Martabak: The Stuffed Pancake Duality

Ingredients

• For the savoury martabak (Martabak Telur) wrapper
• 300 g plain flour, sifted
• 150 ml water, lukewarm
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp neutral oil, for resting and stretching
• For the savoury filling
• 250 g minced beef or mutton
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp salt
• For the sweet martabak (Martabak Manis) batter
• 250 g plain flour, sifted
• 350 ml whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 50 g sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• For the sweet filling
• 60 g salted butter, softened, for spreading
• 50 g sugar, for dusting
• 60 g grated aged cheese, traditional Edam-style
• 60 g chocolate sprinkles, the Indonesian street standard
• For frying both
• 100 ml neutral oil, for the pan

Method

1. 1
   SAVOURY — Make the wrapper dough. Combine flour, salt, and lukewarm water; knead until smooth and elastic. Coat in neutral oil, divide into four equal balls, and rest, covered, at room temperature for a minimum of one hour. The dough is ready when it yields to a gentle press without springing back and can be stretched without tearing.
2. 2
   SAVOURY — Prepare the filling. Brown the minced beef or mutton in a dry pan over high heat, seasoning with curry powder and salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Combine with spring onions and beaten eggs in a bowl; the mixture should be loose enough to spread but cohesive enough to fold.
3. 3
   SAVOURY — Stretch the wrapper. On an oiled surface, take one dough ball and work it outward with oiled palms — lifting, rotating, and allowing gravity to thin the sheet — until it is nearly translucent and large enough to fold around the filling. This is where the savoury martabak lives or dies: a wrapper stretched too thick will be doughy and leaden; one torn will not contain the egg. The finished sheet must be thin enough to show the shadow of a hand held beneath it.
4. 4
   SAVOURY — Fold and fry. Place a quarter of the filling at the centre of the stretched wrapper. Fold the four sides inward to form a neat square parcel. Lower, seam-side down, into a well-oiled pan set over medium heat. Press gently to even thickness. Fry until the underside is deep golden and audibly crisp, then turn once. The martabak is done when both faces are uniformly amber and the egg filling is fully set — confirmed by pressing the centre: it should feel firm, not fluid.
5. 5
   SWEET — Make the batter. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, vanilla, and milk until smooth and without lumps. Rest the batter for fifteen minutes; small bubbles will appear at the surface, indicating the leavening is active.
6. 6
   SWEET — Cook the pancake. Pour the batter into a lightly oiled heavy pan or wok over medium-low heat to a depth that will yield a thick, spongy disc. Cover with a lid. The sweet martabak is ready to fill when the surface is fully set and honeycombed with open bubbles — it is never turned.
7. 7
   SWEET — Fill and fold. Working quickly off the heat, spread the surface with softened salted butter, dust with sugar, and scatter grated cheese and chocolate sprinkles across the full face. Fold the pancake in half, pressing lightly to adhere. Slice into rectangular portions. The interior should be moist and yielding; the base should carry a thin, lightly crisped crust.