🇹 Ethiopian · Street Food & Snacks
🥞 Ethiopian Pancake (Serdo)
ሰርዶ — Serdo
Ethiopian Serdo — a thick, slightly sweet wheat pancake with cardamom and egg, cooked in a small amount of oil until golden. The Ethiopian street pancake — softer than Mulmul, cooked on both sides unlike injera, served with honey.
Serdo fills the gap between injera (fermented, complex) and plain pancake (simple, neutral) — a slightly sweet, cardamom-fragrant thick pancake that is the street breakfast of Ethiopia's urban centres.
Ingredients
Equipment: Non-stick pan
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup milk or water
- 1 tbsp oil
Oil for cooking
Method
- Whisk flour, egg, sugar, cardamom, baking powder, and salt.
- Add milk gradually — smooth, thick batter.
- Heat pan. Add a little oil.
- Pour ¼ cup batter. Cook 3—4 minutes until bubbles appear on surface.
- Flip. Cook 2 more minutes.
- Serve with honey.
Chef Tips
- Thicker than a Western pancake — more like a drop scone.
- Wait for bubbles on the surface before flipping.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Flipping too early — sticks.
The Science
The baking powder in Serdo (unlike Mulmul, which uses yeast) provides an immediate CO2 release when mixed with the liquid and acid in the batter — producing a less complex but faster rise than yeast fermentation.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- Moderate energy.
- Egg protein.
- Cardamom aids digestion.
Cultural Note
Serdo is the everyday pancake of Ethiopian street breakfast — not as elaborate as injera, not as austere as Kita, it occupies the comfortable middle ground of Ethiopian morning food culture.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten immediately.
Reheating: Briefly in a dry pan.
Serve with: With honey, With chai, As a street breakfast