Alright folks, this is a Food × Fast feature, meaning that I'm aiming for lots of info in a small space.  To that end, allow me to briefly explain the Recipe Notes.

First, I'll explain the methodology, and specifically why I'm adding water to a recipe in which we want to then get rid of water.  Second, I'll explain the short and long niter kibbeh variations.  Next, and probably most importantly, I'll explore the different spices, including variations and substitutions.  Finally, you'll find a small section on vegan/plant-based options.

Whenever you clarify butter (or ghee, or niter kibbeh), the idea is to separate butter fat from water - which is why it might seem odd to add water during the process.

To be fair, this is by no means a universal method.  The idea is that we add water to the melted butter in order to speed up the cooling/separation of the fat, and to make it easier to pour off the pre-existing water and water-soluble milk solids.  I first encountered this method in this YouTube video by Hanna's Taste.  At first, it seems a little superfluous - but the existing quantity of water is fairly small, making it difficult to pour off, and difficult to capture the milk solids.  I think.  Honestly, I'm working off of culinary theory here.  But I was very happy with the results - the resulting butterfat was very easy to work with, and the water soluble solids were poured off with ease.

Water is more often removed from clarified butter via evaporation; the butter is cooked at a high enough temperature to allow the water content to boil off.  This works, but it is easier to accidentally brown the milk solids, thereby changing the flavour of the butter.  This added water method is simple, and doesn't require much supervision to avoid browning or burning.  You'll also find recipes that ask you ladle off the melted butter, leaving the water in the pot.  Once again, this works, but it's finicky (and tends to leave some of that tasty, tasty butter behind).  Still, you can use either of these methods if you prefer - and I do recommend the ladle method for the easy 1-hour variation below.

When it comes to making niter kibbeh, the biggest challenge for many is simply going to be finding - or substituting - for the herbs and spices.  Garlic, ginger, onion are all pretty straightforward, but some of the spices are going to require a trip to one or two more specialized shops (or some online purchasing).  If you have access to an Ethiopian/Eritrean grocery store, you shouldn't have any trouble finding these ingredients.  If not, you might find them at a more general African grocery store.

In this section, I'll explain the major spices, including where you can find them, and how you can substitute for them if necessary.

Besobela is a type of holy basil native to the Horn of Africa. Most Ethiopian/Eritrean grocers will well dried besobela of some type.  Dried flower heads and small leaves are preferred, though some cheaper products will contain more stems and coarse leaves.  Besobela seeds are also sometimes found in stores.  These seeds are used in a variety of recipes, but the flowers and leaves are preferable for making niter kibbeh.

If you have time and a green thumb, besobela seeds can be found online for home gardening.  As with many members of the mint family, it can be a hardy (even aggressive) grower.

Substitute: Besobela and holy basil are related and similar in many respects, but not entirely interchangeable.  That said, if you only have holy basil, it will work well.  Alternatively, try a combination of one part dried mint to two parts sweet basil, plus a pinch of allspice.

Korarima is often called Ethiopian cardamom - a name that accurately conveys the broadly overlapping flavours of the two ingredients.  Korarima and green cardamom are not identical, mind you, but they are definitely very similar.  Its sort of a cinnamon/cassia situation - different, but similar enough to be used semi-interchangeably.

Substitute: Green cardamom makes an excellent substitute for korarima.

I have seen several sources mention using black cardamom, but I absolutely do not recommend this.  Black cardamom pods look like korarima pods, which seems to be where the confusion arises.  But black cardamom has a distinctly smoky, camphor-like flavour that's nothing like korarima.

Grains of paradise (melegueta pepper), while closely related to korarima, are quite different tasting, and likewise do not make a good substitute.

Koseret is an herb in the verbena family with a delightfully unique flavour profile.  It's always difficult to describe a flavour, but I personally think it's best described as something between mint, oregano, and lemon verbena.  It's sometimes described as being similar to basil, and I will somewhat agree with that, if we're talking about a basil without any anise-like notes.

Koseret is often labeled and sold as butter clarifying herb - which is pretty hand in this specific situation.  Note that koseret is often sold with quite a few coarse, woody stems mixed in.  These are best picked out.

Substitute: Koseret can be difficult to substitute for - but there are some options.  Try a 1:2:2 ratio of oregano, mint, and lemon verbena.  Alternatively, if you have a nice sweet basil that does not have much of an anise/licorice flavour, try mixing that with a little mint and lemon verbena.

NB: Koseret has a citrusy characteristic, but not a true lemon taste.  This is why I've specified lemon verbena, which has a pleasant lemony aroma but a fairly mild flavour.  Other lemony herbs (e.g. lemon balm, lemongrass, etc.) can be overwhelming and evocative of cleaning products, and are better avoided here.

