Sambusa
Somali samosas: triangular fried pastries filled with spiced lentils, peas and onion, eaten constantly during Ramadan and as a snack year-round. Smaller than Indian samosas; the wrapper is closer to a spring-roll skin than shortcrust. Served with green chilli sauce or chutney.
Overview
Spring roll wrappers fold around a filling of cooked lentils, peas, onion, garlic, ginger and a Somali spice mix (xawaash) of cumin, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon. Each is folded into a tight triangle, sealed with a flour-water paste, and deep-fried until golden.
Ingredients
Filling
- 200 g brown lentils (rinsed)
- 600 ml water
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion (large, finely chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 cm fresh ginger (grated)
- 1 long green chilli (finely chopped)
- 200 g frozen peas (thawed)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt
- A small bunch of coriander (chopped)
Wrappers and frying
- 16 spring roll wrappers (22 cm; cut diagonally in half - you want triangles)
- 4 tablespoons plain flour mixed with 4 tablespoons water (sealing paste)
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Method
Stage 1 - Lentils
- Cover the lentils with the 600 ml water; bring to the boil; reduce to a simmer.
- Cook 18-20 minutes until tender but still holding shape; drain.
Stage 2 - Filling
- Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
- Cook the onion 6 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic, ginger and chilli; cook 1 minute.
- Stir in all the spices and salt; cook 1 minute.
- Add the lentils and peas; cook 2-3 minutes until the mixture is dry-ish.
- Off the heat, stir in the fresh coriander.
- Cool fully before filling - warm filling tears the wrappers.
Stage 3 - Fold
- Cut spring roll wrappers diagonally to make triangles.
- Take one triangle; fold one corner over to make a cone shape; seal the seam with paste.
- Spoon a tablespoon of filling into the cone.
- Fold the open edge down over itself; seal closed with paste - making a tidy triangle.
- Repeat for all wrappers; cover finished sambusas with a damp cloth.
Stage 4 - Fry
- Heat 4 cm of oil in a deep pan to 180°C.
- Fry in batches of 4-5 for 3-4 minutes, turning, until deep golden.
- Drain on kitchen paper.
Stage 5 - Serve
- Eat hot with green chilli sauce, chutney, or simply a wedge of lemon.
Notes
- Spring roll wrappers are non-traditional but easier: Real Somali sambusa wrappers (lakhsuus) are hand-rolled. Spring roll skins are widely available and fry well.
- Fold tight: Loose folds open in the oil; tight ones stay shut. Use enough paste to seal every seam.
- Cool the filling: Warm filling melts wrappers; cold filling means clean folding.
Storage
- Best fresh; re-crisp leftovers at 200°C for 5 minutes.
- Freezes well unfried for 2 months; fry from frozen, adding 1 minute.
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