Sambosa

Zubereitung

Sambosa are crisp, golden Middle Eastern pastries filled with seasoned meat, vegetables or creamy cheese. They can be made with a range of doughs, from phyllo and puff pastry to egg roll or spring roll wrappers, empanada wrappers or even pizza dough. Here, we use puff pastry because it fries up beautifully and adds extra richness. Taking the time to slowly caramelize the onions builds deep, savory layers that elevate this classic filling. When it’s time to fry, the HexClad 7QT/6.6 L Hybrid Deep Sauté Pan is the perfect width to fry multiple sambosas at once, giving you even browning and keeping batch cooking efficient.

*This recipe originally ran in United Arab Emirates on HexClad.ae.

1. In a HexClad 10"/25 cm Hybrid Fry Pan over medium, heat 2 tablespoons oil until shimmering. Add onion and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and light golden, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Add cilantro stems, sumac, allspice, paprika, cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring, to lightly toast spices, about 1 minute.

3. Add beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cilantro leaves; set aside.

4. In a HexClad 8"/20 cm Hybrid Fry Pan over medium-low, melt butter. Add pine nuts and cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden, about 3 minutes. Scrape into meat mixture; stir to combine. Set filling aside to cool.

5. Meanwhile, prepare dough. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

6. Working with one piece of pastry at a time, Gently roll dough 18-inch/45-cm-wide and cut into 6 (3-inch/7.5-cm-wide) strips. Using tip of a finger, lightly moisten edges of dough with water. Add 1 scant tablespoon filling to center of bottom of strip. Pull bottom edge up to touch side, creating a triangle shape, then fold triangle up once more to enclose. Trim dough to maintain triangle shape, then use fingers to seal and crimp edges. Transfer finished sambosa to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours, covered. 

7. Meanwhile, line a second rimmed baking sheet with paper towel and top with a wire rack; set aside near stove. Fit a HexClad 7QT/6.6 L Hybrid Deep Sauté Pan with a deep-fry thermometer. Heat 1-inch/2.5-cm oil (about 10 cups/2.4 L) over medium-high to 350ºF/175ºC. Working in 3 batches, add sambosa to oil and cook, turning once until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer samosas to paper towel-lined sheet and sprinkle with flaky sea salt and chopped cilantro leaves.
   

MAKE AHEAD TIPS

Refrigerate cooked filling in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Freeze assembled samosas on baking sheet and transfer to an airtight container for up to 3 months. Cook directly from frozen according to recipe, allowing additional cooking time.

The filling can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Assembled sambosa freeze well and can be fried at a later time.

NOTES

Beef works well here; lamb or a beef-lamb blend can be used interchangeably. Rolling the puff pastry thinner creates a better balance between crisp pastry and filling. Cooling the filling before assembly prevents soggy dough and tearing. Chilling assembled sambosa before frying helps them keep their shape and fry evenly.