Sambusa — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Crispy triangular pastries filled with spiced ground beef, onions, and green chili, deep-fried to golden perfection. These savory snacks are an essential part of Ramadan iftar tables across Djibouti.

Ingredients

250g ground beef
1 large onion, finely diced
2 green chilies, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander
20 spring roll wrappers
2 tbsp flour mixed with water for sealing
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1 Cook the ground beef in a frying pan over medium heat, breaking it apart, for eight minutes until browned. Drain any excess fat from the pan.
2 Add diced onion, garlic, green chilies, cumin, cinnamon, and coriander to the beef. Cook for five minutes until onions are soft. Season with salt and pepper, stir in cilantro, and let cool.
3 Cut spring roll wrappers into long strips about eight centimeters wide. Place a tablespoon of filling at the bottom corner of each strip.
4 Fold the corner over the filling to form a triangle, then continue folding flag-style up the strip to create a neat triangular packet. Seal the edge with flour paste.
5 Heat oil to 170C in a deep pot. Fry the sambusas in batches for three minutes per side until golden brown and crispy throughout.
6 Drain on paper towels and serve hot with a squeeze of lemon and spicy dipping sauce.

Did You Know?

During Ramadan in Djibouti, the aroma of frying sambusas fills entire neighborhoods in the hour before iftar, creating an irresistible anticipation of the evening meal.