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Brief Overview
Indonesia’s street food culture is rich with dishes that invite you to stop, watch, and savour. Among these is martabak telur, an egg filled stuffed pancake cooked on wide flat griddles by vendors whose skilful folds and sizzling oils create aromas that make passers-by pause.
Martabak telur is the kind of snack that feels like a meal. It brings together crispness, savouriness, and the warmth of spices wrapped in a thin pastry. Watching it being prepared, with eggs cracked and mixed with minced meat and spring onions, is part of its charm.
For many Indonesians, martabak telur is a taste of late evenings spent outdoors. Vendors often set up near markets and busy streets where people gather to share laughter, coffee, and small plates of freshly cooked food before heading home.
What Is Martabak Telur?
Martabak telur is a savoury stuffed pancake, folded like an envelope, then fried until golden. The outer pastry is thin and crisp, while the filling is hearty, making it satisfying without being overly heavy. It is commonly served with pickled cucumber and chillies.
This dish is usually eaten as an evening snack or a quick dinner. It is deeply savoury, best eaten hot while its flaky layers are still crisp. Although often compared to omelettes or stuffed parathas, martabak telur has its own unique taste and texture.
While sweet martabak exists too, martabak telur focuses purely on savoury comfort. It is prepared fresh to order, creating a hot filling that steams gently within its pastry, filling the air with spices like coriander and garlic as it cooks.
Ingredients and Taste
The filling usually combines eggs with minced beef or mutton, garlic, shallots, spring onions, and a touch of curry powder. This mixture is poured onto a thin dough that has been stretched out skilfully, then folded around the filling and fried.
Every bite offers a crisp outer pastry giving way to soft, fragrant minced meat and eggs, lifted by spring onions and spices. Some recipes include celery leaves or leek, adding freshness to balance the richness of the meat and egg mixture.
Eaten with pickled cucumber or acar, martabak telur offers contrast between its savoury warmth and the cool sweet and sour crunch of pickles. A small green chilli often accompanies it for those who want an extra kick with their mouthfuls.
A Taste of History
Martabak telur is believed to have arrived in Indonesia through Indian Muslim traders who travelled across Southeast Asia. The word ‘martabak’ is rooted in Arabic, referring to folded or layered food, reflecting its preparation method.
Over time, Indonesian cooks adapted the recipe to local tastes, using beef or mutton instead of lamb and infusing it with regional spices. The dish spread widely, becoming part of the street food identity in cities like Jakarta, Bandung, and Medan.
Today, martabak telur is more than a dish. It is a memory shared across generations, whether eaten on plastic stools by busy roadsides or ordered for family gatherings at home. Its history reflects Indonesia’s openness to cultural exchange through food.
For visitors, trying martabak telur is a chance to taste Indonesia’s diversity in one folded parcel. Each layer holds not only spiced meat and eggs but also stories of trade, migration, and the joy of sharing food that nourishes both body and community.
How to make Martabak Telur
Martabak Telur is Indonesia’s beloved savoury stuffed pancake filled with spiced minced meat, spring onions, and eggs, folded in crisp pastry. Expect an aromatic cooking process with gentle spice notes, and enjoy the rewarding moment of pan frying each parcel until golden. See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions. See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 250g minced beef
- 4 eggs
- 5 spring onions, finely sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (for cooking filling)
For the pastry:
- 250g plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 150ml water (adjust as needed)
For frying:
- Additional vegetable oil for shallow frying
Optional for serving:
- Pickled cucumber and shallots in sweet vinegar
Cooking Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Dough
To begin, combine plain flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well, pour in water gradually, and knead until a smooth dough forms. Add 1 tbsp oil and knead further for 5 minutes until elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for at least 30 minutes to relax the gluten for easier stretching later. Proceed to the filling while the dough rests.
Step 2: Cook the Minced Beef Filling
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and garlic, sautéing until fragrant and lightly golden. Add minced beef, breaking it up with a spoon, and cook until browned. Season with coriander, cumin, white pepper, and salt. Stir well to blend the spices. Remove from heat and let it cool before mixing with eggs.
Step 3: Mix the Filling with Eggs and Spring Onions
Once the cooked beef has cooled slightly, transfer to a mixing bowl. Add chopped spring onions and crack in the eggs. Stir until fully combined. The mixture should appear loose yet cohesive. Set aside while preparing the dough for filling.
Step 4: Divide and Shape the Dough
Divide rested dough into four equal balls. Coat each with a little oil to prevent drying. Let them rest for another 10 minutes to ensure easier stretching. This step ensures thin wrappers without tearing.
