Sherpa potato pancake — 'riki' means potato, 'kur' is bread/roti. Raw potatoes are peeled and finely grated to a wet pulp, mixed with garlic, salt, and a few spoons of buckwheat or plain flour, then griddled flat in butter or yak ghee until both sides develop a crisp golden crust. Eaten hot with a pad of butter and a spoon of spicy achaar, often alongside yak cheese (churpi) or chili.
The potato only reached the Khumbu Sherpas in the mid-19th century but quickly became a highland staple, and riki kur is the everyday pancake the Sherpas built from it — the same idea as rösti or latke: locally-grown potato, minimal binding, griddled in yak butter, which is the regional signature.
Cut a wedge of riki kur — crisp golden surface, dense soft potato interior held together by flour and butter. The crust shatters; the inside stays slightly chewy because the grating is never pressed smooth. Pair with a chunk of yak cheese (churpi) and the salty-rich contrast against the crust is the whole point. It should be eaten hot — cold, it takes on the off-taste of raw potato.
Squeezing the water out of the grated potato is critical — wet potato steams instead of crisping. The starch released during grating helps the mass hold, but the real binder is the few spoons of buckwheat or plain flour; an optional egg adds protein for an even firmer set. Yak ghee gives a deeper, more savory cooking fat than regular butter.
Variations
Riki Kur with Cheese (cheese inside the pancake). Riki Kur with Onion (more onion). Sweet Riki Kur (with sugar and butter for dessert). Mini Riki Kur (individual portions).
On the Palate
Where Riki Kur sits in the Nepali flavor cloud
Wring every drop of water out of the grated potato before it hits the pan; dry shreds crisp into rosti, wet ones just steam and go soggy.
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min active + 10 min waiting
- 14 min
Peel and coarsely grate 4 large potatoes (about 800g).
- 25 min
Place grated potato in a clean kitchen towel; squeeze out as much water as possible (this is essential).
Watch outKeep twisting until no more liquid drips from the towel; drier shreds mean a crisper cake.
- 34 min
Mix grated potato with 2 tbsp buckwheat flour (or all-purpose), 4 minced garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 chopped scallion.
- 42 min
Heat 3 tbsp ghee (or butter + oil) in a wide skillet over medium-low.
- 53 min
Press potato mixture into the pan in a flat round 1.5cm thick; press down firmly with a spatula.
- 610 min
Cover and cook 10 min until underside is deep golden.
Watch outLift an edge with the spatula; the underside should be deep golden and release cleanly before you flip.
- 79 min
Flip carefully (slide onto a plate, invert, return to pan); cook uncovered 8 more min until both sides crisp.
- 83 min
Cut into wedges; serve with melted yak butter, churpi cheese chunks, or chili pickle on the side.
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