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Street Food · Folded & Fried

Mutabbaq

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Its name simply means 'folded' in Arabic — the entire dish is named after the fold that seals it shut.

A thin sheet of dough is filled with spiced minced meat, egg and green onion, folded into a square parcel, and pan-fried until crisp and golden. Sliced into pieces and served with lemon wedges and green chilies from hole-in-the-wall stalls.

Why it's made this way: Its origins are debated — it is linked to Yemeni and Indian Muslim cooks — and it is closely related to the murtabak of South and Southeast Asia; in the Hejaz it took root alongside sambosa as an affordable, hearty snack.

Roughly what's in it

500kcal
20gprotein
45gcarbs
27gfat
Estimated per typical street-vendor portion — not lab-tested.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.