Perfectly crispy, golden Beef Sambusa are fried pastries filled with ground beef, onion, jalapeño, garlic and warm spices. Serve them with Yemeni sahawiq (schug) or your favorite dipping sauce as a flavorful appetizer for Ramadan or anytime side dish.
Heat a large heavy duty pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, breaking down beef until slightly browned.
Add the jalapeño, garlic, and spices and sauté another 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the cilantro, parsley, and dill. Allow mixture to cool for at least 20 minutes before handling.
In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup all purpose flour with 1/4 cup water to form a paste that will be used to seal the sambusas.
To make Asian egg roll style samosa:
Place one egg roll wrapper in a diamond shape on a flat surface. Add 1/4 cup of filling onto the bottom third of the wrapper and fold the bottom corner over the filling, tucking underneath. Roll tighly towards the center, folding in the sides to form a tight roll. Brush the last flap with the flour/water mixture to seal.
To make Yemeni/Saudi style triangles:
Cut the spring wrappers in 3rds to form 3 rows. Peel the wrappers in twos so that each wrapper is two layers. Begin to spoon about a tablespoon of filling onto the end of each sambusa wrapper. I do this in an equilateral triangle shape. Fold the sambusa over, keeping the filling tightly wrapped inside and making sure the edges of the triangles are closed. Continue until you reach the end of the wrapper. Brush the last flap with the flour/water imxture and tightly fold to seal.
To fry:
Heat about 2 inches of oil in a deep pan to about 350ºF. Fry sambosa in a single layer for 6-7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Serve with sahawiq or your favorite dipping sauce.
To make creamy sahawiq:
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend for 30 seconds to 1 minute until chunky and combined.
Video
Notes
Protein: This recipe works with any ground meat. You can also use any cooked beans or cooked potatoes. To use potatoes or beans, cook down the onions and follow the recipe then add the cooked beans or potatoes with the herbs.
Wrappers: If you find the long type of sambosa wrappers in your local Middle Eastern market then you do not need to cut or double them and can use them as is. I usually use the Chinese wrappers, which I buy from my local Asian market. If you do not have any of these markets nearby, you can also use wonton wrappers from Walmart. This filling is also great in empanada wrappers too!
Folding visual: Please refer to this video for folding.