Culture

This week I’m going Southeast Asian on you all with one of my favourite street foods. The name comes from the Arabic word for folded. It’s essentially roti with minced meat, and a scrambled egg folded inside. It can be eaten by itself, with curry or even just tomato sauce. You have to work fast in the kitchen when you make this, they’re so good they’ll probably be eaten just as quickly.

Makes 8 - Serves 4

Ingredients

For the dough: 

• 3 cups white flour
• 1  teaspoon salt
• ½  cup oil
• 1  cup lukewarm water

For the filling: 

• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1  teaspoon turmeric
• 1  tablespoon curry powder
• 500g of minced meat, beef or chicken
• 12 stalks spring onion, sliced
• 1  chilli, finely sliced (optional)
• 4 eggs

Method

To make the dough:

1. Place flour and salt in a large bowl and rub in 1  tablespoon of oil
2. Add water and mix into a soft dough
3. Knead the dough for ten minutes
4. Divide the dough into 7-8 equal-sized balls and place them in a small bowl with 1/2 cup of oil (which we will use again later for frying)
5. Leave dough in the oil for an hour, which will help make the dough easy to roll

Meanwhile, you can make the filling:

1. Heat and oil a large frying pan and add onion. 
2. Add garlic and fry until the onion is brown
3. Add turmeric and curry powder and stir for a few seconds
4. Put in the minced meat. Lightly brown meat before adding salt to season, spring onion and chilli if desired. Carry on frying until meat is cooked, then take it off the heat

Bringing it all together:

1. Beat eggs in a medium bowl, season with salt and pepper
2. On a smooth surface flatten a dough ball with a rolling pin until pastry thin
3. Heat a flat, wide pan with oil (you can use the same oil from the dough)
4. Transfer flattened dough on pan
5. Working quickly so it doesn’t burn, spoon about four tablespoons of beaten egg on the middle portion of the dough
6. Spoon some meat on top
7. While the egg is slightly undercooked, and before the dough overcooks, bring each corner to the middle so it overlaps and looks like an envelope
8. Turn it over and cook the other side
9. Repeat Steps 2-8 with each ball of dough