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Picture of Murtabak
Murtabak (Spicy Meat-Stuffed Griddled Bread)

Singapore is known for its fabulous Indian cooking. Indian coffee shops and street hawkers serve an unbelievable assortment of griddled breads, known as roti or chapati breads, that are light, flaky, and slightly chewy. Murtabak, a very popular snack, is spicy ground meat encased in roti (bread) and browned on a griddle until crisp. Murtabak served with a salad makes a great luncheon entrée.

Ingredients:

ROTI
3½ cups flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup plus 5 tablespoons melted ghee or margarine
1¼ cups warm milk
3 to 6 tablespoons vegetable oil

REMPAH
4 1-inch chunks fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
10 shallots (walnut size) or 2 large onions, peeled and sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup Red Chile Paste
2½ tablespoons fresh or frozen curry leaves
2½ tablespoons Indian-style curry powder
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 stalks Chinese celery or regular celery, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
2 eggs
Ghee or vegetable oil for frying

Procedure:

  1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.
  2. Add 5 tablespoons of ghee and stir until the mixture looks crumbly.
  3. Slowly pour in the milk and mix with your hands.
  4. The dough will feel soft, spongy, and almost too sticky.
  5. Knead the dough without adding extra flour until it pulls away from the bowl and forms a smooth ball.
  6. Continue kneading until the dough feels just slightly sticky, about 10 minutes.
  7. Cut the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, flatten it slightly, and rub it with ghee.
  8. Place the flattened balls on a tray. Cover the tray with a damp cloth and let the dough rest for at least for at least 5 hours. (If you make the dough the night before, cover the tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.)
  9. Lightly oil a rolling pin and work surface with ghee.
  10. Roll out one ball, stretching the dough into a paper-thin circle, about 9 inches in diameter.
  11. Lightly brush the dough with ghee and lightly sprinkle it with flour.
  12. Starting at the bottom edge, roll up the circle jelly-roll style until you have a long rope.
  13. Gently pull the ends to stretch it an inch longer.
  14. Take one end and roll it clockwise into a coil until it reaches the center of the rope.
  15. Roll the opposite end clockwise until the two coils meet in the middle.
  16. Fold one coil over on top of the other.
  17. Press the two coils gently together into one thick round.
  18. Wrap it with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 hour.
  19. Repeat with the remaining balls.
  20. To prepare the rempah, grind the ginger, shallots, and garlic to a smooth paste in a blender or food processor.
  21. Add a tablespoon or more of water if needed to facilitate the blending.
  22. Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan. When hot, carefully add the Red Chile Paste and curry leaves; fry over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the rempah is fragrant and has a deep mahogany-red colour and porridge-like consistency, about 8 minutes. It is ready when reddish oil seeps out.
  23. Mix in the curry powder and onion.
  24. Lightly saute until the onion is limp.
  25. Raise the heat and add the beef, salt, and sugar. Stir-fry, breaking up the lumps, until the meat is cooked but tender, about 5 minutes; do not brown.
  26. Add the celery and stir-fry for a few seconds. The mixture should be crumbly.
  27. Transfer it to a bowl and set aside to cool. When cool, beat in the eggs.
  28. Place one bread round on a flat surface.
  29. With your fingertips spread it into an 8-inch circle.
  30. Put 3 heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture in the centre of the circle, leaving 2 inches of dough all around.
  31. Fold two opposite sides of dough into the centre, overlapping them by ½ inch.
  32. Fold over the remaining two sides to enclose the package. Press down gently to form a square.
  33. Lightly oil a griddle or frying pan. Put a murtabak fold side down on the griddle and fry over low heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side.
  34. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
  35. Serve hot.
NOTE: Murtabak may be refrigerated; reheat in a 425 deg F oven for 10 minutes or microwave at high power for 1 minute. They can also be frozen; thaw for 1 hour before reheating.

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