Exotic-spicy vegetable fritters with peanuts – Martabak ala Ampenan

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 40 g carrot(s)
• 40 g white cabbage, leaves picked
• 6 small onions, red
• 4 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 2 Pepper, red, long, mild
• 70 g Chinese flower cabbage, stems thereof
• 30 g Chinese flower cabbage, leaves thereof
• 50 g white radish(s) (brewer’s radish)
• 12 g salt
• 60 g soybean seedlings, alternatively mung bean seedlings
• 20 g ginger threads
• 20 g lemongrass
• 3 small chili peppers, green
• 100 g water (vegetable water, see preparation)
• 200 ml creamy coconut milk (24% fat)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp sugar, fine, white
• 150 g wheat flour type 405
• 20 g tapioca flour
• n. B. Black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 pinches of mace powder, alternatively freshly grated nutmeg
• 120 g peanuts, roasted, salted
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• n. B. vegetable broth to taste
• n. B. Peanut oil, refined, for frying
• n. B. Sesame, lighter
• n. B. flowers and leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Vegetarian, Indonesian vegetable fritters, as they are fried in the evening as street food in Ampenan/Lombok.

Wash the carrot, trim both ends, and peel. Using a coarse grater, grate the carrot to the required size. Use only flawless leaves for the white cabbage. Wash the leaves. Only use the middle rib if it doesn’t taste bitter. Cut the rib crosswise into thin slices and finely chop the leaves. Trim both ends of the small red onions, peel, and slice them into thin slices. Tip: a small cut along the edges makes peeling easier. Trim both ends of the fresh garlic cloves, peel, and press them with a garlic press. Remove the stems from the chili peppers, wash them, cut them open lengthwise, open them up, remove the seeds, and cut them crosswise into thin strands. Wash the cauliflower, trim the bottom of the stems about 2 cm, and separate the leaves and flowers. Cut the stems crosswise into thin rolls. Finely chop the flowers and leaves. Wash the radish, trim both ends, and peel them. Grate the required amount using a coarse grater. Place the finely chopped vegetables in a bowl. Mix well, sprinkle with salt, and stir in. Let stand for 15 minutes. Wash and sort the fresh soybean or mung bean sprouts, discarding the brown ones and using the white ones whole. Weigh the required amount. Wash and peel the fresh ginger, then cut it crosswise into approximately 4 cm long pieces. Cut the pieces lengthwise into thin slices and chop these into thin strips. Weigh and thaw the frozen goods. Wash the fresh lemongrass, remove the tough stalk at the bottom, discard the brown and wilted leaves, and use only the white or light green parts. Cut these into thin slices. Remove the outer green leaves if necessary. Weigh and thaw the frozen goods. Wash the small green chilies and cut them crosswise into thin slices. Leave the seeds in place but discard the stem. For the fresh lemon juice, wash a lemon and cut a piece lengthwise from the base of the stem. Remove the seeds and squeeze by hand. Discard the empty parts and the middle part (which contains bitter substances). Roughly chop the peanuts in a food processor (Moulinex, coffee grinder with a beater, or similar). (You can use both unsalted and salted ones). Transfer the salted vegetables to a fresh tea towel. Squeeze out the salted vegetable water (approx. 140 g) and set aside for the dough. Mix all the dough ingredients together until smooth. It should have a creamy, liquid consistency. Loosen the squeezed vegetables, add them to the dough along with the soybean sprouts, ginger threads, lemongrass, and chilies, and mix gently. Let them mature in the martabak mix for about 10 minutes. Add a little more flour or vegetable water depending on the flour’s ability to swell. The dough has the right consistency when a martabak spreads easily to a thickness of about 4-5 mm. Thicker ones will make it too thick, thinner ones too thin. In both cases, the flavor will be impaired. Fry the martabak in plenty of oil so that the second side can also brown nicely. Add a good tablespoon of martabak mix to the pan and spread it out to a surface about 8 cm in size. Continue to make as many flatbreads as there is room in the pan (4 will fit in a 30 cm pan). Fry the flatbreads until light brown on both sides. Briefly drain the oil on kitchen paper. Arrange on a serving plate, garnish, serve warm, and enjoy. This recipe makes about 25 flatbreads. Note: The martabak in this recipe are so seasoned that no dip is needed. On Lombok, the martabak are sold fresh and hot with green chilies and a sweet, red sambal sauce. For European palates, I recommend a sweet chili sauce or a creamy herb curd. In Indonesia and Malaysia, martabak are known as bakwan. The martabak/bakwan from Ampenan are considered the best in all of Lombok. In my experience, they are the best in all of Indonesia, as they are almost always made without eggs or coconut milk and with fewer vegetables.