Cheese Sambusa Recipes

CHEESE SAMBUSAK

Steps:

• First, make your pasty dough. Combine canola oil, melted butter, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix in the hot (not boiling) water. Gradually stir in the flour, a ½ cupful at a time, till a soft and oily dough forms.When the dough becomes too thick to stir, use your hands to work the last bit of flour into the dough. Don't over-knead-stop when the ball holds together and the dough is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for a few minutes while you make your filling.
• Don't let the dough sit for longer than 30 minutes before rolling it out, or it will cool down and become more difficult to work with.In a food processor, combine feta and kashkaval cheeses, parsley, 2 eggs and black pepper in a food processor. Pulse ingredients till a light creamy paste forms. This is your sambusak filling.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. While oven is heating, assemble your sambusak. There are a couple of ways to do this. The Half-Moon shape is more popular because it's easiest to do; the Triangle Shape is popular for Purim because it's reminiscent of Haman's hat.
• To Make Half Moon Shape: Flour your rolling surface. Pull a walnut-sized piece of dough from the dough ball; recover the dough ball with plastic. Roll the small piece of dough into a ball with your hands.
• Lightly flour your rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a rough circle that is between 4 ½ and 5 inches wide. The dough will be quite thin.
• Place 1 tbsp of filling in the center of the circle. Fold the circle in half over the filling. Seal the edges by pinching gently with your fingers to create a half-moon shape.
• Use a fork to score the edges of the sambusak-this will help seal them and also make them look pretty.Repeat process until all of the dough has been used. I find it's easiest to roll out five dough pieces at a time, stuff them and seal them, then roll out five more. This saves time and is more efficient them rolling, stuffing and sealing each individual piece.
• To Make Triangle Shape: Flour your rolling surface. Divide your dough into four equal-sized sections.Choose one section to work with, keep the other sections under plastic wrap till you're ready to use them.Lightly flour your rolling pin. Roll the dough out till it is very thin. You will want to cut a square with 8- to 10-inch sides from the dough, so keep this in mind as you roll it out; I sometimes use a ruler to help gauge the size.
• Once your dough is rolled out, cut a square with equal length sides from the dough. The square should be somewhere between 8 inches and 10 inches wide. Use a ruler or straight edge to cut the sides as straight as possible.Push extra dough trimmings into a small ball and store it under the plastic wrap separate from the rest of the dough.
• Cut the square into equal-sized quarters. Each of these quarters will be used to form a sambusak.Cut the square into equal-sized quarters. Each of these quarters will be used to form a sambusak.
• Place 1 tbsp of filling into the center of each square.
• Fold one corner of a square over to the diagonally opposite corner and pinch to seal the sides.
• Use a fork to score the edges of the sambusak-this will help seal them and also make them look pretty.
• Repeat process for remaining squares. Roll out remaining dough sections in the same way, using the ball of trimmings as a fifth and final section of dough.Once your sambusak have been assembled, they are ready to be cooked. You can either deep fry them or bake them. I prefer to bake them because of the more consistent results (plus it's healthier)-but frying is more traditional.
• To Bake Sambusak: Place sambusak on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.Beat the remaining egg with 1 tsp of cold water. Brush the sambusak with a thin layer of the egg wash. Sprinkle the sambusak with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, if desired. Bake sambusak at 350 degrees F for about 40-45 minutes until golden brown.
• To Fry Sambusak: Do not use egg wash or coat with seeds. Heat an oil with a high smoke point (like grapeseed) over medium until hot, but not smoking.Fry the sambusak in batches of four till golden, turning halfway through cooking.
• Drain on a paper towel before serving.Serve sambusak warm or at room temperature. They're best straight from the oven, but the baked ones also keep quite well, and can be reheated in the microwave if desired.

