Malawah

A friend of mine, while in Israel, tried a dish called malawah and has since been attempting to find it in Chicago. It's evidently a Yemeni Jewish flatbread served with eggs and tomatoes. There's also evidently a version that's eaten in Somalia. I've done some looking and found two restaurants in Chicagoland that have it, but any further advice would be appreciated.

Sarah's Brick Oven in Skokie evidently makes a Yemeni Jewish version.

The Somali restaurant Bismilahi, on Orleans, evidently has the Somali version for breakfast.

This post on Kulan Restaurant - Somali Restaurant in Edgewater mentions Malawah.

My heart sank a bit when I felt how floppy and soggy the round pancake was. But after a few minutes in the oven, it was good as new and OH MY GOD. It had cardamom fragrance and browned edges and all the sweetness and fluffiness appropriate for a first-rate almond croissant. It goes by lahooh, laxoox, malawah, or anjero. Although related to Ethiopian injera, it’s made from sorghum or wheat flour.

I have only been to Kulan once during Ramadan around 3:00 am, which was about the time everyone was ready to pack up, pray and go about their day.

Please report back on your impressions.

Regards,
Cathy2

I haven't seen it on any menus, and I've looked whenever I've found a Yemenite restaurant in Chicago, however I remember seeing it frozen at the Mariano's on Touhy and McCormick in the frozen section of Israeli/Kosher foods (where you can also find burekes and Moroccan Cigars), it may be made by the Sabra brand. You can also buy Schug, the Yemenite condiment that traditionally is served with Malawach, at Trader Joe's!

I made it up to Sarah's Brick Oven today with my malawah-craving dining companion. She said it tasted similar to the versions she had had in Israel, but that she was used to adding more vegetables to it.

The malawah was somewhere between a pastry and a flatbread, cut into quarters and served with sliced hard-boiled egg, chopped tomatoes, tahini, and s'chug (a Yemeni chili paste). I found it quite tasty (good combination of flavors) but I'm not sure I'd make the trek up to Skokie again solely to get malawah.

R_R wrote:I made it up to Sarah's Brick Oven

Sarah's Brick Oven menu looks interesting, in particular malawah and shakshuka.

Sarah's Brick Oven
Sunday-Thursday: 8:30 am - 8:00 pm
Saturday: Closed
Friday: Closed
4032 Oakton St
Skokie IL 60076
847-780-2626
https://sarahsbrickoven.com/