Arabian Pancakes or Khobz Al-Jbab

My reading focus is on the Middle East this year so when I read Temporary People*, set in the UAE, I went looking for a recipe from there. Feast: Food from the Islamic World has been very useful in placing regional dishes, but the Romanization she gives is never how I find it elsewhere online. I can find references to khobz that seems to be bread, in Morocco. Jiibab is a garment. Pancakes in UAE are often written as chibab or chebab or even chabab but of course I know this doesn't really matter because in UAE it would be in Arabic. They are basically just... pancakes, although there is a little yeast, a little saffron, and it does seem to be typical most of the time that they are served with date syrup. Sometimes they are tiny, sometimes they are the size of the plate, but they do all seem to have the saffron-yeast-date syrup ingredients in common. Quite often, the syrup is served on the side for dipping the pancake in, rather than drizzling or pouring it over as I have done. I've seen other videos around the same area where pancakes are spread with cheese and folded in half, or filled with a sweet nut mixture and deep fried, then topped with a sugar syrup, but that last iteration seems to be specific to holiday celebrations like Eid. This recipe is more of an everyday pancake.

Arabian Pancakes
(recipe from Feast)

1 2/3 cups (200 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tbsp whole milk powder**
1/4 tsp instant (fast-acting) yeast
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/4 cup raw cane sugar
pinch of saffron threads
unsalted butter, melted, for the skillet
1/2 cup (65 g) sesame seeds
Date syrup for serving

1. Mix the flour, milk powder, yeast, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center.
2. Whisk together the egg, sugar, saffron, and 1 1/4 cups warm water (310 ml) in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the sweet egg mixture to the flour mixture and gradually whisk it in until you have a batter that is thicker than crepe batter but thinner than pancake batter. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 45 minutes to let the batter ferment.
4. Brush a large nonstick skillet with a little melted butter and place over medium heat. When the pan is hot, scoop out a ladleful of the batter and pour into the pan, tilting the pan to spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and cook for 2 minutes, or until the bottom is golden. Flip the jbab and cook the other side for 2 minutes, or until it is the same color. You may want to slip a knob of butter underneath the jbab after you flip it. Sprinkle the top with some more sesame seeds.
5. Cook the remaining jbab the same way, and serve hot or warm drizzled with date or maple syrup.   

* You may read my review of this book in Goodreads.
** In the United States, if you want milk powder you have to buy a big bulky box of it, and I always only need a few spoonfuls. Most of what I read online said you can just use the same amount of milk and add it with the liquid, so I did.

Speaking of pancakes...

Like pancakes? I seem to make them from around the world! Check out the Finnish pannukakku, Icelandic pönnukökur, Papua New Guinean banana pancakes, the Danish ebleskiver, the Hungarian palacsintas, the Kaiserschmarrn or "Emperor's Mess" from Austria, the Swedish pancakes from Alaska, and what we call the German oven apple pancake. I also made ratio pancakes from Michael Ruhlman's book, which we can call American. I've made several more American pancakes, like the recipe from Rosa Parks held by the National Archives, another variation on lemon ricotta pancakes, and kauk moto from Myanmar. Pancakes can also be savory, like scallion pancakes from China (also called cong you bing.)