A dish of Makkah and the west
Mutabbaq is a popular Saudi dish and one of the traditional dishes of the Makkah region, and its preparation is known across the cities of the western region. It belongs to the varied cooking of the west, which Saudipedia attributes to centuries of commercial and religious activity; Makkah and Jeddah are known for dishes tied to the calls vendors used to sell them.
How it is made, and its fillings
The dough is flexible, rolled out and folded into a square. Common savoury fillings include meat, garlic, eggs, pepper, onion and coriander, and the combinations are many.
It comes savoury and sweet: savoury mutabbaq layers the dough with minced meat, eggs and leeks, while the sweet kind is filled with banana, local cheese and sugar. Known varieties include banana, cheese and custard mutabbaq, the last cooked on a griddle and served to guests at dinner.
Al-Jouf mutabbaq
In the Al-Jouf region, Al-Jouf mutabbaq is a popular tradition: slices of bread covered with nuts and prepared with olive oil, whereas the northern regions use butter or ghee.
At the festivals
Mutabbaq is easy to find at national festivals, and at heritage festivals in particular, including the Historic Jeddah Festival and the Klija Festival in Qassim.