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Regag with Egg and Cheese (Emirati Crisp Flatbread)
A wafer-thin batter bread spread across a hot griddle until crisp, topped while it cooks with beaten egg and cream cheese, then folded into a crunchy triangle.
Emirati · medium · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 20 min · plus 30 min hands-off time
~409 cal · 14g protein · 49g carbs · 17g fat · 2g fiber · 1g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Regag, also written rigag or raqaq, is the thinnest bread of the Gulf, eaten in the Emirates, Oman and Bahrain. It is made from nothing more than flour, water and salt, beaten into a soft, loose dough or batter that is wiped across a very hot domed or flat griddle in one quick circle, and it cooks in under a minute into a sheet as thin and crisp as a wafer.
Plain regag is broken into broth and meat for thareed, but on its own it is a favourite snack and breakfast. At street stalls and in the heritage villages of the UAE it is cooked to order: while the bread is still on the griddle, a beaten egg is spread across it and a layer of cheese, usually cream cheese or akkawi, goes on top before it is folded into a crisp triangle. Honey or date syrup, or a handful of crushed Chips Oman, are popular finishes.
At home a large non-stick or cast-iron pan works well, and the back of a ladle or a flexible scraper does the spreading.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and 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
- 250 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- about 300 ml water
- 1 tsp , for the pan
- 4 eggs
- a pinch salt and black pepper (for the eggs)
- 8 tbsp cream cheese or grated akkawi
- to taste honey or date syrup, to finish, optional
Instructions
- 1Whisk the flour and salt with the water, adding it gradually, into a smooth, soft batter a little thicker than crepe batter. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- 2Heat a large non-stick or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat until very hot, then wipe it with a little oil. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- 3Pour a small ladle of batter into the centre of the pan and at once spread it outwards in a thin circle with the back of the ladle or a flexible scraper, scraping away any excess so the layer is as thin as paper.✎ Chef’s noteThe pan must be hot enough for the batter to set as you spread it. If it slides around, the pan is too cool; if it tears, it is too thick.
- 4After about 30 seconds, when the edges start to dry and lift, spread a quarter of the beaten egg over the bread and cook for about 1 minute until set. Dot with 2 tbsp of cheese.
- 5Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more until the base is crisp and golden, then fold it in half and in half again into a triangle. Drizzle with honey or date syrup if you like and eat at once, while it crackles. Repeat with the rest.
Emirati street and heritage-village tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Dubai. Harees takes patience and a stick. Wheat and meat are cooked together for hours and beaten with a wooden medrab until they collapse into one smooth paste, then finished with ghee. It is Ramadan food, and it sits on Abu Dhabi's register of intangible heritage.
🗺️
United Arab Emirates. Balaleet is the traditional first meal after Ramadan across the Gulf: sweet vermicelli with cardamom, saffron and rosewater, served under a thin savoury omelette, the sweet and the savoury on one plate. The pearl-diving economy that preceded oil is what put dried limes, rice and Indian spice into an otherwise sparse desert pantry.
🌍
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 United Arab Emirates
BalaleetSweet saffron-and-cardamom vermicelli topped with a thin savory omelette, the Gulf’s sweet-and-savory breakfast.
Emirati SalonaA tangy Emirati stew of meat or fish and vegetables in a spiced tomato-and-dried-lime broth.
Emirati ThareedA spiced meat-and-vegetable stew ladled over thin crisp regag bread, a comforting Emirati dish, especially in Ramadan.
Browse all United Arab Emirates 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 United Arab Emirates meal
Karak ChaiDrink
LuqaimatDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Regag with Egg and Cheese (Emirati Crisp Flatbread)?
A wafer-thin batter bread spread across a hot griddle until crisp, topped while it cooks with beaten egg and cream cheese, then folded into a crunchy triangle.
Where does Regag with Egg and Cheese (Emirati Crisp Flatbread) come from?
Regag with Egg and Cheese (Emirati Crisp Flatbread) is an Emirati dish from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Can Regag with Egg and Cheese (Emirati Crisp Flatbread) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Regag with Egg and Cheese (Emirati Crisp Flatbread) 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 Regag with Egg and Cheese (Emirati Crisp Flatbread) 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 Regag with Egg and Cheese (Emirati Crisp Flatbread) take to make?
About 1 h in all: 10 minutes prep and 20 minutes cooking, plus 30 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 4.
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