Middle Eastern Sambousek Egg Rolls
Crunchy on the outside and savory aromatic meat filling on the inside. These Middle Eastern Sambousek Egg Rolls are BURSTING with flavor!
I can’t believe school is back in session and summer will be over soon! Time is just flying right? On the brighter side, at least I can look forward to fall baking. I already set up made my fall recipe Pinterest Board. I have some great fall inspired recipes in mind which I can’t wait to make. Stay tuned!
Okay, who loves meat pies?! I do! For sure! As a matter of fact, my most popular recipe on this blog are Jamaican Beef Patties. If you love Jamaican Beef Patties, be sure to pin it for later. You can find the recipe —> here.
I love meat pies. I think every country all over the world has their own version of savory meat pies. South America has empanadas, the Caribbean has beef patties, Europe has meat pies and so on. Today I’m going to show you how to make a Middle Eastern version which are called Sambousek and they are usually made using a pastry dough but I’ve made them in the past with egg roll wrappers as well.
Sambousek is pretty popular in Egypt. It was one of my husband’s favorite foods when he lived in Egypt, so it was only right to learn how to make it. Traditionally, Sambousek is usually shaped like a half moon, however, I’ve seen them shaped as triangles as well and other shapes. You can pretty much make them into any shape you want. I like to shape them into egg rolls because in my opinion, it’s just easier and quicker. These Sambousek egg rolls will make a great appetizer for game day! Just grab it, dip it then devour it! Your guest will thank you for these things! I can never get enough of them. I always hit my own hand to stop myself from eating more. They are that GOOD! Be sure to make the Garlic Cilantro Aioli Sauce too. Best thing ever!
Middle Eastern Sambousek with Garlic Cilantro Aioli Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
Meat and filling
- 3 lbs ground beef Use 90% ground beef
- salt for taste
- pepper for taste
- 1 tbsp plus more as needed vegetable oil for to cook veggies and ground beef
- 3 cups oil to fry the rolls
- One onion diced
- 6 green onion thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbs fresh turmeric grated
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger optional
- 2 tsp coriander seasoning
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp dry cilantro
- 1 tsp red pepper
- 2 egg yolks
1 large package of phyllo dough
Garlic Aioli
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp dry cilantro
- 1/2 tbs honey
- 1 tbs hot sauce
- 1-2 garlic cloves finely minced
Instructions
- In a pan over medium high heat with oil add onions and cook for 2 mins or until translucent. Add garlic and turmeric and cook for one min. Add the ground beef and all the filling ingredients. Cook on medium high for 10 minutes or until brown. Drain.
For the puff pastry
- Unfold the pastry sheets on a lightly floured surface. Layer 2 sheets of dough and cut each pastry sheet into 5 inch squares
- With a pastry brush, brush the edges of pastry with egg yolk. Spoon about 1/4 cup meat mixture on the end of each pastry square. Fold the 2 sides over the filling and roll until the top is reached. Working in batches, add pastry rolls to the a large frying pan of hot oil and fry until evenly golden brown and crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
For the aioli
- Add all the aioli ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
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When doing this recipe, we found the triangle shape pockets were crisper and suggest tripling the dip sauce because it is soooo good!!
Thank you Peter! I’ll try it next time. Thanks for your suggestion!
I am wondering, you you mention pastry, are you referring to egg roll wrappers, puff pastry, pie pastry or phyllo dough?
Hi Susan. I used phyllo dough. I’ll add it to the recipe. Thank you.
Wow, girl! These look amaaaazing! And that garlic cilantro aioli? Yes, please 🙂 So many flavours going on here. I’ve never heard of ’em before and didn’t know what I was missing 😉 Pinned!
P.S. I can’t believe how fast Summer is flying by, either. Absolutely crazy, isn’t it? Though, I am looking forward to the Fall weather and food 🙂
Thanks Dawn! They are delicious. Even my toddler loves them, so they have to be good! He’s can be super picky!