Nutrition is approximate.
Equipment
- Rolling pin
- knife
- heavy baking tray
- rack
- thermometer
Before you begin
Use the listed metric weight for flour, grains and meat for consistent results. Ingredient weights are raw or dry unless stated otherwise. US measures and metric quantities are both listed; rounded equivalents are approximate.
Prep 55 min · Cook 40 min · Waiting 85 min
Allow about 180 minutes: 55 minutes preparation, 40 minutes cooking and 85 minutes resting, rising, chilling, cooling or marinating. The recipe lists Prep 55 min; Bake 35-40 min; Rest 30 min; Chill 45 min. Where a range is given, this total uses its upper end; ingredients, equipment and dough temperature can change the time. It also includes the 10-minute final rest specified in the last step.
Ingredients
- DOUGH: all-purpose flour — 450 g / 15.87 oz
- DOUGH: water — 225 ml / 7.61 US fl oz
- DOUGH: fine salt — 5 g / 0.18 oz
- Unsalted butter, melted and cooled, for layers — 90 g / 3.17 oz
- Extra flour for rolling — 15 g / 0.53 oz
- FILLING: lamb, about 20% fat, hand-chopped — 500 g / 17.64 oz
- FILLING: onion, finely diced — 500 g / 17.64 oz
- FILLING: cumin seeds, crushed — 3 g / 0.11 oz
- FILLING: fine salt — 6 g / 0.21 oz
- FILLING: black pepper — 1 g / 0.04 oz
- Egg for brushing, beaten — 1 large / 50 g / 1.8 oz
- Sesame seeds — 8 g / 0.28 oz
Step-by-step method
- Make and rest the dough
Dissolve dough salt in 225 ml water. Mix into 450 g flour, then knead 8-10 minutes to a smooth firm dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes. Melt butter and cool until fluid but barely warm; hot fat softens dough too much. - Laminate and chill
Roll dough into a rectangle about 60 x 45 cm / 24 x 18 in, using dusting flour sparingly. Brush evenly with the butter. Roll from the long edge into a tight 60 cm / 24 in log. Cover and refrigerate 45 minutes until the fat is firm. - Prepare filling and oven
Mix 4-5 mm / 3/16 in lamb pieces with finely diced onion, cumin, filling salt and pepper. Refrigerate. Heat a conventional oven to 220 C / 425 F and line a heavy metal tray with parchment rated for that temperature. - Roll twelve wrappers
Cut the chilled log into twelve equal 5 cm / 2 in pieces. Stand each on its cut face, press flat, then roll into a 15 cm / 6 in round, leaving its center slightly thicker than the edges. Keep remaining pieces cold and covered. - Fill and seal triangles
Divide filling into twelve equal portions, about 84 g / 3 oz each. Put one portion in each round. Fold three sides inward and pinch every seam firmly to form a closed triangle. Set seam-side down with 3 cm / 1.2 in between parcels; brush lightly with egg and sprinkle sesame. - Bake, check and rest
Bake 10 minutes at 220 C / 425 F, then reduce to 200 C / 390 F for 25-30 minutes until deeply golden. Check a center parcel: filling must reach 71 C / 160 F. Rest on a rack 10 minutes; serve two per person.
Cook’s notes
Beef with similar fat content can replace lamb. Warm fat smears instead of separating layers. Avoid wet onion puree and weak seams. These instructions are for a tray, not attaching pastry to the wall of a tandyr.
Storage & reheating
- Refrigerate promptly for up to 2 days. Reheat at 180 C / 355 F until filling reaches 74 C / 165 F. Freeze cooled samsa up to 2 months; thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Allergens
Contains: wheat, milk, egg, sesame. Check packaged ingredients.
Approximate nutrition
Per serving: 665 kcal · Protein 24 g · Carbohydrates 66 g · Fat 33 g.
Approximate nutrition per serving, divided into 6 portions, for the measured recipe as written. Ingredient brands, edible yields, cooking losses and retained oil vary. Optional accompaniments and substitutions are excluded. The rolling or shaping flour allowance is only partly incorporated.
