Healthy Sambusa recipe

Here are two traditional Somali recipes that she has shared with her fellow gardeners. Exact measurements are not listed so use taste, smell, and a sense of adventure to guide you.

Sambusa
These stuffed, triangular pastries are popular appetizers served at Somali weddings, parties, and during Ramadan. Sambusa are stuffed with:

Meat (spiced ground beef flavored with garlic, cumin, cilantro)
Fish (aromatic, delicious, boneless fish)
Vegetable (onions, green pepper, carrots, spinach)

Ingredients:

Flour, minced meat, onions, oil, fresh mixed vegetables, salt, black pepper, water, coriander, cumin, garlic, cilantro How to make the Sambusa dough:
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add little amount of oil to the flour mixture. Rub the oil into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Slowly add water until the dough can be gathered into a stiff ball.

Empty the ball out on to clean work surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth. Make a ball. Rub the ball with about 1/4 teaspoon oil and slip it into a plastic bag. Set aside for 30 minutes or longer. Then roll out the dough into a rectangle that is 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 4 inch square pieces of dough.

Stuffing:
Prepare a stuffing of your choice. Place stuffing in the center of each square. Fold the squares into triangles and seal the edges tightly.

How to fry sambusa:
Heat about 1 1/2 to 2 inches (4-5 cm) of oil for deep-frying over a medium-low flame. You may use a small, deep, frying pan for this. When the oil is medium hot, put in as many sambusa as the pan will hold in a single layer. Fry slowly, turning the sambusa frequently until they are golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

Bariis isku Dhex-Karis:
A baked dish made with layers of spiced meat and rice. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Ingredients:
Basmati rice, meat (ground beef, lamb, etc), onions, garlic ground into a paste, cumin, coriander, mint leaves, cilantro, cardamom, gloves, cinnamon sticks, salt, fresh ginger ground into a paste, oil, ghee for flavoring, saffron, milk, tomatoes, plain yogurt.

1. Marinate the meat in a spiced yogurt sauce

2. Cook rice in salted boiling water along with a bit of cardamom until rice is almost cooked. Strain and keep the rice warm.

3. Heat ghee (which can be found at Asian groceries and natural food stores) or oil in a thick-bottomed stockpot or pressure cooker. Add sliced onion and chopped cilantro. Cook until onion is light golden brown. Make sure to stir continuously.

4. Add ginger and garlic pastes to the onion and mix well. Add marinated meat and cook on high flame for ten to fifteen minutes. Then add coriander powder, cumin powder, mint leaves and cilantro to taste. Mix thoroughly.

5. Stir in three cups of water to the meat mixture, bring it to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until meat pieces are almost cooked. Then add chopped tomatoes, salt, one-teaspoon cardamom powder and chopped fresh mint leaves to taste. Cook for fifteen minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

6. Arrange half the quantity of cooked meat in an oven proof dish and spread half the quantity of cooked rice on top of the meat. Sprinkle a little cardamom powder, cinnamon sticks, cloves, saffron dissolved in warm milk and mint leaves on top of the rice. Dot the rice with a bit of butter. Repeat with the remaining meat and rice.

7. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and cook in a pre-heated oven for fifteen to twenty minutes.