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Cardamom pancakes with honey lime syrup

Name: Cardamom pancakes with honey lime syrup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: Serves 4 (makes 8 pancakes)
Ingredients: 110g plain flour; 1/8 tsp fine salt; 15 green cardamom pods, bashed open, seeds extracted and ground; 2 large eggs; 280ml whole milk; 80g unsalted butter, cut into cubes; 25g pistachios, toasted and roughly crushed; 1½ tsp caster sugar; Finely grated zest and juice 3 limes; 100g runny honey; 1 tsp orange blossom water

By: Noor Murad

Published: 25 Feb 25
Updated: 25 Feb 25

Noor Murad shares her recipe for golden cardamom pancakes drizzled with a heavenly honey and lime syrup. Serve with a scattering of chopped pistachios.

Noor says: “I didn’t have a particularly English upbringing, but there were two things my mum held onto fiercely when it came to celebrating cultural holidays. Of the utmost importance was Christmas, but Pancake Day came a close second. Yeasted pancakes (called chebab) are typical of Gulf countries, = but I prefer these lacy crepes. So here’s an ode to Mum’s pancakes with a twist.”

Chef Noor Murad is the co-author of two Ottolenghi Test Kitchen cookbooks, and her first solo book is a vibrant, wholehearted celebration of the food of the Middle East. The scope centres on Bahrain, where Noor was raised, while taking in the flavours of surrounding countries. Recipe taken from Lugma (Quadrille £28, March 2025; photographs by Matt Russell)

Easy
March 2025

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4 (makes 8 pancakes)
Prep time 10 min, plus 20 min resting. Cook time 40 min

Noor Murad shares her recipe for golden cardamom pancakes drizzled with a heavenly honey and lime syrup. Serve with a scattering of chopped pistachios.

Vegetarian

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 466kcals
Fat: 26g (13g saturated)
Protein: 10g
Carbohydrates: 46g (26g sugars)
Fibre: 1.7g
Salt: 0.5g

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Ingredients

110g plain flour
1/8 tsp fine salt
15 green cardamom pods, bashed open, seeds extracted and ground
2 large eggs
280ml whole milk
80g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
25g pistachios, toasted and roughly crushed
1½ tsp caster sugar
Finely grated zest and juice 3 limes
100g runny honey
1 tsp orange blossom water

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Method

Sift the flour into a medium bowl, then whisk with the salt and two thirds of the cardamom seeds. Make a well in the centre, crack in the eggs, then pour in the milk. Whisk for a couple of minutes until smooth and lump-free. Melt 20g of the butter, then whisk this in too. Leave to rest for 20 minutes.
Mix the pistachios, sugar, lime zest and remaining cardamom together, then set aside.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add a small knob of butter, swirling to spread it around the pan, then add about 3 tbsp of the batter to the centre of the pan and swirl it to cover the base. Cook for about 1½ minutes until nicely browned in places, then flip over and cook for 30 seconds more. Transfer to a large tray or plate, gently fold in half, then in half again to form a triangle. Repeat with all the batter (mix the batter between each pancake), adding a dot of butter to the pan each time, to make 8 pancakes.

To make the syrup, add the honey to a large sauté pan (one with a lid) over a medium heat. Cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until it’s bubbling and a deep amber caramel. Carefully add the remaining butter cubes (you should have about 30g), stirring to melt. Pour in the lime juice and 2 tbsp water, then cook for 3 minutes more or until the sauce is nice and glossy.
Stir in the orange blossom water, then slide in the panakes (don’t worry if they’re overlapping or not fully submerged), cover with the lid and cook for 2 minutes just to heat through.
Transfer the pancakes to a large platter, pouring over any syrup left in the pan. Sprinkle with the pistachio mixture and serve warm.