I've lumped these three ingredients together because they're all quite a bit easier to find.  Many well-stocked grocery stores will carry all three of these ingredients - however, if you want to avoid running around hunting for spices, I would instead recommend hitting up an Indian/South Asian shop.  Note that nigella is often sold as kalonji.

Substitute: Cumin can be substituted for nigella.  There is not good substitute for the distinctive and powerful flavour of fenugreek.  If you're not a fan of fenugreek, it can be omitted.  This will drastically change the flavour and aroma of your niter kibbeh - but if you don't like fenugreek, that's probably what you want anyway.  Turmeric is likewise difficult to substitute, but can also be omitted.  Note that omitting turmeric will give your niter kibbeh a more straw-yellow colour, rather than the more 'electric' yellow colour shown in the pictures here.

Niter kibbeh is adaptable and personal, and there are certainly other spices that can be used.  Feel free to play around with them if you like, though I don't recommend going too big right out of the gates - start off small, and remember that you can always add more spices alongside your niter kibbeh when cooking other recipes.

Sweet/warming spices like nutmeg, coriander seeds, and cinnamon are commonly used to make niter kibbeh.  I personally prefer to leave warming spices out, adding them in when and where I feel they're useful in other recipes.  My berbere recipe, for example, contains a number of warm spices, meaning that I don't necessarily want them in my niter kibbeh as well.  That being said, I do use some cloves - so there's not really a hard right or wrong.

You'll find many niter kibbeh recipes that call for various dried herbs, including oregano and basil.  These are generally included as workarounds for koseret, which can be difficult to find.  For more on this and other substitutions, refer back to the sections above.

This method is ideal when you don't have time for a cooling stage.  When you reach step 2, do not add the water, and do not cool the butter down.  Instead, toast and grind the spices as instructed, then simmer them and the other spices in the butter as instructed in step 6.  Once the niter kibbeh is fully flavoured, use a ladle to scoop the melted butter from the top and pour it through the strainer, taking care not to disturb the thin watery layer at the bottom of the pot.

Traditionally, niter kibbeh is often fermented over a period of several days.  This process is fairly similar to making cultured butter (though starter cultures are not generally used), and similarly contributes a tangy flavour to the finished product.

The process of fermenting niter kibbeh is pretty straightforward.  After extracting the water at the end of step 2 of the instructions, cover the butter with an air tight lid and leave it on the counter for 3-4 days.  Then proceed with the remaining steps in the recipe.

Now, a little caveat - this method is traditional, but not necessarily foolproof.  If exposed to too much air, butter can become rancid - but with a good lid on it, this shouldn't be an issue given the timeframe we're talking about.  The bigger issue, in my opinion, is that you might not get enough fermentation to get the tangy cultured butter flavour you're looking for.  In order to help move the process along, you can consider adding a little kefir or plain yogurt (1 tsp should suffice) to the softened butter, then leave it on the counter for 24-36 hours.  This will add live lactobacilli -  the bacteria responsible for fermenting your butter.  You can taste-test the butter after about 24 hours to see if you're at a good stopping point.

If you don't eat dairy and you've made it this far in the post, congratulations. And I have good news - there are a few different plant-based options at your disposal!

The first option is pretty straightforward: substitute a plant-based butter substitute for the dairy butter.  You can use a store-bought vegan butter, or a homemade variation, then follow the recipe word-for-word.  This option is simple enough, but not my preferred method.  Vegan butters have added water, making them behave more like butter.  This is great when you're baking, but given that we're actually trying to get rid of the water, we might as well save ourselves some work.

The second option is to substitute coconut oil for butter.  This is even easier than using a vegan butter substitute, as the water content of coconut oil is very low, and there are no milk solids (or nut/seed proteins/sugars) to remove.  Consequently, the added water and solidification steps (2 & 5 in the recipe) can be skipped.

Finally, there's the most traditional option: make spiced oil instead. Yeqimem zeyet (የቅመም ዘይት) is basically niter kibbeh, but made with vegetable oil instead of butter.  It's long been an important pareve ingredient in Ethiopian Jewish cooking.  Dairy and meat cannot be cooked together under Jewish dietary law, making yeqimem zeyet an important (and tasty) alternative.  Yeqimem zeyet has the added benefit of being far lower in saturated fat than niter kibbeh made with butter or coconut oil, making it a great choice for anyone looking to make a more heart-healthy choice.

To make yeqimem zeyet, simply substitute a good quality, neutral-tasting vegetagble oil for the butter.  I would recommend grapeseed, avocado, or canola oil.  As with coconut oil, there's virtually zero water to eliminate, so the water and solidification steps (2 & 5 in the recipe) can be omitted.