So if you do fast Ramadan, Sambosek is essential on the Iftar table for some reason.

The Middle Eastern or Levantine version of the Sambosek is a little different than the Asian one.

We usually have two types:

Minced Beef or Cheese

Now to each home a unique recipe is put together to form the Sambosek to individual taste.

In my house, with my family we never actually made Sambosek, my mother was not a big fan of frying. However, today, many people are substituting frying with oven baking, and this is how I cooked my Sambosek which can be both fried and oven baked.

So this year, I decided to take the recipe from those who make it, my mother in law, and my uncle’s wife.

The minced beef is usually mixed with onions and roasted pine nuts, whereas the cheese can be used as desired, some people use one kind of cheese, and anything really should work, I on the other hand, got my hands on an amazing recipe, which I will be sharing below.

So, there you go, I will now share the recipes to both Sambosek, and please let us know how they turn out.

Tip: Always have your Sambosak dough covered in ziplock or fabric while preparing, to keep it from drying, which will make it easily break after.

Beef Sambosak 

Original Recipe from my Mother in Law: Eiman

Makes around 45-50 Sambosak – Time One Hour

Ingredients

A pack of frozen Sambusak Dough / Leaves

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1/2 kilo coarsely ground beef

1 small onion finely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Optional: 2 tablespoons of roasted pine nuts

Recipe

1. In a small sauce pan, add your sunflower oil for a minute before adding your ground beef.
2. Stir your ground beef until color changes to brown.
3. Add your spices and mix well before adding your chopped onions.
4. Leave to cook for fifteen minutes.
5. Let it cool and mix it with your ready made roasted pine nuts.
6. Stuff your mix into your Sambusak

You can find a video on youtube to help you know how to stuff your Sambosek, however, I followed the following way: link

 

Cheese Sambusak

Original Recipe from my Uncle’s Wife: Raeda

Makes around 35-40 – Time 30 Minutes

Ingredients

1/2 block of Akkawi cheese (or around 2 cups)

Boiling Water

1/2 black of Halloumi cheese (or around 1 cup)

1/2 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoon of finely chopped parsley

A pinch of ground Mastic Tears or what we call in Arabic ‘Mistica’

Recipe

1. Add boiling water to your Akkawi cheese and leave for fifteen minutes, then repeat for another fifteen minutes. (This will help make your cheese less salty, as the Akkawi cheese tends to be high in salt)
2. Once your Akkawi is ready, using your hands, start shredding the cheese along with the Halloumi and Mozzarella into very tiny particles.
3. If your Mistica comes in a stone looking piece, then make sure you grind a small piece and you just need a small pinch, as it adds strong flavor.
4. Add your parsley and mix.

 

**You can look up the Mistica on wikipedia to have an idea of what I am talking about. It is not mandatory for your recipe but it does add a distinguished taste to your Sambosak. Link

 

Once your Sambosak is ready, feel free to oven bake for 15 minutes, or freeze until needed. Enjoy.