Indian Savoury Pancake

( Martabak )

This specialty actually comes from India. Since there are a lot of Indian communities in Indonesia, this meal now has become a popular snack. It's a night-time favorite, is not the sort of dish that would be prepared at home, but is a bought as a light meal from food stalls that you can find it easily along the streets in Indonesia. Yet, because no one is selling Martabak here, I have to make it by myself. It's a very tasty snack.

Category : Appetizer

Difficulty : Easy

Cooking time : 15 – 30 minutes

Ingredients

- 250 g minced beef

- 4 gloves garlic, peeled and sliced

- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced

- 1 small leek, halved lengthwise and sliced

- 1 spring onion, finely sliced

- 3 eggs

- 2 tablespoons chopped Chinese celery leaf (optional)

- 1 tablespoon curry powder

- salt and white pepper to taste

Dough

- 2 cups plain flour

- 3 tablespoons oil

- 3/4 cup water

- pinch of salt

Directions

1. Prepare the dough first by combaining all ingredients and kneading them into an oily elastic dough. Cover and leave at room temperature for 2 hours. Divide into four and roll each piece into a ball. Pull out with lightly oiled hands on an oiled or marble surface to make a large thin circle.

2. While dough is resting, make the filling. Heat oil and saute garlic and onion for few seconds. Add the meat until the meat changes colour. Add leek and celery and continue sauteing for 2 or 3 minutes. Then add curry powder, mix well and cook for 3 minutes. Set aside.

3. To make martabak, take a bowl, put the filling, eggs spring onion, salt and pepper, mix well. Heat a frying pan, fill the centre of each circle of dough with the mixture, fold in the sides and ends to completely enclose the filling envelope fashion. Fry it until golden brown on one side, turn and fry the other side.

4. When its done, cut into pieces and serve with vegetables pickles and sliced chillies.

Helpful hint : To minimize the cooking time, you can use ready-use spring roll sheet/wrapper or phylo pastry sheets as subtitute for dough. For spring roll wrapper the size should be wider than the one that usually for making a spring roll.