Spiced Beef Roti Turnover (Murtabak)

Beef omelet-ish inside a roti? Sure. Why not.

That would be Murtabak. A popular street food by the Indian Muslims in Malaysia that’s friggin’ sinful.

And when I mean roti here, I mean Roti Canai (or paratha) not just any regular roti.

I ate my first Murtabak when I was in my teens. Nothing worth noting here except me yelling loudly like a mad girl after my first bite asking the vendor “Why have I not known about this until now?” It was simply love at first bite.

There are many things that I’ve done for Curious Nut.

Flipped a pizza crust….. actually I just stretched it out.

Rushed a pie crust before the butter melted.

Hand kneaded a freakin’ bread.

Baked a cake.

Made naan.

Fermented dosa batter.

Sad to say, I’m still not 100% ready for the commitment making roti canai from scratch entails. I blame it on the flipping. And the bathing the dough with so much ghee that it makes me giddy. I just can’t do it. Perhaps one day… but not today. So, commercially sold frozen roti it is guys. Don’t judge. Of course, it you want to make the roti from scratch, be my guest… or rather I can to be your guest.. to come to your house… and eat ’em.

You’ll soon forget all about it when you lay your eyes on the warm golden pancake turnover parcel… whatever you want to call it really.

Crispy, flaky, chewy roti stuffed with spiced ground beef and egg filling. Wash this Murtabak down with some Teh Tarik.

Aah.

Life is good.

PS: If you’d like to oomph it up, serve the murtabak with sambar, dhal or curry. Holy crap.

Love stuffed curry-ish things? Then you’re going to love this Malaysian Curry Puff. Delicious spicy curry filling wrapped in a buttery crispy & flaky pastry goodness fried till hot & golden brown. Best I’ve eaten in my life.

Also, check out my last post Chicken Tikka Dosa Roll Up. Smoky, roasted juicy chicken tikka with tomato chutney, coconut chutney and mint chutney all wrapped in warm dosa.

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Spiced Beef Roti Turnover (Murtabak)                 Makes 6 murtabak

what you need:

Filling
1 medium onion, diced
1/2″ ginger, finely minced
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
3/4 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 tbs meat curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp salt or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg and sugar
1 tbs oil

6 frozen roti pratha
3 large eggs
Salt

directions:

Making the filling

1. Heat the oil in a wok or pan over medium high heat. Once hot, fry the onions until they soften.

2. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for a few minutes.

3. Add the beef and start to brown it. Half way through, add the curry powder, turmeric powder and chili powder. The beef will start to absorb all the spices. Once beef is almost cooked, add the cabbage. Stir to combine.

4. Season with salt, black pepper, nutmeg and sugar. Once the beef is cooked through and the cabbage is soft to your liking, remove from heat and let cool.

Making the murtabak

1. Remove all the roti from the package, separate them and thaw on the counter (with the plastic still attached). This will take between 5-8 minutes depending on the weather. Once they’re almost thawed, put them back into the freezer. We’ll work on one roti at a time. Too thawed of a roti is difficult to work with.

2. Heat a cast iron pan to a little below medium heat and add a coat of oil.

3. Generously flour the work surface and place a thawed roti on it. Lightly flour the roti and a rolling pin.

4. Roll out the roti. Gently lift up the sides and from the center, stretch the roti a little to become a bigger circle or oval. It’s ok if you accidentally tear the edges as long as the center is intact. The roti is now about 9-10″ in diameter.

5. Crack an egg in a bowl, add a pinch of salt and lightly beat it. Pour half the beaten egg onto the center of the roti. Spread the egg a little. Spoon 1/2 cup meat filling onto the center of the roti. Spread the meat evenly. Fold in all four edges to seal the roti. It’ll now look like a 4-5″ squarish package.

6. Once the pan is hot, gently pick up the stuffed roti and place in the pan. Fry for 3 – 4 minutes each side until they brown and crisp. Towards the end, tilt the murtabak to brown the edges as well. While the murtabak cooks, work on the next roti.

Note:

1. Roti – I like the Raya brand “Puff Paratha”. I find this to be the closest tasting roti to the ones sold at a Mamak in Malaysia. Each pack comes with 5 roti. Mr.V loves the Wei Chuan brand because it’s slightly sweet.