The following Makefile:
foo:
$$(make bar)
bar:
@echo "echo bar"
(tabs seem to have been lost. Please insert as necessary)
results in the following error:
$ make foo
$(make bar)
/bin/sh: make[1]:: command not found
make: *** [Makefile:2: foo] Error 127
strace confirms that make really is trying to find a file named "make[1]" including the "[1]" suffix.
The version of make I am running is 4.2.1 built for x86_64-pc-linux-gnu. The OS I am running is NixOS 18.09.