Murtabak
Murtabak traveled to Malaysia with Yemeni-Indian traders and settlers established in port cities along Indian Ocean trade routes, gradually adapting a recipe rooted in Arab and Indian cuisine to local Malaysian ingredients and tastes. The name comes from Arabic, where it means roughly 'folded', a direct reference to the technique of enveloping the thin dough over the meat filling. In Malaysia, Murtabak is often found at the same street stalls (mamak) that serve roti canai, using the same elastic dough base for both dishes. The sweet version, filled with banana and chocolate instead of meat, is just as popular as the savory one, and many vendors prepare both side by side on the same hot griddle.
Paper-thin stretched dough
An elastic flour dough is hand-stretched until nearly transparent, then filled and folded into an envelope shape.
Egg and meat filling
Curry-spiced minced meat, finely chopped onion, and beaten eggs form the rich filling poured over the dough before folding.
Fried on a flat griddle
The filled envelope fries on a flat griddle generously coated with oil, until the edges turn golden and crisp.
Pickle and curry dip
Served cut into pieces, alongside sweet-sour pickled cucumbers and a thin vegetable curry for dipping.
Ingredients 4 servings
- 300 g flour
- 1 egg for the dough
- 150 ml water
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 400 g ground beef
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 3 eggs, beaten (for filling)
- 2 tbsp curry powder
How to make it
- 1The flour is mixed with the egg, water, oil, and salt, kneading an elastic dough for ten minutes until smooth and no longer sticky.
- 2The dough is divided into four balls, brushed with oil, and left to rest covered for at least an hour, ideally several hours, to become very stretchy.
- 3The ground meat is browned in a pan with the chopped onion and curry powder, until the meat changes color and the liquid evaporates.
- 4The meat mixture is left to cool slightly, then combined with the beaten eggs, forming the final filling.
- 5Each dough ball is hand-stretched on an oiled surface, gently pulling from the edges until nearly transparent.
- 6A portion of filling is placed in the center of the stretched dough, then the four corners are folded inward, forming a closed square envelope.
- 7The envelope fries on a well-heated, generously oiled griddle, flipped once, until both sides turn golden and crisp, then it's cut into pieces and served with pickles and thin curry.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