SAMOSAS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour, ghee, salt and caraway seeds until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Gradually stir in enough water to form a firm dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 1 hour., Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until just tender, 8-10 minutes; drain. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook until potatoes start to cling to the skillet, about 5 minutes. Stir in peas, ginger, garam masala, cumin seeds and salt; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in optional ingredients as desired. Set aside., Divide dough into 6 pieces. Roll 1 piece of dough into a 10x6-in. oval. Cut dough in half. Moisten straight edge with water. Bring 1 corner of half moon up to meet the other corner of the half moon, forming a cone. Pinch seam to seal. Fill with 3-4 tablespoons potato mixture. Moisten curved edge of dough with water; fold over top of filling and and press seam to seal. Gently press the bottom of the samosa to flatten slightly. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Preheat air fryer to 350°. Brush the samosas with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. In batches, arrange in a single layer without touching in the air-fryer basket. Cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

SAMBUSA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, leek and garlic, and cook, stirring until the onions are transparent. Add ground beef, and cook until about halfway done. Season with cumin, cardamom, salt and pepper. Mix well, and continue cooking until beef has browned.
• In a small dish or cup, mix together the flour and water to make a thin paste. Using one wrapper at a time, fold into the shape of a cone. Fill the cone with the meat mixture, close the top, and seal with the paste. Repeat until wraps or filling are used up.
• Heat the oil to 365 degrees F ( 170 degrees C) in a deep-fryer or deep heavy pot. There should be enough oil to submerge the wraps. Fry the Sambusa a few at a time until golden brown. Remove carefully to drain on paper towels.

CHEESE SAMBOUSEK

Steps:

• First make the dough:.
• Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process for 5 seconds.
• Add the butter and pulse 10 times, or until the mixture is the consistency of fine meal.
• With the machine running, add the water in a steady stream, taking about 10 seconds to do so.
• Process for 1 minute. The dough will gather into a ball and form a mass that whirls around the blade. Feel the dough. It should be smooth, soft, elastic, and no longer sticky.
• If necessary, adjust the texture with droplets of water or small amounts of flour, processing a few seconds after each addition. If you want to add seeds to the dough, knead them in by hand on your work surface.
• Divide the dough into 24 pieces and shape into balls (3/4 ounce each).
• Cover the balls of dough loosely with a kitchen towel and let stand for 30 minutes.
• Next, the filling:.
• Place the cheese, salt, cayenne, egg, and egg white in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse very rapidly 20 to 30 times, until the mixture just begins to gather into a mass.
• Turn out onto a sheet of waxed paper or plastic wrap and pat into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle.
• Cut the cheese mixture into 1-inch squares.
• Adjust two oven racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F
• Line two 14 x 17-inch baking sheets with silicone baking pan liners or cooking parchment.
• To shape the sambouseks, pat a ball of dough into a 4-inch circle on your unfloured work surface.
• Place a square of the cheese mixture slightly below the center of the circle and pat it into a semicircular shape, leaving a bottom border of dough a scant 1/2 inch wide.
• Fold the top half of the dough over the cheese and press the edges firmly to seal.
• Use a fingertip to crimp the edge of the dough back on itself, forming a fluted border.
• Place the sambousek on the prepared sheet.
• Repeat with the remaining dough and cheese, placing 12 sambouseks about 2 inches apart on each sheet.
• Paint the sambouseks with the egg wash.
• Bake 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Rotate the pans top to bottom and front to back once during baking to ensure even browning. Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the sambouseks to wire cooling racks, and serve warm or at room temperature.

MEAT SAMBUSA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pine nuts; cook and stir until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add beef; cook, stirring to break up clumps, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in onion; cook and stir until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; season with cinnamon, allspice, salt, and pepper. Stir in pine nuts.
• Cut each spring roll wrapper into three 12x4-inch rectangles. Brush each rectangle lightly with melted butter.
• Place a heaping teaspoonful of the beef mixture near the short end of 1 rectangle. Fold 1 corner over to enclose the filling and form a triangle. Continue to fold until the rectangle has been folded into a triangular packet, sealing any holes to prevent filling from oozing out. Dab cold water on the outside fold to seal sambusa closed.
• Repeat with remaining spring roll rectangles and beef mixture. Arrange sambusa on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until crisp and golden, about 25 minutes.