Murtabak Recipe
Murtabak is a sealed flour crepe filled with spicy ground lamb, eggs, and cilantro. The stuffed envelope or paratha is then pan-fried to give it a crispy outer shell. Murtabak is cut into squares and usually served with curry or eaten on its own as a main course.
Equipment
- pan, stovetop
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 4 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 tbsp clarified butter/ ghee
- 1 egg
- 1 cup water
- ¼ tsp soda bicarbonate
For the filling:
- ½ tbsp peanut oil
- ¾ lb ground lamb
- 1 onion chopped
- ½ tsp minced ginger
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- ¼ tsp turmeric ground
- ¾ tsp chili powder
- ¾ tsp coriander ground
- ½ tsp cumin ground
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- 1 egg beaten
For garnish:
- 3 shallot small, chopped
- 6 sprig cilantro chopped
Instructions
How to prepare the dough:
- Melt the ghee and add to the flour sifted with salt. Rub the shortening into the flour.
- Beat the egg and add to the flour-ghee mixture.
- Mix soda bicarbonate with water. Gradually add to the flour mixture and knead to a dough. Grease the dough with a teaspoon of melted ghee and let it rest for 45 minutes in a bowl covered with a damp towel.
How to prepare the filling:
- Heat a pan with peanut oil and add the onion. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add the ground lamb, minced ginger and garlic and saute for another minute. Add the spices and salt and cook with ¼ cup of water on medium heat for 25 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Stir occasionally while cooking the ground lamb.
How to assemble the Murtabak:
- Divide the dough into four balls. Knead and stretch it for 3-4 minutes. Roll each ball into a thin crepe. Spoon some of the ground lamb filling in the center and top with onions and cilantro.
- Spoon a quarter of the beaten egg on top.
- Fold the edges of the crepe over the filling and seal it like an envelope by overlapping each end over the other. Seal the edges by pressing down at the ends.
- On low to medium heat, place each murtabak on a griddle and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides.
- Cut the murtabak into squares or halves and garnish with cilantro and chopped shallot. Serve hot with curry or by itself.
Notes
- The traditional method of making Murtabak is to drizzle oil over the crepe while rolling it and then place the filling in the center. This step is optional if you would like to cut back on the amount of fat used.
- While pan-frying the Murtabak, oil is usually drizzled on top. I omitted the addition of oil, making this an optional step. The outer shell or envelope turns out a little crispy without the addition of extra oil or ghee.
Nutrition
Calories: 621kcalCarbohydrates: 81gProtein: 25gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 128mgPotassium: 383mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 262IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 6mg
