Chebab
A traditional breakfast of the United Arab Emirates, eaten during Ramadan too. Chebab are soft yeasted pancakes, tinted with saffron and scented with cardamom, served with date syrup (dibs) and cream cheese — in the Emirates often processed cheese. They sit somewhere between a thick crepe and a drop scone. The key is an hour's rest for the batter: the yeast forms bubbles in it, making the pancakes light and springy.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Saffron 10 min
- Batter 5 min
- Rising 60 min
- Frying 20 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneBloom the saffron
Grind the saffron with a little of the sugar and pour over 2 tablespoons of warm water. Leave 10 minutes, until the liquid turns deep orange.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp warm water for the saffron · 250 g plain flour · 2 pcs eggs · 400 ml milk, lukewarm · 3 tbsp sugar · 3 g dried yeast · 1 tsp ground cardamom · 1 pinch salt
Ten minutes — deep orange.Mix the dry ingredients
In a bowl mix the flour, the rest of the sugar, yeast, cardamom and salt.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp warm water for the saffron · 250 g plain flour · 2 pcs eggs · 400 ml milk, lukewarm · 3 tbsp sugar · 3 g dried yeast · 1 tsp ground cardamom · 1 pinch salt
Add milk, eggs and saffron
Add the lukewarm milk, eggs and saffron water and whisk into a smooth batter like thick cream. The milk should be lukewarm, not hot — hot milk kills yeast.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp warm water for the saffron · 250 g plain flour · 2 pcs eggs · 400 ml milk, lukewarm · 3 tbsp sugar · 3 g dried yeast · 1 tsp ground cardamom · 1 pinch salt
Rest an hour
Cover the bowl and leave somewhere warm for an hour, until bubbles appear on the surface and the batter rises slightly.
Ingredients: 1 pinch saffron · 2 tbsp warm water for the saffron · 250 g plain flour · 2 pcs eggs · 400 ml milk, lukewarm · 3 tbsp sugar · 3 g dried yeast · 1 tsp ground cardamom · 1 pinch salt
Bubbles on the surface — the batter is ready.Heat the pan
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and brush it thinly with butter. Too hot, and the pancakes burn outside before the centre cooks.
Ingredients: 20 g butter or ghee for frying · 60 g date syrup · 100 g cream cheese
Fry the pancakes
Do not stir the batter again. Ladle it from the top and pour pancakes about 12 cm across into the pan. Fry 1.5–2 minutes, until holes appear on the surface and the underside is golden, flip and fry another minute. Fry in batches, about 20 minutes in all.
Ingredients: 20 g butter or ghee for frying · 60 g date syrup · 100 g cream cheese
Holes on top — time to flip.Keep warm
Stack the pancakes under a cloth on a plate so they stay soft, and fry the rest, buttering the pan every few pancakes. You will get about 12.
Ingredients: 20 g butter or ghee for frying · 60 g date syrup · 100 g cream cheese
Serve with date syrup and cream cheese
Serve the chebab warm, drizzled with date syrup, with a spoon of cream cheese. In the Emirates they come with cardamom Arabic coffee or black tea.
Ingredients: 20 g butter or ghee for frying · 60 g date syrup · 100 g cream cheese
Before you start
Date syrup
Date syrup (dibs, silan) is sold in Middle Eastern shops. Honey can replace it, but the flavour will be less caramel-like.
With nigella
Some cooks add a teaspoon of nigella seeds to the batter, giving the pancakes a gently peppery, spicy flavour. Worth trying.
Storage
The pancakes keep a day covered. Warm them 10–20 seconds a side in a dry pan — they will soften again.
