Ramadan 101: Day 8

Yesterday, I spent a lovely afternoon in the kitchen with my Saudi friend Rawia- who is an accomplished dress maker and nutritionist (see her daughter, Noha, (left). The name of one of the new dishes she taught me, is Mutabbaq. Mutabbaq means "folded" in Arabic. The Saudi specialty is similar to Turkish and Tunisian boreks with the exception that the pastry dough used to make the Saudi version contains eggs and looks a little like a thinner wonton dough (called ajeena, or simply dough, in Saudi). Rawia insists that phyllo and any other commercial doughs can not be subsituted when making the Mutabbaq. Most Saudis living in the States bring the dough with them from overseas and store it in their freezer.

I have no idea how I missed these while I was in Saudi! Rawia told me that street vendors (the same ones who sell fuul medammes and lupine beans) offer mutabbaq. The recipe originated in the Hijaz province where it is made at home and served baked. In the Eastern province, and on the street, they are usually fried.

Mutabbaq has 3 layers of glossy, elastic pastry, all folded around a filling of ground meat, chopped onions, minced chives, tomatoes, and beaten eggs. For dessert, there's also a banana-filled mutabbaq which Malaysian Muslims took back to their homeland after discovering it during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. You can make it by following the same procedure as below- the only exception being using 1 1/2 sliced bananas, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 1 egg for the filling.

Recipe: Saudi Stuffed Pastry Squares/ Mutabbaq Ingredients: (Makes 6)

For the dough:

1. 6 cups flour, plus 1/4 cup extra for work surface
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. 3 eggs
4. 1 1/2 cups water, or, as needed

For the Filling:

1. 3 onions (finely chopped)
2. 1 pound ground beef
3. 1 tablespoon salt
4. 2 packages chives (finely trimmed)
5. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste 1 eggs beaten with 1/4 cup corn oil
6. 3 roma tomatoes, (finely chopped)
7. 6 eggs
8. 2 tablespoons corn oil, for pans

Preparation:

• Sift flour and salt. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Add water, a little at a time, mixing dough until it becomes soft but pliable.
• Divide the dough into 15 pieces, knead each piece until it is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).
• Place on trays sprinkled with a little water and let rise for at least one hour.
• Place ground beef and onions in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir until browned and add salt. Set aside until cool, and stir in chives.
• Dust the work surface with excess 1/4 cup flour.
• Take a piece of dough and cover in flour, roll out, place over back of hands and stretch until dough becomes quite thin. place dough on worktop and trim uneven edges (pieces should be about 12x8-inch rectangles).
• Cut 3 of the rectangles in half. Place 2 rectangles side by side (as if they were two sheets of paper) and place 1 of the half sheets across the very middle of the two. Brush the dough surface with two tablespoons of egg and oil mixture. Cover generously with ground beef and tomato. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make a well in the center and crack an egg into the middle.
• Whisk the eggs around with a fork to incorporate. Fold the bottom up and the sides in to form a square.
• Preheat oven to 450F degrees. Grease 2 baking sheets with corn oil and place pastry on top. Repeat filling and folding process until dough and filling are used.
• Brush with additional oil, if desired. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden.
• Serve warm.