Recipe: Spicy Meat-Stuffed, Griddled Bread (Murtabak) (Singaporean)

SPICY MEAT-STUFFED, GRIDDLED BREAD
(MURTABAK)

"Singapore is known for its fabulous Indian cooking. Indian coffee shops and street hawkers serve an unbelievable assortment of griddled breads, known as roti or chapati, which are light, flaky and slightly chewy. Murtabak, a very popular snack, is spicy ground meat encased in roti bread and browned on a griddle until crisp."

3 1/2 cups flour, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 5 tablespoons melted clarified butter (called ghee)
1 1/4 cups warm milk
4 (1-inch) chunks fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
10 shallots or 2 small onions, peeled and sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup red chili paste (sambal oelek*), or less if you don't like spicy
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh or frozen curry leaves *
2 1/2 tablespoons Indian-style curry powder
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
2 eggs
3 to 6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add 5 tablespoons of ghee and stir until the mixture looks crumbly. Slowly pour in the milk and mix with your hands. The dough will feel soft, spongy and almost too sticky. Knead the dough without adding extra flour until it pulls away from the bowl and forms a smooth ball. Continue kneading until the dough feels just slightly sticky, about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, use a mixer with the paddle attachment.)

Cut dough into 8 pieces, roll each into a ball, flatten slightly and rub with ghee. Place balls on a tray, cover with a damp cloth and let rest for at least 5 hours.

Lightly oil rolling pin and work surface with ghee. Roll out one ball, stretching the dough into a paper-thin circle, about 9 inches in diameter. Lightly brush the dough with ghee and lightly sprinkle with flour. Starting at the bottom edge, roll up the circle jelly-roll style until you have a long rope. Gently pull the ends out to stretch it an inch longer. Take one end and roll it clockwise into a coil until it reaches the center of the rope. Roll the opposite end clockwise until the two coils meet (like an S). Fold one coil over on top of other. Press the two coils gently together into one thick round (the objective is to incorporate layers of the clarified butter). Wrap with plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour. Repeat with remaining balls.

Grind ginger, shallots and garlic to a smooth paste in a food processor. Add a tablespoon or more of water if needed to blend.

Heat the 1/3 cup oil in a medium saucepan. When hot, carefully add the red chili paste and curry leaves; fry over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until the oil takes on a reddish hue.

Add the ground mixture and fry, stirring frequently, until it's fragrant and has a deep mahogany red color and porridgelike consistency, about 8 minutes. It's ready when reddish oil seeps out.

Add curry powder and onion and saute until limp.

Raise the heat and add beef, salt and sugar. Saute, breaking up the lumps, until the meat is cooked but tender, about 5 minutes; do not brown.

Add the celery and saute briefly. The mixture should be crumbly. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool. When cool, beat in eggs.

Place one bread round on a flat surface. With your fingertips spread it into an 8-inch circle. Put 3 heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of the circle, leaving 2 inches of dough all around. Fold two opposite sides of dough into the center, overlapping them by 1/2 inch. Fold over the remaining two sides to enclose the package. Press down gently to form a square.

Lightly oil a griddle or frying pan. Put a murtabak, folded side down, on the griddle and fry over low heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Murtabak can be made ahead and reheated in a 425-degree F oven for 10 minutes.

*Available at Asian groceries.

Makes 8 servings
Source: The Cooking of Singapore, by Chris Yeo