Where Does Martabak Come From?

Where Does Martabak Come From? - Hearing the word Martabak that will come to your mind is certainly delicious, do you agree with this statement? In fact, in urban to rural areas, it is easy to find martabak sellers and this has been going on for quite a long time so it is only natural that martabak are dubbed legendary food.

Did you know that martabak has a long history with its unique story? Maybe you yourself as a connoisseur of martabak have never questioned this problem, but there is nothing wrong if you know the history of the emergence of martabak in Indonesia.

Martabak in Indonesia has 2 types, namely Martabak Telur (egg martabak) and Martabak Manis (sweet martabak). The similarity between the two is that they both use flour as an ingredient in the skin dough, while the difference is very clear from the taste and filling.

Egg martabak tastes savory / salty because the skin does not use added sugar at all like sweet martabak and the filling is also a combination of chicken / duck eggs, vegetables / leeks, and beef while sweet martabak filling / topping uses nuts, chocolate, sticky rice, condensed milk or cheese. 

History of Martabak Telur (Egg Martabak)

Martabak Telur @Jabrik Martabak

Martabak telur according to some references originally came from India and according to the story there was a young Javanese man who married an Indian woman, when he returned to Java then introduced egg martabak which was in accordance with the image of Javanese taste with the addition of vegetables and other ingredients.

The prestige of martabak telur is not inferior to sweet martabak even like it has become a couple where martabak sellers usually sell both sweet and egg. The variations sold by egg martabak are usually based on the number of eggs from 1 egg to 4 eggs.

To make martabak telur requires expertise in spreading the dough (Grinding) and not just anyone can make it. Incidentally, I have been selling martabak telur for almost a year even though it is no longer there. In the past, before I could spread the martabak telur dough every time my uncle's martabak stall closed, I always practiced sliding the dough until I finally could.

The dough is made from flour mixed with salt and water and then allowed to stand and then formed into circles while smeared with butter. Making dough martabak telur requires the right ratio of water and salt so that the dough is not easily torn when widened.

The taste of martabak telur is even more delicious with the addition of beef that has been given spices such as rendang added with spicy sauce and pickles. In addition to its unique manufacture because the skin must float first like an attraction and the frying pan is also specially made which is bolted from thick steel and tends to be flat.

History of Martabak Manis (Sweet Martabak)

According to Wikipedia, sweet martabak has other names such as terang bulan (Bandung), Kue Bandung(Semarang), Apam Pinang (Pontianak). According to culinary experts who often bring TV programs with quiz stories, Sweet Martabak or bright moon inspiration is from Hok Lo Pan cake which comes from sungai liat Bangka

This cake is made by many people from the Hakka tribe, but in order for this cake to be more prestige, the name Hok Lo cake is named which refers to the name of the Hok Lo tribe which is more famous and considered higher. At first, the filling of sweet martabak toppings was only limited to using a sprinkling of sugar, chocolate , sesame seeds, peanuts or grated cheese doused in sweetened condensed milk.

But now the filling and dough of sweet martabak skin is growing and varied along with the times there are topping for examples banana, durian, raisins, chocochips, dates, cream as well as the skin there are cappuccino, grentea powder, chocolate or pandanus.

in fact, based on my experience, there are 2 types of martabak, namely Bangka martabak and ordinary martabak. The difference is based on price, stuffing and taste. Martabak Bangka is more expensive than ordinary sweet martabak because the raw materials are different, if ordinary sweet martabak the dough ingredients are simple, only medium protein flour, granulated sugar and developer are different from Bangka martabak, the wheat uses high protein flour and added milk powder and eggs.

Compared to ordinary martabak, the thickness of Bangka martabak is larger and the texture of martabak is more porous.

Also read: Sweet Martabak is the king of Indonesian  street food 

Martabak Forms are Getting Varied

At first, the shape of the martabak was quite large so it had to be cut smaller to make it easier when eating, besides that the price was also expensive, but now there has appeared a sweet martabak that is smaller in size or commonly called mini sweet martabak or unyil sweet martabak.

Martabak mini

With a smaller size the size of a hand grip makes mini martabak easy to eat, does not need to be cut and the price is also cheaper, for example mini egg martabak costs only around  2000 rupiah, although the filling is different, as well as Martabak mini or martabak unyil, the price is even 2000 rupiah so the price is very affordable.

Even for martabak mini, the taste is not much different from large martabak because the raw materials are exactly the same, only different prints, even mini martabak is richer in toppings.

That is why martabak unyil is increasingly popular, especially for children or young people because the price is very affordable with a taste image that is no less delicious. Martabak is very suitable to be served in the afternoon as a snack to accompany your coffee or tea party.

Because the pleasure of martabak taste, whether egg or sweet, is not wrong if martabak becomes a favorite legendary snack of the Indonesian people, especially for authentic Indonesian culinary lovers.

What do you think?