Mitmita- Health Benefits, Uses and Important Facts

Mitmita is a spice mix made of powder that is used in Ethiopia. It has an orange-red colour and is made with ground African bird's eye chilli peppers, cloves, salt, and Ethiopian cardamom (korerima). Cinnamon, cumin, and ginger are among the other spices that are sometimes added.

The mixture is used to season the raw beef dish kitfo, and it can also be sprinkled on ful medames (fava beans). Mitmita can also be served as a condiment and sprinkled on other treats, or it can be spooned onto a piece of injera and used as a dip for small bites.

What is Mitmita? 

It has a lot of heat because of bird chilli, which is a traditional Ethiopian ingredient. Berber is definitely the king of the country's cuisine, but Mitmita is definitely the little prince.

It's different because it's very spicy and hot. Mitmita has a unique smell, but it's the spicy part that will catch our attention. It is reddish-orange in colour and has many spices that are only found in Ethiopia, like cardamom or Kororima. The mix is very different from one family to the next, but the chilli is always the main spice. Its main purpose is to add flavour to ketfo, a raw meat dish, but it is also used as a condiment with local beans and on all foods to give them a little kick.

It can also be used as a topping for injera, a kind of large Ethiopian pancake.

Use of Mitmita in cooking: 

1. The Mitmita chilli is very spicy, but because it is made from a mix of spices based on chilli, like tandoori, it has a very fragrant and complex flavour.
2. As with all peppers and spicy mixes, it can be used in any dish. Be careful not to cook it too much, because it will get stronger. Use it at the end or after cooking if you can.
3. You can season all of your sauces and marinades with the mitmita mix. You can put them in casseroles. Sprinkle some of the mixture on your grilled fish or foil to give it flavour.
4. You can also add it to oils or pizzas to make them taste better.
5. On the dessert side, you should know that peppers go well with chocolate, especially when combined with cardamom, kororima, and cloves. The mixture is really made to flavour a dessert, if the heat doesn't bother you.
6. So, add a pinch to any chocolate dessert you make to make it taste better.

Health benefits of Mitmita: 

1. Helps the body break down food.

Mitmita is a mildly spicy spice made from smoked peppers. So, eating Mitmita keeps your stomach from being too acidic. Also, a study shows that eating Mitmita makes you feel fuller and makes you feel like you've had enough to eat. Capsaicin, which is found in paprika, makes people feel fuller. So, it can help people stop bad eating habits, such as overeating.

2. Helps keep skin healthy

Today, the most common skin problems are acne and burns. A common skin problem is hyperpigmentation, which is caused by too much sun. Mitmita has a lot of important nutrients that help quickly treat these skin problems. Studies show that medicines with extracts of xanthophyll and paprika help treat skin problems like sunburns. Mitmita is antimicrobial. So, if you have acne that keeps coming back because of bacteria, you can use a Mitmita face mask. It will help you get rid of the acne you are having trouble with.

3. Anti-inflammatory

Studies have shown that Mitmita is a compound that reduces inflammation. So, eating a little bit of Mitmita will help you feel better if you have a disease like arthritis. Arthritis is a painful disease that causes the joints to swell up. So, the best way to ease the pain and symptoms of this crippling disease is to eat something that reduces inflammation, like paprika.

4. Anti-cancer properties

Mitmita is a spice that has a lot of different vitamins and minerals. There are many healthy things in paprika, such as lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and carotene. Also, there is a small amount of capsaicin in it. Studies say that all of these things work well as anti-cancer compounds and stop cancer cells from spreading in the body. They also keep an eye on how patients' tumours are doing. So, switch out your regular chilli powder for paprika to get more cancer protection.

5. Sleep inducer

Let's say you often have trouble sleeping or other bad sleeping conditions. Then you might want to add some Mitmita into your diet to get a good night's sleep. As we've already said, paprika is full of vitamins. Researchers have found that the vitamin B in paprika helps make and release the hormone melatonin, which helps people sleep. Mitmita also controls how much serotonin and nor-adrenaline are in your body.