As Surabaya people, I am familiar with martabak madura. Its triangular shape is reminiscent of samosa, but with thinner wrap. It is filled with bihun (rice noodle), carrot, and sometimes added with sausage or chicken intestines.

Actually, it is a type of salt martabak or we say ‘martabak telur’ (egg martabak). It is like big tortilla with many leeks, eggs, and meat (chicken or beef).   Another type of martabak is terang bulan or sweet martabak. It is like thick pancake with lots of sweet topping like chocolate, peanuts, cheese, and condensed milk.

The reason why it is called martabak madura is still debatable. Some people said this food only sold at Ramadan as takjil (food for breaking fast) in Madura. It was found near square or mosque. Everybody loves it, especially children.

When it comes at Surabaya, it was sold anytime not only at Ramadan. However, nowadays there is fewer people selling it.

Lucky me, I found one near my rented house at Surabaya. Abizar Food and Drinks at Jl. Gubeng Kertajaya V Raya. It is open from 1.30 pm until drop.

It is a simple stall in front of owner’s house. She made it fresh in front of you. She had already the dough and the filling. She flattened the dough behind a plate to make thin wrap and filled it. Then, fry that at wok with little amount of oil and chicken fat.

There are three variants filling, bihun (Rp 1000/each), chicken intestine (Rp 2000/each), or mix (Rp 2000/each). I like bihun filling.

We eat this martabak with chili (cabe rawit hijau) and a black thick sauce. The sauce is made from petis (black shrimp paste) and chili. It tastes sweet and spicy, but not really spicy. I think the sauce make this martabak special. Even it is usual to eat gorengan (fried snacks) in Surabaya with petis. However, every seller has their own recipe. And I like Abizar’s sauce.