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Saudi Arabian · Yemeni

Mutabbaq

Non-vegetarian

مطبق · mutabbaq

Paper-thin dough wrapped around spiced minced beef, egg and spring onion, folded into a square parcel and fried on a griddle until crisp. A favourite evening street snack of Jeddah and Mecca, especially in Ramadan.

Mutabbaq is a Saudi Arabian street food, ready in about 2 hours 5 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, ground beef and egg. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Golden pan-fried mutabbaq stuffed pastry squares with lemon and chillies
Photo: Mojackjutaily / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
40 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
1 h
Total
2 h 5 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
656

Ingredients

4 pieces

For the dough

For the filling

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Knead the flour, salt and water into a soft, smooth dough. Divide into 4 balls, coat generously in oil and rest, covered, for 1 hour.

    • 10 min
    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Fry the beef and onion (opens in a new tab) until browned and dry. Season with the cumin (opens in a new tab), pepper (opens in a new tab) and salt and cool slightly, then mix in the spring onions (opens in a new tab) and chilli.

    Food safety: Cook mince until no pink remains.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    On an oiled surface, press and stretch a dough ball into a very thin sheet. Spoon a quarter of the filling in the centre, crack over one egg (or a beaten quarter of the eggs (opens in a new tab)) and fold the sides over to make a square parcel.

    • 15 min

  4. Step 4

    Fry on a hot griddle with a little ghee (opens in a new tab) until golden and crisp on both sides and the egg (opens in a new tab) is set.

    Food safety: Cook until the egg inside is firm.

    A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
    How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Not attributed to one place · Origin disputedA street food of the Hejaz and of Yemen; related to the murtabak of South and Southeast Asia, and its exact origin is debated.Also popular in Saudi Arabia, Yemen
Dish
Snack · Dinner · Street food · Finger food
Cooking method
Pan-fried, Sautéed
Taste
savoury, spicy (chilli heat), aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein
With the listed swaps: Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food
Cook more with
All-purpose flour · Ground beef · Egg · Onion · Cumin · Spring onion
Techniques
Pan-frying · Sautéing · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom ghee
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

656 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 296 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 17%
  • Carbohydrate 38%
  • Fat 45%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy656 kcal222 kcal
Protein27.2 g9.2 g
Carbohydrate61.7 g20.8 g
Net carbohydrate58.7 g19.8 g
Sugars1.9 g0.7 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3 g1 g
Fat32.6 g11 g
Saturated fat10.5 g3.6 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol208 mg70 mg
Sodium838 mg283 mg
Salt equivalent2.1 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
454 mg
Calcium
72 mg
Iron
6.4 mg
Magnesium
44 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
128 µg
Vitamin C
9 mg
Vitamin D
0.8 µg
Vitamin B12
2 µg
Folate (DFE)
256 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Oil your hands and the work surface generously — the dough should stretch thin enough to see through without tearing.

Common mistakes

  • Under-resting the dough: it springs back and tears instead of stretching.

Serve with

  • Cut into squares and serve with lime and a hot chilli sauce.

Storage

  • Best eaten hot.

Variations

  • Sweet mutabbaq: Filled with banana and cheese, or sugar and egg, and drizzled with honey.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

For the dough

Used in steps 1, 2

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 40 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 1 h

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Bake · about 25 min

    Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.

  4. Start to finish: about 2 h 5 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
All-purpose flourFlour300 g100%
WaterWater180 g60%
Neutral vegetable oilFat41 g13.6%
SaltSalt3 g1%
Total flour
300 g
Hydration
60%
With milk, eggs…
60%
Wholegrain
0%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
  • Salt 1% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
  • Fat 13.6% — a rich, tender dough.

If something goes wrong

  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Crust too hard or thick

    Likely causes

    • Baked too long at too low a temperature
    • No steam at the start

    What to do

    • Bake hotter for a shorter time
    • Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
    • Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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