Thursday, August 23, 2007

Merdeka Open House 2007: Murtabak Muhibbah

Babe in the city left an invitation at my comment box for this year Merdeka Open House 2007: Muhibbah. This year theme is to create a different ethnic group dish and explain how this dish has been known to me and why it has became my favorite. It was an honor to be invited and I am proud to present you my first participation in the Merdeka Open House.



Murtabak is a well-known Indian pancake stuffed with curry meat, onion and egg. It is also known as Martabak in Indonesia. This Indian Malaysian snack is commonly found in the mamak stall or pasar malam (night market). Mamak stall or hawker stall is very common in Malaysia and it usually filled with mouth-watering food and snacks.

While growing up in Malaysia, I love to go jalan-jalan (walk) in the night market. Since the night market is not only filled with food but also things to see and buy. I guess it is also one of Malaysian way of passing time or people watching. But these days, the youngsters might prefer the air-conditioned mega Mall instead of pasar malam. Haha! Anyway, that was how I discovered murtabak! While walking around the pasar malam searching for my dinner and got attracted by this Indian man making and cooking his murtabak for sales. He cooked his murtabak in a big rectangle griddle. First he spread the thin dough on the griddle and then he put in the filling, spread beaten egg on top, wrap it up and pan-fried until cooked and crispy on the outside. That's how I got introduced to Murtabak, by watching how the Indian man cooked his and bought some and tried it myself. Murtabak is delicious because it has the crispy exterior and thus crispy as you bite into it and then your mouth just filled with the delicious curry filling of meat and veggie. Who wouldn't love it? That's how it became one of my favorite snacks to eat.



I got my Murtabak making inspiration from Teczcape. T, thanks for providing me with this idea to fulfill my Muhibbah project. :)

Here's my adapted recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup green peas
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
5 Springs Home frozen plain roti paratha

Method:

Heat 2 Tbsp. canola oil in a non-stick pan and add in onion. Fry til soften, add in ground pork, separate and fry til cooked. Add in bell pepper and green peas and all the seasoning. Add a little water if needed. Mix well and pour the beaten egg on it. Fry til the egg is cooked. Dish out and set aside.

Let the roti paratha soften til foldable consistency, about 5 minutes. This can be quite a sticky job. Spread the filling in the center of the roti paratha and fold in on all edges to close. Put fold side down on a med. heat non-stick pan with a little oil and pan-fry until brown and crispy. Then, flip to the other side and do the same.

Serve warm! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.


Lastly, for all the Malaysian around the world, I would love to wish you a Happy Independence Day! Kepada semua rakyat-rakyat Malaysian, Selamak Hari Merdeka ya! :D

Tags:

20 comments:

Lia said...

oh martabak really i was craving martabak since long time but too lazy to cook *_* could share one pieces to me? :P

Home Cooking said...

wow beautiful looking good murtabak. i luv murtabak too. happy independence day for u and 4 all malaysian.

daphne said...

that's really clever! to use roti prata as the base and wrap it with filling! Oh dear, so many things to try, so many inspirations and not enough time! Great contribution! =)

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Yummy! You bring some for me? LOL!

Anonymous said...

I like your Murtabox! :) The roti pratha must have been so big that you can fold and wrap this way.
Some say murtabak a bit messy to eat but with your Murtabox, it will be so neat! The first pic even looks like "lo pak ko" (pan-fried turnip cake from those dim-sum).
How how...did you like it?

Happy Independence Day!

Babe_KL said...

thanks for participating and oh my I can't imagine making my own murtabak when we can get them so easily here :p

my hubby just came by and said your murtabak looked very nice haha

Little Corner of Mine said...

Sure Lia, help yourself! :P

Thanks Isha! :)

Thanks Daphne! I got my inspiration from Tigerfish actually. :)

Thanks V! Sorry, no leh, I made those earlier. If I have, sure bring some for you. :)

Tigerfish ah, my roti paratha just the normal frozen one. Those round circle size, not the big one. So, this murtabak is the small individual size. Yes, I love it! Thanks ya! :)

Thanks babe_kl for organizing this. I had fun. Yeah, I don't think you want to make this yourself too, this is mainly for overseas M'sians who can't buy it. :) Your hubby so sweet, say I say thanks ya! :D

cocoa said...

wow homemade murtabak.. interesting. looks delicious!! What a great idea to eat Roti Pratha!!

Anonymous said...

Your Murtabak looks Yummilicious! Bought one at a open air fair last month ... unfortunately inside was kosong!!! What a rip off!!!

Anyway, we have fresh Roti Prata here. Will attempt to make this.

BTW, our Merdeka Picnic is this coming Sun ... can't wait to eat all those yummy foods!!!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Thanks Cocoa. You should try this! :)

Wah Tricia, I wish I can be at your picnic and eat all those yummy food too! :) Geez, inside kosong one, what a rip off, can't believe people would do this.

WokandSpoon said...

Oh wow! I loooveee murtabak! unfortunately didn't get time to eat any when I stopped over last week! And Selamat Hari Merdeka to you too!

Anonymous said...

Your murtabak is very good looking. :) Haven't had it for a long long time but I still prefer roti prata best.

Indonesia Eats said...

Selamat Hari Merdeka!
Huaaa I love murtabak. I usually make tuna martabak. Yours looks soo good

Little Corner of Mine said...

Hi wokandspoon,
You can make your own instead! Not too difficult to make actually. ;)

Hi cooking ninja,
Thanks! This is a more filling version. :D

Hi Andaliman,
Thanks! Hmm..tuna martabak, a spicy sardine murtabak would be delicious too!

Camemberu said...

Hello fellow Malaysian! Happy National Day too (wee bit belated). Love your blog, and thanks for that tasty-looking murtabak recipe! I must try it at home...

Little Corner of Mine said...

Hi Camemberu,
Thanks for dropping me a note! :) Happy belated National Day to you too! You're welcome on the recipe. :)

Candyce P. said...

Wow, these look delicious. And using ready-made parathas... I love it. Will definitely be trying out your adapted recipe.
Thank you!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Thank you candyce. Hope you like my easy version. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, I am planning to make Murtabak soon and usually I wrap the meat filling with frozen popiah skins. Your idea is great! I have some Singapore frozen roti parathas in the freezer. I'll try to make different murtabaks this time. Thanks for sharing!

Little Corner of Mine said...

You're welcome Manyaro. The frozen paratha works great.