# Yemeni Shafut with Yogurt and Bread

> Shafut is eaten **cold after resting an hour in the fridge** — the bread needs time to absorb the seasoned yogurt. Served immediately it is just wet bread; left beyond 3 hours it turns to paste.

**Yemeni Cuisine · 75 min · 5 servings · 260 kcal per serving**

Shafut is one of the best-known Ramadan dishes in Yemen, served cold after breaking the fast. Lahoh bread soaked in yogurt blended with coriander, green chilli and garlic. Refreshing, light, and made in fifteen minutes.

## Ingredients


### The bread
- 5 — lahoh breads (or thin flatbread/tortilla)

### Batter
- 1 kg — yogurt
- 1 cup — buttermilk or milk
- 1 bunch — fresh coriander
- 0.5 bunch — parsley
- 3 — green chillies
- 4 cloves — garlic
- 1 tsp — salt
- 1 tsp — cumin

### Garnish
- 2 tbsp — olive oil
- 1 — tomato, chopped
- 2 tbsp — chopped coriander

## Method

1. **The yogurt blend** — Blend the yogurt, milk, coriander, parsley, chilli, garlic, salt and cumin until it is pale green and smooth.
2. **Taste** — Taste it — it should be saltier and spicier than you expect, because the bread will absorb it and dilute the flavour.
3. **Cut the bread** — Cut the bread into squares or medium strips. Thin bread is better — thick bread drinks the entire mixture.
4. **Layer** — In a deep dish: a layer of bread → yogurt mixture → bread → mixture, until it is used up. The last layer should be yogurt.
5. **Rest** — Cover and refrigerate for **an hour** — that is the window in which the bread absorbs without disintegrating.
6. **Serve** — Scatter the olive oil, tomato and coriander and serve cold.

## Tips

- Exactly one hour in the fridge — less and it is wet bread, more and it is paste.
- Season the blend more strongly than you think, because the bread dilutes it.
- Thin bread. Thick bread drinks everything and leaves the dish dry.
- A perfect Ramadan dish — refreshing and rehydrating after the fast.

## FAQ

### What is lahoh bread?
A thin Yemeni fermented bread full of holes, similar to Sudanese kisra and injera. If unavailable, thin tortilla or thin flatbread works.

### Is the dish spicy?
It is usually made hot from the green chilli. Reduce or omit it if you prefer — the coriander and garlic carry the main flavour.

### Can I make it ahead?
Prepare the yogurt blend ahead (it keeps two days), and assemble the dish exactly one hour before serving.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/yemeni-cuisine/yemeni-shafut-with-yogurt-and-bread
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-30