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Although pancakes are foreign to us, they’ve somehow become a staple in some Nigerian homes. Whether as breakfast or a snack.

No one is sure of how Nigerians got introduced to pancakes. But like suits and Christianity, it’s a very western import.

One of the best things about Nigerians is their ability to take anything and make it their own. Like with Jollof rice, for example, I bet there are Senegalese people out there who think Jollof originates from Nigeria. And so with pancake, Nigerians have managed to also make it their own. I talked to 6 Nigerians about how they make their pancakes and their answers were as Nigerian you can expect.

First of all for some context, here’s a regular pancake recipe.

The way oyibo people intended for it to be. Next up are 6 very Nigerian Pancake recipes.

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I grew up with my mum making pancakes with pepper and onions. And now I just can’t have it any other way. In fact I didn’t even know you could make it any other way until I was in like SS3. I remember having the conversation with a group of ‘bubblers’. They called me razz for eating my pancakes with pepper and onions.

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I don’t think I have a particularly Nigerian way of making my pancakes. The only thing is I don’t know how to make it with powdered milk. Always has to be evaporated milk. You might think there’ll no difference in the taste but there always is.

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I put crayfish in my pancakes. And no matter how many people tell me how disgusting and mad I am, I’ll continue to do so. It’s not even like you’ll notice it because I grind my crayfish very fine. I just have a crayfish problem it’s not like I expect it to be in pancakes. I put crayfish in everything from my indomie to my stew. Once it can be cooked on a stove, crayfish is going in there.

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I hated pancakes for the longest time because they always tasted so bland to me. No matter what I paired it with. Whether it was with eggs or sausages or you use syrup to decorate the face. I just couldn’t stand it. That’s until my former housemate gave me pancakes with rodo in it. Since then its been my favourite snack.

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I’ve heard some people add pepper and all sorts to their pancakes but me I just like it plain. I tend to put quite a lot of sugar though because I have a sweet tooth. I think the only difference between the way I make pancakes, and the way I’ve seen it made in like cooking shows and stuff is that I put a lot of water in it. Like I can put a drum of water because I like it to be very thin.

Ganiyat’s* Recipe

Please keep me anon o. But I like to put little bits of smoked fish in my pancakes. I’m a Hausa girl who grew up on masa and pancakes for me are a whole lot like masa. We used to eat masa with anything in my house. Fish o, meat o, chicken o. So when I got introduced to pancakes in uni I played around with the recipe a little and ended up loving a bit of fish in my pancakes.

*name changed.

How do you like your pancakes? What fun twist do you add to it that makes it as Nigerian as you?