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WHAT IS MUTABBAQ?

Mutabbaq is one of the famous and everyday snacks, especially in the western part of Saudi Arabia. Especially in Ramadan or during Hajj and Umrah, it is a special discovery for many visitors in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

A square-shaped fried (baked in some regions) thin layer of bread stuffed mainly with minced meat (boiled with garlic), beaten eggs, chopped leeks, green onion and cut in further smaller squares after cooking is eaten with lemon and green chilli.

VARIATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD

As it is moving across continents, It is known with many other names and various spellings such as Murtabak, Martabak, Matabbak, Muttabak, Metabbak, Mutabbaq or in India, people call it a spinoff of Mughlai Paratha. With name the stuffing also has a variety of changes like egg only, egg with minced meat, chicken, and sweet mutabbaq variations include banana, cream and many others.

Mutabbaq and its lawful variations are famous in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and Thailand.

What’s in the name?

While some people have taken the meaning of Mutabbaq word wrong as “Folded” in Arabic, in fact, it is derived from “Tabaq” which means flat tray or dish. beaten eggs, chopped leeks, chives, or green onion (scallions) and minced meat.

Mutabbaq Nostalgia

Growing up in the streets of Makkah and later moved to Jeddah, Mutabbaq was an all-time favourite and most enjoyable experience for while family. Especially when you squeeze juicy lemon while heat is dancing away from hot mutabbaq, placing the small square in the mouth along with a tiny bite of chilli, the crunch sound of outer crispy layer mixed with tangy lemon and sparking chilli; I cannot express the flavour and mixing of stuff unless you try it your self.

Without further ado, let now keep waiting and dive down into the recipe which is easy to make at home.

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Let’s get rolling

This original recipe of Mutabbaq is close to what we experience at restaurants across Saudi Arabia.

I have changed in a way that I used boiled meat and only green onion leaves.

Directions

DOUGH PREPARATION

To start with our Saudi Street Food Mutabbaq; we need the following Ingredients

1 cup Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Oil
and 1/2 cup lukewarm water
water will be added gradually

Even if you are kneading the dough with a machine or by hand make sure to add water gradually as all water will not be used.

If you are preparing the dough with a machine it will take 3-4 minutes and approx. 9-10 minutes by hand. The prepared dough should be neither hard nor soft and it should not be sticky at all.

Now the dough is ready, let’s put some oil and let it rest for 30 minutes. Resting the dough is very important.

MEAT STUFFING

Now let’s prepare the meat stuffing for Mutabbaq

Start with 2 eggs
200g boiled minced meat
1 small tomato seedless
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Black pepper
4-5 Spring onion leaves only

let’s mix it well

You can use more eggs but it will make the pastry difficult to handle

MEAT BAG

Now let’s prepare the sheet for Mutabbaq filling, spread some oil on the mat, take a small ball and roll with hands and then with a rolling pin.

The muttabaq sheet should be thinner which makes it crunchy we will also make the dough thinner so we can see the surface under it add the meat stuffing in a rectangular shape and fold it from all the sides.

MUTABBAQ FINAL STAGE

Brush some oil on the pan; now let’s put mutabbaq on the pan carefully from the folded side.

Make a small hole using a toothpick to release the steam so it can cook properly during cooking as it will cook from both sides evenly.

Usually, it takes 2-3 minutes for each side for filling to cook properly.

Once mutabbaq is ready and the filling is cooked properly inside then cut into pieces and serve with green chillies and lemon.

We hope you have enjoyed the recipe, please do not forget to share your feedback with us!

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