Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Khur-le
Rustic buckwheat pancakes from the Bhutanese highlands, eaten with chili-cheese ezay.
Bhutanese · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 20 min
~268 cal · 10g protein · 56g carbs · 2g fat · 8g fiber · 0g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Khur-le are rustic buckwheat pancakes from the highlands of Bhutan, a batter of nutty buckwheat flour cooked on a griddle into soft, earthy pancakes, eaten with the fiery cheese-and-chili stews of the mountains. Buckwheat thrives in Bhutan's high, cold valleys where rice struggles.
The pancakes reflect the hardy grain cooking of the Himalayan highlands, particularly the Bumthang region famous for its buckwheat. Earthy and filling, they are the perfect vehicle for scooping up ema datshi and other cheesy, chili-rich Bhutanese dishes.
Eaten for breakfast or with meals in Bhutan's mountain valleys, khur-le are filling food suited to the cold.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups buckwheat flour
as needed water
a pinch a pinch of salt
2 scallion (optional)
as needed oil for the griddle
Instructions
1
Whisk the buckwheat flour, salt, and water into a pourable batter.
2
Stir in the scallion if using.
3
Pour rounds onto a hot oiled griddle.
4
Cook until set and lightly browned, flipping once.
5
Serve hot with a chili ezay or cheese.
Thimphu highland tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Thimphu. Datshi is the other half of the name: a soft fresh cheese of cow or yak milk that melts down into a sauce rather than pulling into strings. The chillies arrive in three states, green, sun-dried red and dried white, and which one goes into the pot changes the dish more than the cheese does.
🗺️
Bhutan. Datshi means the cheese, a soft fresh cow or yak cheese that melts into a sauce rather than stringing, and the chillies come in three states: green and fresh in season, sun-dried red for the rest of the year, and dried white after boiling. They are treated as the vegetable in the dish, not the seasoning on it.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Bhutan
Ema DatshiBhutan’s national dish: green chilies stewed as the vegetable, not the seasoning, in a silky cheese sauce.
Jasha MarooA soupy, spicy minced-chicken stew with tomato, ginger, and coriander, a warming everyday Bhutanese dish.
KhabzeyCrisp, lightly sweet fried dough shaped into knots and butterflies, a festive Bhutanese biscuit for New Year and offerings.
Browse all Bhutan recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Griddle or flat pan, Whisk.
Storing it: Best fresh and hot. Keep batter covered in the fridge for up to a day, and rewarm cooked ones in a dry pan.
Make it a Bhutan meal
Suja (Butter Tea)Drink
KhabzeyDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Khur-le?
Rustic buckwheat pancakes from the Bhutanese highlands, eaten with chili-cheese ezay.
Where does Khur-le come from?
Khur-le is a Bhutanese dish from Thimphu, Bhutan.
Can Khur-le be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Khur-le recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Khur-le safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Khur-le take to make?
About 30 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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