Sambosa

Ingredients

Filling

• 400 gminced lamb, 15 percent fat
• 2onions, very finely diced
• 3garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tspground coriander
• 1 tspground cumin
• ½ tspground turmeric
• ½ tspchilli powder
• ¼ tspground cinnamon
• 1 tspfine salt
• ½ tspblack pepper
• 3 tbspsunflower oil
• 4 tbspchopped coriander leaf
• 2 tbspchopped spring onion

Wrappers

• 24spring roll wrappers, 20 cm square, or homemade lawash sheets
• 2 tbspplain flour mixed to a paste with 3 tbsp water

To fry and serve

• 1 litresunflower oil, for deep frying
• chutney-e-gashneez: 60 g coriander leaf, 2 green chillies, 2 garlic cloves, 3 tbsp white vinegar, ½ tsp salt, blended smooth

Directions

1. Fry the onions in the oil in a wide pan over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft and just turning gold at the edges.
2. Add the garlic and all the dry spices and cook 1 minute, stirring, until they smell toasted rather than raw.
3. Raise the heat, add the mince and break it up hard with a wooden spoon; cook 10 to 12 minutes until no pink remains and the fat has separated and started to sizzle clear.
4. Season, take off the heat, and stir through the fresh coriander and spring onion. Spread on a tray and cool completely, at least 30 minutes; warm filling tears the wrappers and makes them soggy.
5. Cut each wrapper into a 20 by 7 cm strip if using square sheets. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling at one end and fold the corner over to make a triangle, then keep folding triangle over triangle up the strip.
6. Seal the last flap with the flour paste and press the edges flat, checking for gaps; an open seam floods with oil and bursts.
7. Heat the frying oil to 170°C (350°F). Fry in batches of five or six for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until evenly deep gold and blistered.
8. Lift onto a rack, not paper, so the base stays crisp, and salt lightly while hot. Serve warm with the coriander chutney.

Technique

• The filling must be dry. Any liquid left in the pan turns to steam inside the pastry and blows the seams apart in the fryer.
• 170°C (350°F) is the window. Hotter and the wrapper colours before the layers dry out; cooler and the pastry drinks oil and goes leathery.
• Afghan sambosa is folded from thin unleavened lawash sheets rolled at home, which is why the shell shatters rather than flakes like Indian samosa pastry.

Substitutions

• For the common meat-free version, swap the mince for 500 g floury potato, boiled, roughly crushed and mixed with 150 g cooked green peas and the same spice base.
• Filo works if spring roll wrappers are unavailable: use two layers brushed with oil, but expect a flakier, more fragile shell.

Variations

• Sambosa-e-nakhod uses crushed cooked chickpeas with fried onion and dried mint.
• Ramadan versions in Kabul are baked at 200°C (400°F) for 20 minutes and brushed with oil, for a lighter pastry served with soup.

History

A fried, triangular pastry filled most often with spiced potato or minced meat, descended from an older Persian and Central Asian pastry tradition documented as early as the 900s and 1000s, carried east into Afghanistan and the wider South Asian subcontinent through Central Asian trade and migration over subsequent centuries. Afghan sambosa developed its own regional character within that wider Persian-derived pastry family, distinct in exact filling, spicing and dough thickness from related versions found in Iran, India and the Arab world, all ultimately sharing the same distant common ancestor pastry despite their now considerably differing individual forms. It remains an especially popular snack food in Afghanistan, particularly prepared and eaten in large quantities during Ramadan to break the day’s fast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sambosa?

Sambosa is a snack from Afghanistan: fried triangular pastry filled with spiced potato or minced meat. A fried, triangular pastry filled most often with spiced potato or minced meat, descended from an older Persian and Central Asian pastry tradition documented as early as the 900s and 1000s, carried east into Afghanistan and the wider South Asian subcontinent through Central Asian trade and migration over subsequent centuries. Afghan sambosa developed its own regional character within that wider Persian-derived pastry family, distinct in exact filling, spicing and dough thickness from related versions found in Iran, India and the Arab world, all ultimately sharing the same distant common ancestor pastry despite their now considerably differing individual forms. It remains an especially popular snack food in Afghanistan, particularly prepared and eaten in large quantities during Ramadan to break the day’s fast.

How long does Sambosa take to make?

Sambosa takes 45 min of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 24 pastries, serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Sambosa?

Yes, within limits. For the common meat-free version, swap the mince for 500 g floury potato, boiled, roughly crushed and mixed with 150 g cooked green peas and the same spice base. Filo works if spring roll wrappers are unavailable: use two layers brushed with oil, but expect a flakier, more fragile shell.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sambosa?

Add the garlic and all the dry spices and cook 1 minute, stirring, until they smell toasted rather than raw.