spices, and whisk in the berbere, korerima, and salt.
- 05
Toss the grains and let them cool completely.
Transfer the hot roasted barley and chickpeas to a large bowl, add the sunflower kernels, and pour the spiced butter over the top. Toss vigorously until every grain glistens, then let it cool until the butter sets and the crunch locks in.