Murtabak

Motabbaq ( ar, مطبق) is a stuffed pancake or pan-fried bread which is commonly found in the Arabian Peninsula and Southeast Asia, notably in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and Bangladesh (Mughlai paratha). Depending on the location, the name and ingredients can significantly vary. The name ''mutabbaq'' in Arabic means "folded". It is a popular street food in Yemen, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

Murtabak is often described as spicy folded omelette pancake with bits of vegetables. The most common form of murtabak is made from pan fried crepes usually stuffed with beaten eggs, chopped leeks, chives, or green onion ( scallions) and minced meat, which is then folded and cut to squares. In Indonesia, the murtabak is one of the most popular street foods and is known as martabak.

Vegetarian murtabaks and other forms of murtabaks with chicken and other stuffings exist and can be found in many Yemeni, Indian Muslim restaurants in Singapore, including the Little India area and Arab Street.

In Malaysia, murtabak was originally sold in Indian Muslim restaurants and stalls, and usually includes minced meat (beef or chicken, sometimes goat meat, mutton) along with garlic, egg and onion, and is eaten with curry or gravy, sliced cucumber, syrup-pickled onions or tomato sauce. The dish is sold throughout the country, with diverse variations in ingredients and cooking style, and has been adopted by Malay Muslim sellers as well. In Yemen, murtabak also usually includes goat meat or mutton.

In Indonesia, Martabak is a renowned street food that comes in two types: Martabak Manis and Martabak telur. Martabak Manis or Terang Bulan is originally a thick and sweet pancake that is usually topped with various toppings ranging from chocolate, cheese, peanuts, condensed milk, sesame seed and margarine. Today, Martabak toppings consist of international favours such as Skippy Peanut Butter spread, Ovomaltine, Toblerone, Lotus Biscoff and Durian Spread. Martabak Manis also recently comes in a thin and crispy variety, known as Martabak Tipis Kering (''Tipker''). Martabak Telur, the savoury type, are crispy pancakes that consist of eggs, chicken or beef meat and scallions.

History

The word mutabbaq in Arabic means "folded". This suggests that Murtabak might originate from Yemen, which had a sizeable Indian population; through Indian traders it spread back to their home countries. Murtabak was brought to Southeast Asia by Tamil Muslim traders. The dish referred to as ''murtabak'' is a multi-layered pancake that originated in the state of Kerala where the people referred to as "mamaks" ("mama" means "uncle" in Tamil) hail from. The word "mutabar" is the original name for the particular dish referred to in other languages and dialects as "murtabak." "Mutabar" is an amalgam of two words, "muta" (being the Keralite word for egg, a significant component of the dish) and "bar," an abbreviated form of the word barota, or "bratha roti" (the bread). The bread base or pancake on which it is then spread over is referred to in Hindi as "pratha roti" or "pratha" or "parantha" Other than that, "murtabak" is also known to be another version of the Mughlai paratha popular in Kolkata, India.

There are similar versions of the bread in places such as Yemen and other regions of the Arabic world and Persia. All of these places in the Middle East were visited by Indian traders centuries ago and it would not be unusual for them to have learned from each other or to have adopted each other's culinary habits and practices. However, the word "mutabar" is the original name for the egg, chilli, and onion flavoured multi-layered pancake.

In Indonesia, Martabak Manis is originated from the Bangka Belitung Islands, by Chinese Descents (Hokkien and Khek) and it was named “Hok Lo Pan” which translates to “Hok Lo ethnicity’s cake.” Its traditional topping includes sugar and sesame seeds. Martabak Manis has different names in different regions. In West Borneo, it is called Apam Pinang, similar to Malaysia's Apam Balik. In Central Java, Martabak Manis is referred to as “Kue Bandung” which means Bandung cake. The origin of Kue Bandung started when a man from Bangka Belitung, opened a Martabak Manis stall beside a “Bandung Noodle” stall.

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 has the reputation of street food. Sometimes martabak – especially sweet – go on sale in stores already in finished form.

Variants

Savoury

There are many varieties of martabak. For example, in Brunei, most martabaks are usually not stuffed, but only made of dough (called ''martabak kosong'') similar to the Indian paratha. ''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. 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. Some street vendors mix the ground beef with curry seasoning. In Indonesia, the common spices to make the seasoned ground meat are shallots, garlic, ginger, cumin

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