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Try Noor Murad's samboosa tikka with green yogurt, then try vegetable samosas, duck samosas, or chickpea sambusa with spinach and mint.

Two truths you might not know: the Arabic word for samosa is actually samboosa or sambousek – in Bahrain we call it samboosa. The second is that the Indian flavours associated with the word tikka don’t actually apply here. Bahraini tikka is any meat marinated in ground black lime and lots of lemon. Some will add other spices, such as cumin or cinnamon, and others will also add yogurt. The main thing is to make sure they have that sour, bitter, intense taste offered via the black lime. Tikka is often sold on skewers cooked on charcoal, served with tanour bread, raw onion, rocket and a green chutney. Here I’ve used the tikka flavouring for the filling of these samboosas, which make a great finger food to share with friends.

Recipes extracted from Lugma by Noor Murad (£28, Quadrille). Photographs: © Matt Russell, Matt Wardle. Recipes are sent by the publisher and not retested by us.

FILLING

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion
    finely chopped
  • 400g 15-20% fat minced lamb
  • 4 garlic cloves
    crushed
  • 1¾ tbsp ground black lime
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 10g coriander leaves
    roughly chopped

SAMBOOSAS

  • 4 tsp cornflour
  • 5 sheets of filo pastry
    defrosted if frozen
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp ground black lime

GREEN YOGURT

  • 20g coriander
    leaves and soft stems, roughly chopped
  • 10g mint leaves
  • 1 jalapeño
    roughly chopped
  • 1 garlic clove
    roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 130g greek yogurt

Nutrition: per samboosa

  • kcal112
  • fat7.4g
  • saturates2.8g
  • carbs5.9g
  • sugars1.3g
  • fibre1g
  • protein4.8g
  • salt0.3g

Method

  • step 1

    Make the filling by heating the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, for 5 mins until softened and lightly coloured. Add the lamb and use a spoon to break up the clumps. Season with 1 tsp of fine sea salt and a very generous grind of black pepper, and fry for 8 mins, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned. Stir in the garlic, black lime, cumin and sugar, and cook for 1 min 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in 200ml of water and cook for 3 mins or until most of the water is absorbed. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and coriander, and set aside to cool completely.

  • step 2

    Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 and line two large baking trays with baking paper. To make the samboosas, whisk together the cornflour and 1 tbsp of water in a small bowl. Put the filo sheets under a slightly damp tea towel to stop them from drying out. Lay one sheet of filo on a clean worksurface and, using a small sharp knife, cut it lengthways into four strips roughly 8cm wide. Put a little over 1 tbsp of filling at the bottom of each strip, then very lightly brush the exposed part with the cornflour mixture – a few dabs will do. Fold a corner of the pastry over the filling to make a triangle, then fold again in the opposite direction. Continue folding in alternate directions all along the strip until you have made a triangular parcel. Use a little more of the cornflour mixture to seal the ends if needed. Put, seam-side down, on the lined tray then continue until all the filling and sheets are used up – you should make 20 samboosas. Brush the tops and bottoms with the oil, then sprinkle the tops with the black lime. Bake for 18-20 mins or until deeply golden and crisp.

  • step 3

    Meanwhile, make the green yogurt by putting all the ingredients and 1/8 tsp of salt in the bowl of a small food processor, and blitzing until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl. Arrange the samboosas on a platter and serve warm with the yogurt alongside.

More ways with minced lamb.

Shakshuka Recipe with Lamb Meatballs
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