Roti Telur

The dough for murtabak, one of my favourite Singaporean snacks, is basically the same as roti dough and can be used to make roti telur, delicious egg-filled roti. My friend Simon Goh simply breaks an egg into the centre of his roti dough, deftly folds it up and pops it on the grill. I mix things up a little by using the same spiced onion mixture I use for lamb-filled murtabak to make a ring to hold the cracked egg in place. This makes it easier to fold the dough around the egg without it running everywhere. I also like to have the frying pan alongside the board where I’m folding the dough so I can lift the folded roti straight into it, minimising the distance I need to transport the liquid-centred parcel. As you gain more experience making roti telur, you might be happy to skip the onion mixture, or carry the egg-filled flatbread to a pre-heated frying pan or grill like Simon does. The oil in the dough makes it quite stretchy and forgiving, as does a thorough kneading – so I recommend using an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Even though there isn’t any yeast to raise the dough, the resting period is important as it gives the gluten time to relax, making it less likely to spring back when you stretch it. It’s not unusual to get a few tears in the dough while stretching, this generally doesn’t matter as it’s folded multiple times so any holes are covered. If you get a hole in a critical location, either tear off a piece of dough from an edge and patch it or roll the dough back up into a ball and start again.

Makes 2

Ingredients

1½ tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing (30ml)
1 brown onion, finely chopped
Salt flakes, to taste
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small red chilli, seeded and very finely chopped
½ teaspoon finely grated ginger
¼ teaspoon finely grated turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 eggs
Sambal Goreng, for serving (optional)

Dough

120g plain flour (4¼oz/about ¾ cup)
Pinch salt flakes, crushed
¼ cup warm water (60ml)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for rolling (40ml)

Method

Make Dough: Mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough. Knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic, ideally with an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Divide into 2 balls, roll lightly in oil, place on a plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan over low–medium heat.
Add about two-thirds of the onion and a good pinch of salt, cover and cook for 10–15 minutes until tender and just starting to colour.
Add garlic, chilli, ginger, turmeric, coriander and cumin and stir for 30–60 seconds, until aromatic.
Transfer to a bowl, fold remaining onion through and set aside.
Wipe a heavy-based frying pan with oil and set aside near your workbench.
Place a ball of dough onto a greased work bench and gently stretch the edges until it’s roughly 30cm (12ʺ) square, leaving the centre slightly thicker.
Spread half the onion mixture in the middle of the dough in a ring shape with a space in the centre large enough to hold an egg.
Break an egg into the centre.
Fold each side of the dough over to form a large neat square (see diagram), then fold in the corners to form an envelope shape (see diagram).
Place dough into the frying pan.
Repeat with remaining dough, onion mixture and egg.
Place pan over medium heat.
Cook for about 5 minutes each side, until lightly coloured. If you need to cook the roti telur one at a time, your pan will be hot when the second parcel goes into it, so cook it just for 3–4 minutes on the first side then check to see how well coloured it is.
Increase heat to medium–high, turn parcels over and fry each side for another minute or so, if necessary, until well coloured.
Slice and serve, with a dollop of Sambal Goreng if you like.