MUTtABBAG:

Salty mutabbag:

Ingredients:

2 cups sifted white flour

¼ tsp salt

warm water(about 1 cup)

Filling:

½ kg mincemeat

one small onion

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp salt

one bunch leeks or parsely

8 eggs

oil for frying

procedure:

1-Put the flour and the salt in a bowl and add water gradually while kneading the dough into a soft but firm ball.

2-Grease your hands with a little oil and cut the dough into balls(orange size).Cover with plastic sheet,and leave it for an hour.

3-Meanwhile chop the onion and add to the mincemeat in a pot with the pepper and salt,cook until done.

4-Wash the greens,and chop,add to the cooled mincemeat.

5-Spread a clean cloth(or bedsheet specially bought for this purpose).

6-Spread the dough(by hand,like pizza makers),and cut into rectangles.use the extra dough cut from the sides to make the little rectangle in the middle used to put the filling in.

7-Put around 5 Tbs of filling inside the small rectangle and spread it,then add on r two eggs ,after mixing them a little.

8-Start by folding the left and right side of the big rectangle over the filling,then fold the other two sides.

9-Heat 2Tbs of oil in a big wok or wide frying pan,and lift the muttabbag carefully,put in oil and let fry for 5 minutes then turn it over gently using a wide slotted spoon.

10-Remove and put on paper towel to remove extra oil and start with the next mutabag.(only add two Tbs of oil to the wok everytime you fry one.

11-Cut the cooked mutabag into small squares and garnish with lemon slices and green chili peppers.

SWEET MUTTABBAG:

Ingredients:

Same dough as before.

Filling:

White sweet cheese or bananas or fresh cream

1kg sweet cheese(grated)

½ cup ssugar

1Tbs ground cardamom

6 eggs

Procedure:

1-Make the dough,and while it sets,mix the sugar,cardamom and cheese.

2-Cut the dough the same way as before ,put 5 spoons of the mixture in the small rectangle.

3-Add an egg or two after mixing gently with a fork.

4-Fold the sides of the big rectangle as we did in the salty mutabbag,and fry.

Variations:

a)Using banana filling:

6 ripe bananas,1Tbs ground cardamom,1/3 cup sugar,3 eggs.

-Peel the bananas and cut into slices(rounds),add the sugar and cardamom and eggs and mix gently,then put on the small rectangle,then proceed as usual.

b)Using cream filling:

1 can cream,fresh or canned(each can makes two mutabbags)

1/3 cup sugar,0ne egg,one tsp ground cardamom.

-Put the cream in a bowl,add sugar ,cardamom and the egg and mix well,then out half of the filling into the small rectangle and proceed as usual.