Khameer
A source-specific Emirati yeast-and-baking-powder bread: soft dough enriched with dry milk is rolled into four rounds and baked briefly in a 550°F oven until it puffs.
Modern adaptation
Chbaab
Emirati saffron-and-cardamom pancakes made from a short-rested yeast batter and cooked on both sides.
An Emirati pancake
Chbaab is an Emirati pancake flavoured with saffron and cardamom. This recipe rests a yeast batter briefly before cooking the pancakes on both sides.
Sources for this section
A breakfast with several accompaniments
Visit Dubai places chebab at breakfast and suggests cheese, date syrup or honey alongside it. These accompaniments offer several ways to serve the pancake; they do not turn the batter into a single mandatory sweet or savoury formula.
The tourism authority's separate recipe uses water and milk powder, with cumin as well as saffron and cardamom. The Smithsonian recipe below instead uses liquid milk and includes baking powder alongside yeast. Keeping those versions distinct preserves the documented method rather than combining attractive ingredients from unrelated quantities.
Sources for this section
A name does not fix every batter
Visit Dubai's sweets guide describes variation among restaurant chebab recipes, including turmeric in some spice mixtures. That broader description is useful context, but turmeric is not added to this source-specific batch. Saffron and cardamom already flavour the Smithsonian version.
The available sources establish an Emirati association and a living breakfast practice. They do not provide a dated first attestation or identify a precise birthplace. The brief yeast rest here belongs to the published modern method and is not evidence for how every earlier household prepared the pancake.
Sources for this section
History
Chbaab is documented as an Emirati pancake; the first attestation is not established.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Plain wheat flour
150 g
Sugar
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Yeast
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Baking powder
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Salt
1.2 mL¼ tsp as recorded
Ground cardamom
2.5 mL½ tsp as recorded
Egg
1 whole
Milk
240 mL
More if needed for a thinner pancakeCooking oil
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Saffron
A pinch
Butter
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
For the griddle; the source also permits gheeMethod
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Contains wheat, milk and egg.
Do not taste raw batter; raw flour and eggs can contain harmful germs. Wash hands and surfaces after handling them.
Use care with the hot griddle.
- Mix flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, salt and cardamom in a bowl.
- In another bowl whisk the egg, milk, oil and saffron. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until just moistened; add more milk for a thinner batter if needed.
- Cover and leave in a warm, draught-free place for 30–45 minutes.
- Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat and spread the butter as it melts. Pour about ¼ cup batter for each pancake.
- Cook 1–2 minutes until bubbles form and some burst. Turn and cook the other side for another 1–2 minutes. Repeat and serve hot.
Conditions
Fermentation0.5–0.75 h
Places
United Arab Emirates
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe Smithsonian describes these as Emirati pancakes; no precise birthplace is established.
Related
More from United Arab Emirates
Regag (Emirati paper-thin griddle bread)
Regag is a thin Emirati wheat bread cooked on an ungreased pan. This measured home method uses a soft dough that rests covered, then gets spread thin with a palette knife or bench scraper.
Related in the family
Ablo (rice-based steamed bread)
Soft, lightly tangy steamed cereal bread documented across Benin and Togo. This page gives one measured rice-flour research method; maize-based Ablo and mixed-grain versions remain distinct traditions.
Alsatian kouglof
An enriched Alsatian yeast ring with raisins and almonds, kneaded with butter, proofed in a fluted mould and baked until browned.
Anpan
Anpan is a soft wheat bun filled with sweet red-bean paste and finished with egg wash and black sesame. This dough rises with commercial instant yeast.
Baghrir
Moroccan semolina pancakes made from a thin yeast batter, rested until foamy and cooked on one side until the surface sets with a honeycomb of holes. This source-specific batch makes sixteen 5-inch pancakes.
Belokranjska pogača
A round Slovenian flatbread scored in a grid and topped with caraway and coarse salt.
Biga
Biga is an Italian bread preferment of flour, water and a little yeast, usually a stiff unsalted mass of about 45 per cent water, fermented ahead and then mixed into the final dough.
Bo lo bao
Hong Kong-style pineapple buns have soft yeast dough beneath a crisp, sweet pastry topping.
Bolo do caco: pan-and-oven version
Sweet-potato wheat breads with fresh yeast, browned in a pan and finished in the oven. This is the bread component of Teleculinária's scrambled-egg dish.
Community
No community contributions have been published for this entry yet.
Share what you made
Sign in to contribute. Published comments and photos are free to read.
Sources
Smithsonian Folklife FestivalInspiration · Method · Geography
Emirati Recipes: Chai Karak and ChbaabEmirati saffron and cardamom batter, 30–45 minute rest and two-sided griddle method.
Cited in: An Emirati pancake; A breakfast with several accompaniments; A name does not fix every batter
Visit DubaiContext
The History of Emirati Cuisine in DubaiChebab described as a local breakfast pancake, served with cheese, date syrup or honey. Its separate recipe uses water, milk powder and cumin; not substituted for the Smithsonian method.
Cited in: A breakfast with several accompaniments
Visit DubaiContext
Famous Arabic Sweets to TryChebab identified as an Emirati breakfast pancake; restaurant recipes vary and may include turmeric, cardamom and saffron, with date syrup.
Cited in: A name does not fix every batter