SOMALIA:
Anjero is similar to Ethiopian injera although a little thicker, and it is used in lieu of cutlery to scoop up food. Unless, that is, it is eaten for breakfast, in which case it is spread with butter and sprinkled with sugar or drizzled with honey. Another way to have anjero at breakfast is to tear it in pieces and pile them in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar, drizzle with olive oil, and drench the whole lot with tea. I can’t imagine ever wanting to have anjero this way, either for breakfast or any other time for that matter, but it is lovely with stews or simply spread with butter and honey. This kind of fluffy bread is closer to a pancake and it is found with slight variations all over the Muslim world. The Yemeni variation is known as lahoh. It is very close to anjero while the Zanzibari version, known as chila, can be made with ground rice. Moroccan beghrir is another take on anjero, while Lebanese/Syrian qatayef are similar but are used as in sweets, filled with either clotted cream or walnuts or eaten plain or fried, drenched in sugar syrup.

MAKES 8 MEDIUM PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SOURDOUGH:

• ½ cup (70 g) white corn flour
• ¼ cup (35 g) sorghum flour
• 1½ teaspoons superfine sugar
• 1½ teaspoons instant (fast-acting) yeast

FOR THE PANCAKES:

• 2 cups (240 g) self-rising flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons superfine sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the corn flour, sorghum flour, sugar, and yeast in a bowl.
2. Add ½ cup (125 ml) water and mix well.
3. Let ferment for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
4. In a large bowl, mix the self-rising flour, salt, and sugar.
5. Add the sourdough and 1 cup (250 ml) water, and mix well.
6. Add another ¾ cup (180 ml) water and slap the dough with your hand or whisk it to aerate and make it smooth.
7. Add another ½ cup (125 ml) to ¾ cup (180 ml) water to make a pancake batter.
8. Mix until the batter is smooth.
9. Cover and let ferment for at least 2 hours or even overnight.
10. Over medium heat, pour a ladleful of batter into the middle of the pan and spread the batter with the back of the ladle from the center in a circular motion.
11. Aim for a round that is about the size of a dinner plate with a circular swirl inside it where the batter should be thinner.
12. Cook until the surface is full of tiny holes and the bottom is golden.
13. Remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with parchment paper.
14. Keep cooking the remaining anjero in the same way until you have made eight pancakes.
15. Serve with a stew or for breakfast.