Sambousa Dough Recipe
During Ramadan, one of our food traditions is to have soup and sambousa at iftar time. So, every Tuesday during Ramadan, I’m sharing one of my staple soup recipes on Instagram Stories. As for Sambousa, these are little savory pastries stuffed with cheeses, beef, chicken, or vegetables. Most Arab countries have their versions of these little pastries, from the shapes, stuffing, and how they cook them.
Since my son had spring break, he helped me make sambousa dough, getting messy with flour, water, and oil and cutting them into round shapes. I find that if kids help make any dish, they’re more interested in trying it rather than getting them to eat a ready-cooked meal. Instead, they’re curious about how it will turn out, which gets them excited about new dishes. My son was a picky eater when he was younger, and although he’s come a long way since, I still try to involve him in the cooking process and explain to him what ingredients are used in what we’re making.
Everyone in the family prefers a different sambousa stuffing, mine is cheese such as Egyptian white cheese, feta, or Lebanese akawi. Another good pairing is cooking minced meat. Here is a reliable and easy dough recipe that my son and I made together.
Sambousa Dough
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (56 g) vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (118 g) water
Instructions
- Place the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in it.
- Add the water and oil to the center of the flour and mix until it forms a dough.
- Knead by hand or in a stand mixer for 5 minutes.
- Dust a clean working surface with flour and roll the dough thinly.
- Use a circle cutter or the top of a glass to cut out circle shapes.
- Put a teaspoon or so of your desired stuffing in the middle of the circle and close one half over the other.
- Wet the edges of each circle with water and fold one half over the other. Pinch with your fingers or a fork to seal it. The sambousa is ready to fry right away.
Video
Notes
- The sambousa can be made in advance, stuffed, and placed in the freezer until needed.
- Fry in a little bit of oil until golden on each side.
- Sambousa can be baked in an oven. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius, sprinkle with some oil and bake flipping halfway.
During Ramadan, one of our food traditions is to have soup and sambousa at iftar time. So, every Tuesday during Ramadan, I share one of my staple soup recipes on Instagram Stories. As for sambousa, these are little savory pastries stuffed with cheeses, beef, chicken, or vegetables. Most Arab countries have their versions of these little pastries, from the shapes, stuffing, and how they cook them.
Since my son had spring break, he helped me make sambousa dough, getting messy with flour, water, and oil and cutting them into round shapes. I find that if kids help make any dish, they’re more interested in trying it rather than getting them to eat a ready-cooked meal. Instead, they’re curious about how it will turn out, which gets them excited about new dishes. My son was a picky eater when he was younger, and although he’s come a long way since, I still try to involve him in the cooking process and explain to him what ingredients are used in what we’re making.
