How to Make Homemade Sambousek

This Arabic sambousek recipe is the perfect crunchy appetizer to serve at any dinner! And I make mine with a hack I discovered years ago using ready-made spring roll pastry — so easy! Whether you like sambousek with a meat filling or with a vegetarian potato filling, I've got you covered. This freezer friendly recipe is also super handy for Ramadan.

What is Sambousek?

Sambousek is a middle eastern appetizer consisting of crunchy fried pastry that's stuffed with either a spiced ground meat mixture or a vegetarian peas and potato filling. It's traditionally served as an appetizer at dinner gatherings, along with fatayer, cheese rolls, and manakish.

Typically, you'd make the dough from scratch and roll it out really thin and then stuff it. But the best part about this recipe is that it uses ready-made frozen spring roll pastry similar to this one. It's so quick and works out perfectly.

You can also use wonton wrappers if you can't find spring roll pastry, which is similar but slightly thicker. They're both usually available at most grocery stores in the frozen section.

I make the meat version most often when I have leftover ground beef; it is a very similar mixture to what I use in Egyptian Goulash and Hashweh Rice. I also have a cheese version of this sambousek, if you're all about the cheese, check out this Sigara Boregi recipe!

Ingredients you'll need for this recipe

Ingredients for the meat mixture:

• Ground beef: You can use regular or lean ground beef. If using extra lean, be sure to add a bit more oil to the mix
• Spring roll pastry: You can usually find this in the frozen aisle of the grocery store, or you can also use wonton wrappers. For the round cigar shaped sambousek, I use the square sheets, and for the triangular shape I use a long rectangular sheet
• Spices: If you can't find allspice, then feel free to replace it with seven spice (an Arabic spice mixture)
• You'll also need a tablespoon of flour and some water to make a flour paste and seal the edges of the sambousek

Ingredients for the vegetarian filling:

• Potatoes, I use yellow potatoes but any type should work
• Frozen peas; if you don't have peas, you can feel free to skip them, but they do add a nice flavour and colour.
• Diced onions to add sweetness
• Coriander powder and curry powder. If you like it spicy, feel free to use a spicy curry powder
• Salt and pepper. For the black pepper, adjust this based on how spicy you'd like it. The amount used in the recipe yields a medium spice level.

How to make vegetarian and meat sambousek filling

• Prepare the meat mixture if that's what you're using by softening the onions with some oil, then adding in the ground beef and breaking it up into small pieces using a wooden spoon.

• Once the beef is browned and the water has evaporated, add the spices and warm through, then add the finely diced parsley.

• If you're using the vegetarian filling, prepare it by peeling and roughly cutting the potatoes into equal sized large cubes, then boiling them until fork tender. Use hot water from a kettle to make this process faster.

• Soften diced onions with some oil in a pan, then add the cooked potatoes and mash them roughly with a fork. You want the mixture to still have some texture and be lumpy. Then add the spices and the frozen peas and cook until the peas are tender. Taste and adjust the spice level and the salt.

How to roll Sambousek using spring roll pastry

• To prepare the pastry, thaw out the spring roll pastry in the fridge overnight. Remove it from the fridge roughly 1 hour before using it
• Remove it from the packaging and place it on a plate covered with a towel to prevent it from drying out as you work

Rolling the meat sambousek in a cylinder shape

• For the meat sambousek, I like to shape them in a cylinder shape. To do this, use a square sheet and place it in a diamond shape on your surface.
• Place a spoonful of the mixture on the bottom corner as pictured. Fold the bottom corner over the mixture, then fold in each side

• When the sides are folded over, start rolling from the bottom, ensuring you maintain a tight grip.
• Roll until you reach the end, then secure the final corner by using a bit of the flour and water mixture like glue
• Continue with the rest of the rolls

Rolling the potato sambousek in a triangle shape

• To roll the triangular vegetarian sambousek, use a long rectangular sheet of spring roll pastry. They are solde in both the square and rectangular shape. If you can't find this shape, feel free to roll them in the same shape as the meat ones

• Place a spoonful of the filling on one corner as pictured. Fold it over diagonally to create a triangle.
• Then fold it over horizontally, then fold it over diagonally the other direction and continue to do that until you reach the end.

• Seal the end with the flour and water mixture to ensure it is properly secured.
• Continue folding the others in the same way until you run out of filling.

How to fry, air fry or bake the sambousek

The traditional method of cooking sambousek is to deep fry or shallow fry them in a pan. If you are shallow frying, which is my preferred method since I don't end up wasting as much oil, ensure the oil comes up about halfway to the sambousek and is hot before dropping them in (the oil should start to bubble right away). Fry them for a few seconds on each side until golden brown.

To bake the sambousek, preheat the oven to 380F. Brush the sambouek generously with vegetable oil on both sides and place on a baking sheet in one layer. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Baking will yield a crunchy texture, but it will not be as crispy as the frying method. However, it's obviously lighter!

To air fry, brush them generously with vegetable oil on both sides and lay them in one layer inside the air fryer. Air fry at 380F for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Sambousek freezing and storage instructions

These sambousek are so freezer friendly. Simply roll them up then place them (uncooked) in a large container or tray in one layer, preferably lined with parchment paper to avoid them sticking. Close the container with an airtight lid (or you can also cover tightly with a plastic bag if you're using a tray).

Once they freeze and harden (which should take a few hours), you can remove them from the container and place them in a freezer bag to save on freezer space. They can stay in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Fry them from frozen for amazing results and do this as close as possible to the time that you'll be serving them to maintain freshness. But if you need to fry them a good 3-4 hours in advance, don't worry - they hold up well.

If you have any leftovers after serving (which is quite rare to be honest), simply store them in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to re-heat, I recommend heating them in an air fryer if you have one to get them crispy again, or use an oven.

FAQ's and Expert Tips

What kind of pastry can I use for Sambousek? Traditionally, homemade yeast-free dough is used. But you can use ready-made spring roll pastry or ready-made wonton wrappers. Both will yield crunchy results and are easier than homemade dough.

Can I bake sambousek? Yes - you can bake them or air fry them for great results. Bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes and air fry at 380F for 20-30 minutes until golden. For both the oven and air fryer, you need to generously brush them with vegetable oil on both sides.

Can I freeze sambousek? Yes, this recipe is really freezer friendly. You can freeze them before cooking in one layer until they freeze solid, then remove them and store in a ziploc bag. Fry them from frozen for great results.

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