 A murtabak serving | |
| Alternative names | Murtabak |
|---|---|
| Type | Flatbread,pancake |
| Course | Starter |
| Place of origin | Yemen |
| Region or state | Arabian Peninsula,Indian subcontinent,Southeast Asia |
| Created by | Yemeni Arabs[1] |
| Serving temperature | hot or warm |
| Part of a series on |
| Arab cuisine |
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Murtabak, ormutabbaq (Arabic:مُطَبَّق,romanized: muṭabbaq,lit. 'folded',standard pronunciation:[mu.tˤab.baq]), is a Yemeni stuffedpancake or pan-fried bread commonly found in theArabian Peninsula, theIndian subcontinent, andSoutheast Asia, notably inSaudi Arabia,Yemen,Indonesia,Malaysia,Singapore,Brunei, andSouthern Thailand. Depending on the location, the name and ingredients can vary significantly. The namemutabbaq means "folded" in Arabic.[2][3]
Murtabak is often described as a spicy foldedomelette or pancake with bits of vegetables.[4] Its most common form is made from pan-friedcrepes, usually stuffed with beaten eggs, choppedleeks,chives, orgreen onion, andminced meat, which is then folded and cut into squares.[2][5]
In Malaysia, murtabak was originally sold inmamak stalls, and usually includes minced meat (beef or chicken, sometimesgoat meat or mutton) along with garlic, egg, and onion, and is eaten with curry, sliced cucumber, syrup-pickled onions, or tomato sauce.
In Indonesia, the termmartabak refers to two dishes:martabak manis, based onapam balik, andmartabak telur, which resembles murtabak the closest and includes egg, meat, andscallions.[6] A thinner variant ofmartabak manis ismartabak tipis kering.[7]
13th-CenturyAbbasid authorMuhammad bin Hasan al-Baghdadi wrote two recipes formuṭbaqمطبق in his book titledKitab al-Tabikh, they described a dish made with 2 layers of bread and enveloping a sweet filling.[8]
The wordmutabbaq inArabic means "folded". This suggests that murtabak might originate fromYemen, which had a sizeable Indian population; through Indian traders it spread back to their home countries.[3] Murtabak was then brought to Southeast Asia by Tamil Muslim traders.[2]
Another version of muttabaq was created by a formerOttoman Empire soldier named Mohammed Zalatimo in theOld City of Jerusalem in 1860. His version was paper-thin folded filo dough filled with local white cheese; its name was derived from the act of layeringyufka sheets. The exact origin of the craft of creating multilayer-dough sweets is debated, with some tracing it toCentral Asia.[9][10][11][12]
In countries where martabak is widely available, it is so common it has become an everyday dish. This dish is made not only at home, but often found in inexpensive food service menus specialising in traditional cuisine, which is why it has the reputation of street food.[citation needed] Sometimes martabak – especially sweet – go on sale in stores already in finished form.[13]
There are many varieties of martabak. For example, in Brunei, most martabaks are usually not stuffed, but only made of dough (calledmartabak kosong) similar to the Indianparatha.Martabak kosong consists of a bread-like dough that is kneaded and prepared similarly to a pancake or other martabak by tossing it into the air, and served piping hot with a sweet curry sauce. In Singapore and Malaysia (where it is called murtabak), the murtabaks are usually filled with spiced beef, chicken or mutton and served with a curry sauce, sweet pickled onions or cucumber in ketchup.[14] Another variant in Malaysia and Singapore is murtabak cheese which uses mozzarella cheese as additional filling. Johorean (Malaysia) and Singaporean murtabak uses more minced meat than most Malaysian murtabak.
