Mutabbaq — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A thin, stretchy dough folded around a savory filling of spiced ground meat, eggs, and herbs, then pan-fried until golden and crispy. This popular Yemeni street food delivers maximum flavor in every bite.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil for dough
300g ground beef
1 onion, finely diced
2 eggs, beaten
1 green chili, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Oil for frying

Instructions

1 Mix flour, salt, water, and oil into a very soft, stretchy dough. Knead well and rest for 30 minutes covered with oil.
2 Cook ground beef with onion, cumin, turmeric, chili, and salt until browned and dry. Cool slightly and mix in beaten eggs and cilantro.
3 Take a ball of dough and stretch it paper-thin on an oiled surface, pulling gently from the center outward.
4 Place a line of filling along one edge. Fold the thin dough over the filling, then fold sides in and roll into a flat rectangular parcel.
5 Pan-fry in oil over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy.
6 Cut into pieces and serve hot with sahawiq and a squeeze of lemon.

Did You Know?

Hadhrami migrants brought mutabbaq to Southeast Asia, where it became so popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia that many people think it originated there.