Martabak Telur Wraps (Indonesian Stuffed Egg Pastry)

About This Recipe

Martabak telur is a savory street food found across Indonesia, thin sheets of dough enclosing a filling of spiced ground meat mixed with beaten egg and scallion, folded into a square packet before frying. The filling gets its warm flavor from a quick blend of curry powder, garlic and shallot, cooked briefly with ground beef before being mixed with raw egg, which sets as the martabak fries, binding everything together. Fried until deeply golden and crisp on both sides, martabak telur is traditionally served with a side of pickled cucumber (acar) and a light curry-vinegar dipping sauce, best eaten hot and sliced into wedges.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 3/4 cupwarm water
• 1/2 tspsalt(for dough)
• 2 tbspvegetable oil(for dough, plus more for frying)
• 300 gground beef
• 1onion(finely diced)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1 tspcurry powder
• 3eggs
• 3scallions(chopped)
• 1 tspsalt(for filling)
• 1/2 cupacar (pickled cucumber and carrot)(for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Mix flour, water, salt and oil into a smooth, elastic dough; knead 8 minutes, then rest covered 30 minutes.

2. 2

   Cook the beef filling

   Cook onion until soft, add garlic and curry powder, cooking 1 minute, then add ground beef and cook until browned; let cool slightly.

3. 3

   Combine with egg

   Beat the eggs with scallions and salt, then mix in the cooled beef mixture.

4. 4

   Stretch the dough

   Divide the rested dough into 4 pieces and stretch each very thin on an oiled surface into a wide square.

   Stretch the dough as thin as possible, working from the center outward with oiled hands, similar to a strudel dough.

5. 5

   Fill and fold

   Pour a portion of the egg-beef mixture onto the center of each stretched dough square, then fold the edges over to enclose it completely into a smaller square packet.

6. 6

   Fry

   Fry each folded packet in a hot, oiled skillet for 3-4 minutes per side until deeply golden and crisp.

7. 7

   Serve

   Slice into wedges and serve hot with acar.

Variations

• •

  A sweet version, martabak manis, uses a completely different pancake-like batter filled with chocolate, cheese or condensed milk.

• •

  Chicken can substitute for ground beef in the savory filling.

• •

  Adding curry leaves or extra spices to the filling gives more traditional depth.

Storage

Best eaten fresh and hot; refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days and reheat in a dry skillet or oven to help re-crisp.

Frequently Asked Questions