Martabak

(Murtabak, Mutabbaq, مطبق‎‎, มะตะบะ, Mataba)

Martabak is a roti-like stuffed and fried pancake which is often served as a popular street food item in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Although the fillings may vary, some of the most popular ones include ground meat, eggs, garlic, onions, peppers, curry, and ghee.

Fresh herbs such as coriander and mint are often used for additional flavoring. The flatbread dough is supposed to be extremely thin and requires a lot of expertise. Another name for the dish is mutabbaq, an Arabic word meaning folded, referring to the way in which the stretchy dough is folded around the filling during cooking.

The end product is usually shaped like a rectangle, right after it develops a golden brown color on both sides. It is believed that martabak was invented in Yemen and Saudi Arabia around the same time, and as both countries have a large Indian population, it soon spread to other regions of the Arabic world, India, and Persia.

Today, when martabak is not served fresh from street stalls, it can be found in numerous stores in its finished form, while sweet varieties called martabak manis are especially popular - filled with chocolate, peanuts, and sugar.

[ Main Ingredients: Beef, Chicken, Flour, Oil and Animal Fat, Ghee, Onion, Scallions, Shallots, Garlic, Eggs, Coriande ]

Yemeni Martabak

Classic Yemeni martabak filled with minced meat, eggs, leek or green onion, and various spices. Mutton is the most common meat choice in Yemen, although it can be replaced with beef or chicken. The filling can also be enhanced with white cheese.

Ingredients 6 Servings / Prep: 30min / Cook: 45min / Rrady in: 1h 15min
- Dough 3 cups bread flour 3/4 cup water 1/3 cup oil 1 1/4 tsp salt 1 egg extra oil	- Filling ½ onion 1 clove garlic ½ lb ground meat ½ tomato 1 pinch spices (cumin, coriander, ground black pepper, ground red chili powder) 1 cup leek or green onion 4 eggs ½ tsp salt 2-3 tbsp white cheese, optional

Preparation

Step 1/7
First, make the dough. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead them thoroughly for about 10 minutes, until you get a soft and slightly sticky dough. To prevent the dough from sticking to your hands, coat them in oil. Divide the dough into 6 parts. Form them into balls, drizzle with oil, cover, and let rest for 3 hours.

Step 2/7
Prepare the filling. Warm up some oil in a large skillet, then sauté finely diced onion and minced garlic. When they turn brown, add meat and cook for 10 minutes, until it browns thoroughly. Add the tomato cut into small cubes and the spices. Cook until the tomatoes soften slightly, then remove from heat and allow the filling to cool.

Step 3/7
In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs with salt. Add finely chopped leek or green onion, cheese, and the cooled meat mixture. Stir well.

Step 4/7
Now, stretch out the dough on a large, flat surface. Press each ball of dough until you get a circle 5-6 inches in diameter. Oil the dough disc and grab it at the bottom, so your right hand holds the dough from underneath, and the left hand from above. Quickly lift the dough with your right hand and toss it over the left. Repeat until the dough becomes fully stretched and so thin you can almost see through it.

Step 5/7
Assemble the martabak. Place 2-3 tablespoons of filling into the center of the dough, and arrange it into a square form. Then, fold the dough: fold the bottom side first, then the upper side, the right one, and finally, the left one.

Step 6/7
Heat some oil in a frying pan, then cook the folded martabak for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Step 7/7
Cut into smaller pieces and serve with some lime wedges.

***
Dough
The typical dough for savory martabak is made with flour, salt, oil or ghee, and water, which are kneaded into a soft, elastic concoction. The water is poured in gradually until the desired texture is reached. Eggs can be added occasionally, but this is more of an exception than it is a rule. The dough should rest for 30 minutes to 3 hours in a warm place, preferably covered with a plastic wrap or ...

Meat
If you choose to make a meat-filled martabak, use ground or minced meat. Mutton, beef, and chicken are the most common choices. The meat should be sautéed in a frying pan with some onions, shallots, and garlic until browned, after which it is mixed with other filling ingredients.

Eggs
Whisked raw eggs are usually mixed with other fillings as a binding ingredient, and they are cooked after martabak has been assembled and placed on a hot griddle. Apart from chicken eggs, duck eggs are also commonly used, especially in Indonesia.

Vegetables
Finely chopped green onions, shallots, onions, and garlic are present in most martabak recipes – they can either be sautéed shortly in a frying pan, or used raw. Diced fresh tomato is common as well, while various types of chili peppers and diced potatoes are typical in South-East Asian varieties of this dish.

Seasonings
Besides with salt and pepper, the filling can be seasoned with a whole array of spices, such as cumin, coriander, chili powder, ginger, curry, and turmeric.

Sweet fillings
Martabak manis or sweet martabak is filled with butter, chocolate spread or sprinkles, condensed milk, peanuts, and even shredded cheese, which are sprinkled on the surface. After that, martabak is folded and cut into wedges, and sometimes brushed with some additional butter.

Cooking
After it has been assembled, savory martabak is cooked on both sides in a non-stick frying pan or a cast-iron griddle on some hot vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter). Shorter cooking will result in a softer martabak, or you can prolong the cooking until the dough becomes crispy.

Serving
Before being served, martabak is usually cut into small squares. It can be accompanied with lime or lemon wedges, a dipping sauce consisting or vinegar and pickled shallots or onions, tomato sauce, or even ketchup.

***
Crispy on the outside and richly stuffed on the inside, martabak is one of the most popular street food dishes across the Western and South-Eastern Asia. Even though it seems simple at first glance, its preparation - if done traditionally - requires some serious skill. When it comes to savory martabak, the first step is to knead flour, salt, water, oil or ghee, and sometimes eggs, into a soft dough. After resting for a while wrapped in plastic foil or soaked in oil, the dough is divided into individual portions which will be turned into thin, roti-like pancakes.

Traditionally, small balls of dough are pressed into flat discs and then tossed in the air until they become very thin and almost transparent. Martabak street vendors tend to turn this process into a show for the passers-by, while an at-home preparation suggests merely rolling the dough with a rolling pin. The filling is prepared by mixing sautéed ingredients - usually, onions, garlic, shallots, and minced meat - with the fresh ones, which can include tomato, fresh herbs such as mint and coriander, whisked eggs, and cheese.

The filling is spread into the center of the pancake, which is then folded into a rectangular envelope, and carefully transferred onto an oiled griddle or a frying pan. Martabak is cooked on both sides until browned, while the degree of crispiness is a matter of personal preference. Hot martabak is cut into small portions and served with some lemon or lime wedges or dipping sauce. Sweet martabak or martabak manis is particularly popular in Indonesia, and its preparation method is slightly different. The dough is in fact a thick, pancake-like batter made with yeast, which is cooked on one side only. The top is smeared with butter, ghee, peanuts, chocolate, condensed milk, and even cheese, after which the pancake is folded, cut, and served.

Recipe variations
- Yemeni Martabak
- Yemeni Martabak with Egg and Vegetable Filling
- Saudi Martabak
- Indonesian Martabak Manis
- Indonesian Martabak Telur
- Singapore-Style Martabak

[ Source: TasteAtlas 2025 ]