🍳 BREAKFAST
Lahoh
A soft, honeycombed fermented pancake eaten with ghee and honey or a spicy stew in Djibouti.
Djiboutian · medium · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 20 min · plus 1 h hands-off time
~293 cal · 8g protein · 61g carbs · 1g fat · 2g fiber · 1g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Lahoh is the spongy, pancake of Djibouti and the wider Horn of Africa, a batter left to for a gentle sourness, then cooked on one side so the top stays soft and riddled with tiny holes. It is a close cousin of Somali canjeero and Ethiopian , reflecting the shared foodways of the region.
The fermentation gives lahoh its characteristic tang, and the holey surface soaks up whatever it's served with, honey and for a sweet breakfast, or a spiced stew for something heartier. It's a staple of Djiboutian and Somali morning tables.
Torn and eaten by hand, lahoh is comforting, everyday food that speaks to Djibouti's position at the crossroads of African and Arabian cultures. Its tender texture and subtle sourness make it a cherished start to the day across the region.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and 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 flour
- 1/2 cup self-rising flour
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- as needed warm water
- to taste or oil and honey, to serve
- a pinch salt
Instructions
- 1Whisk the flours, yeast, sugar, salt, and warm water into a smooth, pourable batter.
- 2Ferment until bubbly and risen, about 1 hour.
- 3Pour rounds onto a hot dry pan.
- 4Cook on one side only until the top is set and covered in tiny holes.
- 5Serve warm with ghee (or oil) and honey.
Djibouti City tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Djibouti City. Djibouti City is a Red Sea port scented with cardamom and cumin, where skudahkharis simmers rice with goat and warm spice. Its cooking bridges Somali, Afar, Yemeni, and French habits, in flatbreads, samosas, and strong spiced tea.
🗺️
Djibouti. Lahoh, also written laxoox, is a teff or sorghum sourdough pancake close to Ethiopian injera and shared with Somalia, cooked on one side only so the top stays pocked with holes. Skoudehkaris gets its character from cumin, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon rather than from chilli, and the meat in it is usually lamb.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Djibouti
SkoudehkarisDjibouti's national dish: spiced rice cooked with lamb, tomato, and cardamom in one pot.
Fah-FahA fiery, aromatic goat and vegetable soup brightened with green chili and lime, Djibouti's favorite restorative lunch.
Djiboutian Banana FrittersLight little fritters of mashed ripe banana and flour scented with nutmeg, fried and dusted with sugar, a Djibouti favourite.
Browse all Djibouti recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: 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 Djibouti meal
Shaah bil CaanoDrink
Djiboutian Banana FrittersDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Lahoh?
A soft, honeycombed fermented pancake eaten with ghee and honey or a spicy stew in Djibouti.
Where does Lahoh come from?
Lahoh is a Djiboutian dish from Djibouti City, Djibouti.
Can Lahoh be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Lahoh recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Lahoh 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 still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), 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 Lahoh take to make?
About 1 h 35 min in all: 15 minutes prep and 20 minutes cooking, plus 1 h of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 4.
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