Samosas

Ancient Recipe

“It requires thin sheets of kunafa and sweetmeat, as well as coarsely pounded hazelnuts. Toast the sugar and the hazelnuts. Knead with sugar dissolved in water, or honey. Cut the sheets, stuff them and seal with a bit of dough. You must sprinkle some rosewater on the sugar. Fry in sesame oil, and after arranging them on plates, sprinkle on sugar, hazelnuts and rosewater.”²

BAR’s variation

Instructions: Begin by making the sweetmeat filling. Take dates and crush into a paste. Next, crush the walnuts into tiny pieces—if you want more crunch, leave slightly larger pieces. Mix date paste, walnuts, cinnamon, cardamom, and honey. This can be done ahead and left until you are ready to fill and fry the samosas.

For the samosa, toast the hazelnuts in sugar (if desired). Mix the sweetmeat with the hazelnuts and then cook the mixture in a skillet over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Add 1/4 cup of rosewater and a drizzle of honey, and then stir. Simmer until the liquid is mostly absorbed—about 5 minutes—and then remove it from the heat. Let the filling cool.