These sourdough pancakes are made daily in most Somali kitchens. They are light, spongy, chewy and taste a bit like crumpets. We eat them for breakfast, drizzled with butter and a sprinkle of sugar. Anjero also makes a regular appearance at our lunch and dinner tables, usually served with a meat based stew (maraq).
Anjero (written as canjeero in Somali) is also known as lahooh (laxoox). It is similar to the massive sized Ethiopian injera bread. The Somali version is smaller – dinner plate sized and thinner. Somalis make their anjero in various ways. Some people add eggs to the batter. Others use flours such as sorghum.
Some Somalis don’t ferment their batter, but I like my anjero fermented. Fermentation gives anjero a tangy sourdough taste that is very moreish! The fermentation process takes two days. Keep a cupful of fermented batter in the fridge to start a fresh batch if you want to make more anjero.
Breads similar to anjero are common in Yemen (where it is called lahoh) and Israel where it was introduced by Yemeni Jews. Moroccans also make a similar bread called baghrir and eat it drizzled with honey and butter.
Be creative – stuff the anjero with cheese and olives, or rolled with eggs and salad…
Ingredients
- 1 cup white corn flour
- ½ cup sorghum flour (optional)
- 4 cups self raising flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4- 4½ cups lukewarm water (you will need to reduce the water a little bit if you aren’t using the sorghum flour)
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients together, adding the water slowly to make sure that you get a smooth batter.
- Pour the batter in a bowl, cover and let it rest for two days in a warm place. This will allow the batter to ferment nicely.
- Heat a non stick frying pan on medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot, pour a ladleful of the fermented batter and spread from the centre in a circular motion. You should aim for a circle that is about the size of a dinner plate.
- Cover the pan and cook until the surface is holey and the bottom a light golden brown.
- Remove from the pan and place on a plate.
- Keep cooking until you have enough anjero.
- Keep any remaining batter in the fridge to cook the next day.
INFO
Author : Abderazzaq Noor
Recipe by : Shukri