Somsa

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 300 mlwarm water
• 1 tspsalt
• 1egg
• 2 tbspoil

Filling

• 600 gmutton or lamb, hand-chopped, with fat
• 150 glamb fat tail, kurdyuk, diced
• 4onions, finely chopped
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 1 tbspcoarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tspcoriander seed, ground
• salt

To finish

• 1egg yolk, beaten
• sesame or nigella seeds

Equipment

• a tandyr, or a very hot oven with a baking stone

To serve

• with tea, or with vinegar and sliced onion

Directions

1. Chop the mutton by hand with a heavy knife into pieces of about 5 mm. Chop it rather than mincing it. Keep the fat on and add extra diced fat tail. It melts inside the sealed pastry and the meat cooks in it, and a lean filling comes out dry and grey.
2. Chop the onions finely rather than grating them. Do not squeeze the onions dry, unlike most stuffed pastries. Mix the meat, fat, onion, cumin, pepper, coriander and salt. Cumin is the defining spice of Central Asian somsa and it should be clearly present.
3. Season it firmly, since it cannot be tasted or adjusted later. Leave the filling to stand 20 minutes while you make the dough. Now the dough, which is deliberately plain and firm. Mix the flour, salt, water, egg and oil into a firm dough and knead 10 minutes until smooth. Keep it firm rather than soft, because it has to hold a wet raw filling without splitting.
4. Rest it, covered, for at least an hour. Divide it into 12 pieces and roll each into a round of about 14 cm. Roll them so the centre is slightly thicker than the edges, which is where the weight of the filling sits.
5. Put a generous spoonful of filling in the centre of each. Pinch the three seams together firmly all the way along. Seal every seam properly. Press out any trapped air as you seal. Turn each one seam side down and flatten it slightly.
6. Brush the tops with egg yolk and scatter sesame or nigella seeds over. Now heat the oven as hot as it will go, at least 240°C (465°F), with a stone or heavy tray inside. Bake them for 30 to 35 minutes until deep golden and firm. They need a long enough bake to cook the raw meat through, so do not take them out simply because the pastry has coloured.
7. Rest them 5 minutes before eating. Now warn people before they bite: the juices inside are boiling hot and they spurt. Serve them with tea, or with vinegar and raw onion rings.

Technique

• Gutap is the fried Turkmen pastry and is a different thing.
• Puff pastry versions, sold in cities, are a modern shortcut.
• Similar samsa are made across Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Substitutions

• Beef with added fat in place of mutton.
• Puff pastry, which is a shortcut some bakeries take.

Variations

• Pumpkin somsa, made with squash.
• Made with puff pastry, which is flakier.
• Made small, as bazaar snacks.

History

Sold at bazaars and roadside ovens across Turkmenistan, distinct from the fried gutap.

Frequently asked questions

What is Somsa?

Somsa is a street food from Turkmenistan: triangular pastries of minced mutton and onion baked in a tandyr. Sold at bazaars and roadside ovens across Turkmenistan, distinct from the fried gutap.

How long does Somsa take to make?

Somsa takes 40 min plus 1 hr resting of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 pastries. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Somsa?

Yes, within limits. Beef with added fat in place of mutton. Puff pastry, which is a shortcut some bakeries take.

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

Chop the mutton by hand with a heavy knife into pieces of about 5 mm. Chop it rather than mincing it. Keep the fat on and add extra diced fat tail. It melts inside the sealed pastry and the meat cooks in it, and a lean filling comes out dry and grey.