Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Canjeero
A thin, spongy fermented pancake (laxoox) eaten with a drizzle of sesame oil, sugar, or stew.
Somali · medium · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 20 min
~429 cal · 9g protein · 82g carbs · 8g fat · 3g fiber · 18g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
Canjeero (also called laxoox) is the thin, spongy pancake at the center of the Somali breakfast, a batter of flour and sometimes or , left to for a gentle tang, then cooked on one side so the top stays soft and full of tiny holes. It is a close relative of Ethiopian but thinner and often smaller.
The fermentation gives canjeero its characteristic sour note, and the holey surface soaks up whatever it's served with, sesame oil and sugar for a simple breakfast, or a stew, honey, or . It is folded or rolled and eaten by hand.
A daily staple in Mogadishu and across the Somali world, canjeero is the comforting foundation of the morning meal. Its tangy flavor and tender texture make it a home-kitchen staple, and it appears at breakfast tables throughout Somali households.
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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 (or a little cornmeal)
1 tsp yeast
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
as needed warm water
a drizzle sesame oil, to serve
4 tbsp honey, to serve
2 tbsp , to serve
a pinch salt
Instructions
1
Stir the sorghum or cornmeal and the yeast into about a third of the warm water and leave it an hour, until small bubbles rise and it has lifted slightly.
✎ Chef’s note
Starting the ferment with the coarse grain alone, before any wheat flour goes in, is what gives canjeero its sourness. Somalis mix it at night for the morning; there is a saying that if you listen closely you can hear it fermenting.
2
Add the rest of the warm water with the sugar, baking powder and salt, then whisk in the wheat flour until completely smooth. The batter should be thinner than pancake batter, running freely off the whisk like cream.
3
Cover and leave it at room temperature at least 4 hours and up to 24. The longer it stands, the more flavour it develops.
4
Ladle a thin round onto a hot lightly buttered nonstick pan, tilting to spread it, and swirl a few circular grooves into the surface with the rounded back of the ladle.
5
Cover with a lid and cook about 2 minutes, on one side only, until no wet batter is left on top and the surface is riddled with tiny holes.
✎ Chef’s note
One side only, always. Those thousands of little craters on the uncooked face are what hold the honey, and flipping it flattens them.
6
Stack them as they come off, and serve warm bubble-side up, drizzled with honey and melted ghee, or with sesame oil and sugar, alongside a glass of shaah.
Mogadishu tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Mogadishu. Xawaash is a trade word as much as a Somali one, from the Arabic hawa'ij, and it is thought to have come out of Yemen. The mix runs to cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and turmeric, and in the north of the country the same word covers any blend at all, including the one for tea.
🗺️
Somalia. Somali cuisine reflects a nomadic, herding heritage and Indian Ocean trade, spiced rice (bariis), grilled meats, and the surprising love of banana with every savory meal. Camel meat, canjeero flatbread, and cardamom-scented dishes define the table.
🌍
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 Somalia
Bariis IskukarisFragrant basmati rice cooked with xawaash spice, caramelized onions, and raisins, Somalia’s festive celebration rice.
SuqaarSmall cubes of meat sautéed with potato, peppers, and Somali xawaash spice, a quick everyday dish.
XalwoA dense, glossy, cardamom-scented sweet set with cornstarch and ghee, the centerpiece of every Somali celebration.
Browse all Somalia 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 Somalia meal
Shaah SomaliDrink
XalwoDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Canjeero?
A thin, spongy fermented pancake (laxoox) eaten with a drizzle of sesame oil, sugar, or stew.
Where does Canjeero come from?
Canjeero is a Somali dish from Mogadishu, Somalia.
Can Canjeero be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Canjeero 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 Canjeero 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 Canjeero take to make?
About 35 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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