Mataba: The Stuffed Roti Pancake, Sweet and Savory

Photo: Ketchup with Linda

Mataba: The Stuffed Roti Pancake, Sweet and Savory

On a hot griddle in a Thai Muslim shophouse, a ball of dough is stretched paper-thin, filled, folded into a neat parcel and fried until golden and crisp. That is mataba — Thailand's stuffed roti pancake, and one of the clearest, tastiest signs of the Arab and Indian Muslim cooks who shaped Bangkok's food. Savoury mataba comes stuffed with spiced minced beef or chicken, onion and egg; sweet mataba hides sliced banana and egg inside the same crisp shell. Cut it into squares, spoon over sharp cucumber relish, and you have a snack, a breakfast and a light meal all in one parcel.

A traveller that settled in Bangkok

Mataba is Thailand's version of murtabak, a stuffed pancake found from Yemen and India through Malaysia and Indonesia. Muslim traders and cooks brought it along the old sea routes, and in Bangkok it took root in the city's Thai Muslim neighbourhoods — most famously along Phra Athit Road, where roti shops have served mataba for generations alongside oxtail soup and biryani. The Thai version kept the griddled parcel and the spiced filling, then made it its own: a little curry powder in the filling, a sweet-sour cucumber ajat on the side, and a sweet banana version that belongs to Thailand's roti carts everywhere.

The parts that make the parcel

• The dough: a soft, rested roti dough — flour, water, a little milk or egg, salt and sugar — kneaded, oiled and rested so it can be stretched almost transparent without tearing
• The savoury filling: minced beef or chicken cooked with onion, garlic, curry powder, cumin, turmeric and a pinch of sugar, cooled, then mixed with beaten egg and chopped spring onion or coriander just before wrapping
• The sweet filling: ripe banana sliced over beaten egg — simple, custardy inside and crisp outside, often finished with a drizzle of condensed milk
• The fry: the filled parcel folded envelope-style and fried on a flat griddle in a little oil or ghee, turned once, until both sides are deeply golden and the edges shatter
• The ajat: a quick cucumber relish — cucumber, shallot and chilli in warm vinegar, sugar and salt — whose bright acidity cuts the richness; savoury mataba is rarely served without it, and some shops add a mild curry sauce too

Sweet or savoury? In Bangkok, both

Order mataba in a Bangkok roti shop and the first question is which kind. Savoury is the classic lunch: spiced meat, soft egg binding it together, crisp dough giving way to a juicy centre, ajat spooned over each bite. Sweet banana mataba is the afternoon treat, closer to dessert, especially with condensed milk. Good shops make both to order — you hear the dough slapped and stretched, smell the curry and hot oil, and two minutes later the parcel lands on the plate, cut in a grid and still crackling.

At a Thai Muslim table

Mataba is shared food. A parcel or two sits in the middle with ajat and sauces, and everyone takes squares with a spoon and fork, or with fingers. It pairs naturally with the rest of the Thai Muslim table — a bowl of sup hang wua (oxtail soup), a plate of khao mok biryani, a glass of sweet tea. Nothing about it is rushed except the eating: mataba is at its best in the first few minutes, while the shell is still crisp.

Home recipe: Beef mataba (makes 4 parcels)

1. Make the dough: mix 300g plain flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Stir in 1 beaten egg and about 150ml warm water with 1 tablespoon melted butter or oil, and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide into 4 balls, coat each in oil, cover and rest for at least 1 hour (overnight in the fridge is even better).
2. Cook the filling: fry 1 finely chopped onion in 1 tablespoon oil until soft. Add 2 garlic cloves, minced, 250g minced beef, 1 tablespoon mild curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, salt, black pepper and 1 teaspoon sugar. Fry until the meat is cooked and fairly dry, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, then stir in 2 beaten eggs and 2 chopped spring onions.
3. Make the ajat: warm 80ml rice vinegar with 60g sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt until dissolved; cool. Add 1/2 cucumber, quartered and sliced, 2 sliced shallots and 1 sliced red chilli. Set aside.
4. Stretch and fill: on an oiled surface, press and stretch one dough ball by hand into the largest, thinnest round you can — it should be almost see-through, with no holes if possible. Spoon a quarter of the filling into the centre and spread it into a small square.
5. Fold and fry: fold the dough over the filling from all four sides, envelope-style, to make a sealed square parcel. Heat a little oil or ghee on a flat pan or griddle over medium heat, lay the parcel in seam-side down, and fry for 2–3 minutes per side until deep golden and crisp. Drain briefly.
6. For sweet banana mataba: fill the stretched dough with 1 small sliced banana mixed with 1 beaten egg per parcel, fold and fry the same way, and drizzle with condensed milk.
7. Serve: cut each savoury parcel into squares and serve at once with the cucumber ajat spooned over. Serve the sweet version plain or with condensed milk while it is still crisp.

The stretch secret: rested, well-oiled dough is everything. If it springs back or tears, cover it and rest it 15 minutes longer — a relaxed dough stretches thin enough to read through, and that thinness is what fries up crisp instead of bready.

Why it endures

Mataba endures because it carries a whole journey in one parcel — Arab and Indian technique, Malaysian murtabak roots and a Bangkok Thai Muslim accent — while staying, at heart, simple street food: dough, a spiced filling, a hot griddle and a sharp little relish. Make it at home once, sweet and savoury side by side, and you will understand why Bangkok's roti shops have never needed to change it.