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Shafoot
Shafoot (شفوت): Yemeni spongy flatbread soaked in herby laban
Shafoot is the cooling dish set out first on the iftar cloth in Sana'a during Ramadan, before the soups and the hot breads: torn lahoh, Yemen's thin, holey fermented pancake, soaked in garlicky, minty laban until it is soft and sour-fresh. It tastes a little like a cross between a yogurt dip and a bread salad, sharp with green chilli and fragrant with herbs. Make it just before eating and serve it in a wide dish with fresh herbs and chopped vegetables on top. The common mistake is leaving it to soak for too long, until the bread falls into a paste; ten minutes is enough. Chef's tip: if you can't find lahoh, very thin crumpets or spongy flatbreads such as injera take the laban the same way.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the laban
- 2 cups laban (cultured buttermilk)
- 7 oz plain yogurt
- 1 clove garliccrushed
- 1 green chillifinely chopped
- 1 handful fresh mintchopped
- 1 handful fresh corianderchopped
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
To assemble
- 4 lahoh or other thin spongy flatbreadsabout 250 g
- 1 tomatodiced
- ½ cucumberdiced
- 2 spring onionssliced
- 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds (optional)
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Whisk 2 cups laban (cultured buttermilk) and 7 oz plain yogurt until smooth, then stir in 1 clove garlic, 1 green chilli, 0.7 handful fresh mint, 0.7 handful fresh coriander, ½ tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp salt. Taste: it should be tangy, salty and quite garlicky.
5 minStep 2: Tear 4 lahoh or other thin spongy flatbreads into large pieces and arrange them in overlapping layers in a wide, shallow dish.
Step 3: Pour the herby laban evenly over the bread, pressing the pieces down gently so they are all moistened. Leave for 10 minutes, until the bread is soft and has drunk up some of the liquid but still holds its shape.
10 minStep 4: Scatter 1 tomato, ½ cucumber, 2 spring onions, the rest of 0.3 handful fresh mint and 0.3 handful fresh coriander, and 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds if using, over the top. Serve at once, cool.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 33 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shafoot take?
- About 20 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain yogurt?
- Sour cream or buttermilk, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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