Create allergy card
← Browse dishes

DISH RESEARCH · Snack

Sambusa

Leila and Abdullahi’s beef sambuus are the crisp triangular pastries associated with Somali afternoon tea.

About Sambusa

Leila and Abdullahi’s beef sambuus are the crisp triangular pastries associated with Somali afternoon tea. Their account describes beef-filled, fried sambuus as a longstanding favourite in Somalia.

Garlic, red onion and coriander leaves accompany the beef filling. The authors’ xawaash blend contributes cumin, coriander seed, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and turmeric, with vegetable seasoning adding another savoury layer.

The homemade pastry forms a thin, layered shell around the filling. Its folded triangular shape and crisp surface contrast with the softer seasoned beef inside.

Allergens in this recipe

Contains: Wheat (gluten).

Product-dependent or unconfirmed: Celery.

Other allergen details are unconfirmed.

Ingredients vary by restaurant. Confirm your allergens with staff before ordering.

Explore ingredients See countries & cuisines

Ingredients in Sambusa

Leila and Abdullahi’s Somali beef sambuus.

Ingredient details & uncertainties

Allergen information is incomplete. Unconfirmed details do not establish that an allergen is absent.

  • Ground beef: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed
  • Vegeta vegetable seasoning: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Celery unconfirmed. Recipe names Croatian all-purpose Vegeta58. Actual manufacturer Original Recipe Since1959 declaration37–41 expressly includes Celery for its original gourmet product; intended recipe market/variant is not specified. Celery therefore retained pending with brandDependent true and concrete positive manufacturer evidence, not claimed confirmed for an unidentified 2012 jar or absent/safe.
  • Garlic: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed
  • Ground black pepper: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Actual60 and own mix50 black peppercorns ground73 consolidated; distinct allocations precise in note.
  • Red onion: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed
  • Coriander leaves: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Actual62 cilantro explicitly leaves, distinct from own spice seeds.
  • Oil for frying: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Printed65 generic oil; actual bound ingredient card vegetable-oil identifies broad vegetable oil, exact botanical source unprovided.
  • All-purpose flour: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Wheat (gluten) source-confirmed. Own pastry49 printed flour, actual ingredient button About All-purpose flour plus own page4/17/407 explicitly includes Samosa Pastry; confirms Wheat.
  • Salt: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own pastry50 required; seasoning blend salt remains prepared component, not separate inferred formula.
  • Canola oil: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own pastry51 first canola over generic vegetable choice,53 layering same oil.
  • Water: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own pastry52/68 literal required dough water.
  • Cumin seeds: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own mix48, full manufacture expanded.
  • Coriander seeds: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own mix49, distinct from fresh cilantro.
  • Cinnamon bark: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own mix51 bark explicitly, broader cinnamon candidate.
  • Cardamom pods: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own mix52 no colour/species inferred.
  • Whole cloves: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own mix53 explicitly whole.
  • Turmeric powder: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Own mix54 explicitly powder.
  • Flour glue: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Allergen details unconfirmed. Literal main108/123 and own pastry115/124/139, named component. Own photo inspected, no full written formula or liquid identity inferred.

Origins & food traditions

Somalia association in the attributed source; no exclusive invention claim.

Countries

Cuisines & regions

Sources & references
  1. Beef Samosas / Sambuus — Leila and Abdullahi, Xawaash