8ouncesunsalted margarine or butter at room temperature
½cupcold water
1egg, beaten for glazing baked sambusak
Sesame seeds for baked sambuska
For the chickpea filling
2canschickpeas
2tbspolive oil
2medium onions, finely chopped
1tspsalt
1 ½tspground cumin
¼tspground ginger
½tspblack pepper
¼tspground nutmeg
½tspwhite pepper – or use 1 teaspoon of either white or black pepper
Oil for shallow frying
Instructions
For the yeasted dough
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the water.
Add the salt, baking powder and sugar. Stir.
Add the flour a cup at a time. Mix, then knead until the dough is firm.
Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours.
For simple, unleavened dough
In a medium bowl, mix the flour with the salt.
In a large bowl, beat the margarine or butter until it's creamy. Add the flour, mixing well as you go.
Add the water and mix well.
Knead the dough until a smooth ball forms. Cover the bowl and put it aside. The dough will ferment slightly while you’re busy making the filling.
For the chickpea filling
Put the chickpeas in a strainer. Drain and rinse them.
Put them through a food processor until they’re a chunky paste, or blend them.
Fry the onions in the olive oil until translucent.
Add the dry spices to the onions; stir and cook about 3 minutes.
Add the spiced onions to the chickpeas and mix everything up well.
Form the pastries:
Take pieces out of the dough until you have 20 equal-sized pieces. Pat each piece into a rough circle in the palm of your hand as you work.
Flour your work surface and roll each patty into a circle about 3 inches in diameter. Don’t be afraid to roll them out thin, especially with the yeasted dough.
Place a tablespoon of stuffing in the middle of each circle. Fold the dough over to make a triangle, hiding the stuffing.
Pinch the edges of the sambusak together, or crimp them with a fork, to seal them.
Fry the sambusak in shallow oil over medium heat. Turn them over when the first side is golden, and fry the other side. Drain on paper towels or crumbled newspaper and serve hot.
Or, preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C). Lay the sambusak in a baking pan. Glaze the upper sides with a beaten egg; sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Unbaked (or un-fried) sambusak can be frozen in layers, then packed into heavy Ziploc bags. Put them straight into hot oil or a preheated oven when you take them out of the freezer, and proceed as above.