Step 5: Stretch the Dough
On a clean oiled surface, flatten one dough ball with your fingertips, then gently stretch from the centre outwards until paper thin, nearly translucent. Traditional Martabak wrappers are almost see-through yet resilient.
Step 6: Fill the Dough
Place a quarter of the beef and egg mixture in the centre of the stretched dough. Fold the sides over the filling to form a neat square parcel. Ensure there are no gaps to prevent leaking during frying. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Step 7: Fry the Martabak Telur Parcels
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat, enough for shallow frying. Place each parcel seam side down and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown and crisp. Adjust heat as needed to avoid burning while ensuring the filling cooks through.
Step 8: Drain and Rest
Remove cooked martabak from the pan and place on a wire rack or kitchen paper to drain excess oil. This keeps the crust crisp. Continue frying the remaining parcels in batches.
Step 9: Slice for Serving
Transfer to a cutting board and slice into squares or strips for easy sharing. Traditionally, Martabak Telur is cut into small pieces to serve with pickled cucumber and shallots for a refreshing contrast.
Final Step: Serve and Enjoy
Arrange sliced Martabak Telur on a serving platter alongside pickles. Best enjoyed hot with sweet and sour pickles or green chillies for extra bite. For presentation, garnish with fresh coriander or thinly sliced red chillies if desired.
Variations and substitutions
- Meat alternatives: Substitute beef with minced chicken or lamb for a different flavour profile.
- Vegetarian option: Replace meat with firm tofu, crumbled and sautéed with the same spices.
- Spice variations: Add a pinch of curry powder for a Malaysian twist or chilli powder for heat.
Cooking Tips for Perfect Martabak Telur
- Resting the dough twice ensures elasticity and prevents tearing while stretching.
- Use minimal oil when stretching the dough to avoid slipperiness yet keep it pliable.
- Allow the beef filling to cool before mixing with eggs to avoid scrambling them prematurely.
- Fry over medium heat to cook the filling thoroughly without burning the wrapper.
- Serve immediately for the crispiest texture and most aromatic experience.
Indonesian Martabak Telur (Stuffed Pancake)
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 250 g minced beef
- 4 eggs
- 5 spring onions finely sliced
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground white pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil for cooking filling
For the pastry:
- 250 g plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 150 ml water adjust as needed
For frying:
- Additional vegetable oil for shallow frying
Optional for serving:
- Pickled cucumber and shallots in sweet vinegar
Instructions
- To begin, combine plain flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well, pour in water gradually, and knead until a smooth dough forms. Add 1 tbsp oil and knead further for 5 minutes until elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for at least 30 minutes to relax the gluten for easier stretching later. Proceed to the filling while the dough rests.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and garlic, sautéing until fragrant and lightly golden. Add minced beef, breaking it up with a spoon, and cook until browned. Season with coriander, cumin, white pepper, and salt. Stir well to blend the spices. Remove from heat and let it cool before mixing with eggs.
- Once the cooked beef has cooled slightly, transfer to a mixing bowl. Add chopped spring onions and crack in the eggs. Stir until fully combined. The mixture should appear loose yet cohesive. Set aside while preparing the dough for filling.
- Divide rested dough into four equal balls. Coat each with a little oil to prevent drying. Let them rest for another 10 minutes to ensure easier stretching. This step ensures thin wrappers without tearing.
- On a clean oiled surface, flatten one dough ball with your fingertips, then gently stretch from the centre outwards until paper thin, nearly translucent. Traditional Martabak wrappers are almost see-through yet resilient.
- Place a quarter of the beef and egg mixture in the centre of the stretched dough. Fold the sides over the filling to form a neat square parcel. Ensure there are no gaps to prevent leaking during frying. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
- Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat, enough for shallow frying. Place each parcel seam side down and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown and crisp. Adjust heat as needed to avoid burning while ensuring the filling cooks through.
- Remove cooked martabak from the pan and place on a wire rack or kitchen paper to drain excess oil. This keeps the crust crisp. Continue frying the remaining parcels in batches.
- Transfer to a cutting board and slice into squares or strips for easy sharing. Traditionally, Martabak Telur is cut into small pieces to serve with pickled cucumber and shallots for a refreshing contrast.
- Arrange sliced Martabak Telur on a serving platter alongside pickles. Best enjoyed hot with sweet and sour pickles or green chillies for extra bite. For presentation, garnish with fresh coriander or thinly sliced red chillies if desired.
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