Baked Ground Beef Sambusas

After reading several recipes, I came up with my take on sambusas for an appetizer.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • Filling
    • 1 lb ground beef
    • 1 medium onion, finely diced
    • 3 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
    • 1 seededjalapeno,finely diced (You can use more if you feel comfortable with heat.)
    • 1/2cup freshcilantrofinely chopped, including steams
    • 1 teaspoon Berbere spice
    • 1/2teaspooncardamom
    • 1/2teaspooncinnamon
    • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1teaspoonblack pepper
    • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • Easy wrapper
    • 1 package of spring roll wrappers
    • 2 tablespoons of plain flour
    • Water to mix with flour for paste
  • Vegetable oil, for cooking, 3-4 tablespoons

Tools:

Large skillet, baking sheet, knife, cutting board, parchment paper, dish towel, pastry brush or oil sprayer, tongs or a spatula

Instructions

  1. First make the filling, as it has to cool down before you can wrap it. You can make it the day before and put in the fridge.
  2. Heat up oil in skillet, over medium heat. Once oil starts to shimmer, add Berbere spice, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, and black pepper, stir for about 30 seconds.
  3. Add the onion, jalapeno, and salt to the skillet. Stirring occasionally, cook until the onion is translucent and soft.
  4. Add garlic, stir and cook for about 30 seconds.
  5. Add ground beef, and stir occasionally, breaking up any clumps. Cook until it is no longer pink.
  6. Add cilantroand stir in.
  7. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed.
  8. Take off heat and let completely cool.
  9. Turn oven to 400 degrees F.
  10. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  11. Mix up the paste. Put the 2 tablespoons of plain flour in a small bowl. Add water slowly while stirring until you have a thin paste.
  12. Cut open the package of spring roll wrappers.
  13. Take out a few spring roll wrappers, and cut them in half.
  14. Take the cut halves, and cover with a dish towel to keep them from drying out. You should also cover the open package of spring roll wrappers.
  15. Take 2 halves of a spring roll and at the edge of one half, smear some of the flour paste on it, covering about a 1/2 inch. Take the other half and put it so that one edge just covers the paste on the other half. You now have one long strip.
  16. Smear flour paste around the edges of entire strip.
  17. Take 1 tablespoon of the filling and put it at the edge of the right side of the strip on a diagonal, so that the top corner of the strip doesnt have any filling and you should not get the filling in the paste, if you can avoid it.
  18. Take the top corner and fold it over the filling, pressing down on the edge, so the paste causes the spring roll to stick together.
  19. Next, fold the triangle with the filling to the left. Press down on the top corner to make sure it sticks.
  20. Fold the triangle with the filling to the left and up. Press down on the bottom corner to make sure it sticks.
  21. Fold the triangle with the filling to the left. Fold the triangle with the filling to the left and down.
  22. Fold the last bit of the spring roll over the triangle with the filling and press down along it to make sure it sticks.
  23. Place on the parchment lined baking sheet. You can cover the uncooked sambusas with a dish towel until it is time to bake them.
  24. Repeat steps 15 to 23 until all the cut halves of the spring rolls have been used up.
  25. Cut more spring rolls and repeat until all the filling has been used.
  26. If you covered your uncooked sambusas, uncover them.
  27. Lightly brush oil on top and bottom of sambusas, or lightly spray them with oil.
  28. Bake in the pre-heated oven until golden brown on top, about 10 minutes.
  29. Take the baking sheet out and flip the sambusas over and bake for another 2 to 3 minutes.
  30. Remove from oven and let cool a little before serving.

Notes:

You could take wonton wrappers and put the paste around two adjacent sides of a wrapper, add 1 tablespoon of filling to the half that has paste one it, fold over the other side, so that it covers the filling and meets the other edge. Press the edges together so they stick, and you have a triangle with a lot less work.

  • Cut spring roll in half
  • Add paste to one side
  • Add paste, add filling and fold
  • Final fold
Folded Wonton Wrapper