Murtabak - just a thin dough with meat, egg, onions

Martabak, or Murtabak, is an Indian Muslim (Mamak) dish commonly found in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Yemen where it is called Motabbag (Arabic) which means "The Folded" so the name could be of Arabic origin.

It is made from a thin dough filled with minced meat, usually mutton, and fried on a griddle until it turns golden brown. The fillings include garlic, egg and onion.

Martabak/Murtabak is served with slices of cucumber and onion, and a bowl of curry sauce. In a nutshell, it is just roti prata, or roti canai with fillings.

The best have crispy edges and a soft but not rubbery dough. With each bite, it sinks into a generous mixture of eggs and minced meat. The meat is usually well-cooked and flavored with spices and seasonings beforehand. If the filling is good, you would not even have to dip into the curry gravy that comes along with it.

My murtabak is a little different with diced tomatoes. :)

Murtabak
Ingredients: store-bought pratha, or thin pancake (煎饼), egg-whisked, diced tomatoes, onions, minced meat, dashes of curry powder, dashes of turmeric powder

How to: Heat some oil in frying pan, then add in onions and fry till translucent. Add in minced meat, curry powder, and turmeric powder and fry till cooked. Add in diced tomatoes, then egg. When mixture is cooked, set aside. Heat up the frozen thin dough/pancake over flat pan, When nicely browned, add in some of the pre-fried meat mixture and pressed over the pancake. Fold the pancake into half (like an envelope) and heat through for a while.

There I got it - crispy edges on the dough with warm slight spicy meat and egg filings

Now you have tried the mini curry beef pie, curry puff, chicken pie, chicken strudel and Char Siew Sou, BBQ pork pastry, would you also like to try this murtabak?

They are all puffs, pies, pastries, and pratha (dough) filled with chicken, beef or pork.





Tag: BBQ, BBQ pork, pulled pork, barbecued, appetizer, snacks