The common ingredients of Indonesian egg martabak, besides the dough, is seasoned ground meat (beef, chicken or mutton), sliced green onions, some herbs (optional), beaten duck eggs, salt, and potatoes.[15] Some street vendors mix the ground beef with curry seasoning. In Indonesia, the common spices to make the seasoned ground meat areshallots, garlic,ginger,cumin,coriander,turmeric, some salt, and sometimes a little bit ofmonosodium glutamate. All the spices are ground or minced and stir-fried altogether. Some martabak makers add extra ingredients and other varieties to make their martabak unique, but they all share the same main dough. Tofry martabak, the chef uses a very large flat frying pan or irongriddle. Usually they use vegetable oil to fry, but it is not uncommon to useghee or butter too.[16]
Before serving, martabak usually is cut into portions. Sometimes it is eaten with sweet and salty soy sauce and pepper. Savoury versions of martabak in Indonesia and Malaysia usually are served withacar orpickled condiment consisting of diced cucumber, sliced carrot, shallots, and slicedchillies in sweetened vinegar whereas in Singapore, the condiment consists of sliced cucumbers in tomato ketchup. In Malaysia, Singapore and some areas inSumatra, martabak is served withkari (curry) gravy. In Palembang, another variety of martabak is egg-martabak (eggs dropped into the flatten dough before folded while frying) served in curry (usually diced potatoes in beef curry) and topped with chillies in sweet-sour soy sauce calledMartabak Haji Abdul Rozak, or more commonly known asMartabak HAR, made popular by anIndian Indonesian named Haji Abdul Rozak. There is also a popular martabak variant fromPadang,West Sumatra calledMartabak Kubang, which is served with light curry as dipping sauce.[3]
Another variety of martabak, especially in Malaysia and Sumatra (such as inJambi,Palembang, andLampung), is one calledmartabak kentang (potato-stuffed martabak).[17] It usually uses the similar dough as other martabak, but it is stuffed with a mix of diced potatoes, beaten eggs, chopped green onions, and spices instead of beaten egg and ground beef. It is eaten by dipping it into hot sweet-sour soy sauce or curry sauce.[18]
There are many varieties of martabak, specifically in Indonesia, where various types of emerging toppings are being added to innovate the dish. Toppings that are used to substitute the meat are black-pepper-sauced minced meat, spicy tuna, shreddedbeef rendang, grilled salmon andinstant noodles.[19] The popular common instant noodle toppings being used areIndomie andSamyang spicy noodles.[20]Mozzarella cheese is sprinkled outside the fried martabak and then torched to get a melty consistency.
Themuttabah ofCape Malays in South Africa is mainly filled with minced meat and spinach with a cheese topping.[1]
InPalestine andJordan, there is a popular version of murtabak calledmuttabaq zaatar (Arabic:مطبق زعتر), which useszaatar, onions andsumac as filling, and is topped with olive oil. It may be baked in an oven instead of being cooked in a pan.[21][22]
Another variety of martabak is calledmartabak manis (sweet martabak), also known by the nameTerang Bulan orMartabakBangka.[23] This naming however, is only valid in Indonesia, since the identical folded thick pancake is calledapam balik instead in Malaysia.
Despite sharing the same name (because they are both folded), the cooking method, dough (which usesyeast andbaking soda), and the ingredients (usually vanilla extract is added as essence) are different from egg martabak, giving it a consistency more like acrumpet. While it is baked on a pan, the sweet martabak is spread with butter or margarine, sugar, crushed peanuts, chocolate sprinkles, cheese or other toppings. Before serving, the martabak is folded in half, so the toppings get in the middle of martabak.[24] In parts of Indonesia, egg martabak may also be calledMartabakMalabar to distinguish it from sweet martabak.
There are many new varieties ofmartabak manis, including the addition of green tea powder (matcha), cream cheese,Oreo, and chocolate candies such asHagelslag,Kit Kat,Ovomaltine,Toblerone andNutella. Aside from that, durian fruits are often used as a topping.
When ordering Martabak Manis, some stall offer two choice ofmargarine:Blue Band margarine or Wijsman butter. The Wijsman butter is more costly compared to Blueband margarine as the Wijsman is made by 100% cowmilk fat.[25]
In some areas in theLevant, a sweet version is made using nuts or unsalted cheese as filling, and topped with asugar syrup.[26] Traditionally, sweetenedjibneh baladi is used.[27]
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