Ethiopian Lentil Sambusa

Similar to Indian Samosas, Ethiopian Sambusas are crunchy, spicy, and full of wild spices to get your taste buds hoppin’ and jumpin’!

Inspiration

Ethiopian food is hands down one of my favorite styles of food. Similar to Indian food, this fancy cuisine uses a generous amount of plant-based foods and a wide range of spices! Super hearty, super satisfying, and super crave-worthy.

How to make Ethiopian Lentil Sambusas

These tiny pockets are:

Crunchy

Flavorful

Spicy

Hearty

& Satisfying

Sauté

The first step to making these little fried triangle pockets is to saute the filling. The consists of onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeño, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, salt, and cilantro. Start off by heating oil in a pan, and once it’s hot, add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Next, add the garlic, ginger, and jalapenos, give it a good stir and continue cooking for 5 more minutes. After that, add the spices, mix to combine, and cook for two more minutes before adding the cooked lentils. Once the lentils have been mixed in, continue cooking for 3-5 more minutes so the flavors can meld. Remove the pan from the heat, and then sprinkle in the chopped cilantro. Mix everything together once again, cover the pan, and allow it to cool off for a few minutes while the cilantro wilts.

Wrap

Next is the fun and slightly tedious part! Get out 8 egg roll wrappers (these are not typically made with egg, but that’s just what they’re called!) and cut each sheet into four smaller squares. In total, you should have enough smaller squares to make 32 mini sambusas.

Lay one sheet onto a flat surface and trace the perimeter of the wrapper with a wet finger – this will act as glue to help seal the wrapper together. Dump one tablespoon worth of filling into the center of the square and fold over one corner to meet the corner directly across from it to create a triangle shape. Firmly press the sides together to seal and repeat this process until all the filling and wrappers have been used up.

Fry

Next up, get out whatever size saucepan you’d like and fill the bottom with just enough oil to cover the sambusas. For this recipe, we are shallow frying, not deep frying. With a larger pan, you can fry more sambusas at once, although this is not recommended considering they cook very quickly and you might run the risk of overcooking. I prefer to use a smaller pan and cook in small batches to keep a close eye on each sambusa. Using a smaller pan will also require less oil, and you’re like me and you’re frying in expensive avocado oil because of its high smoke point, it might be in your best interest to use a small pan.

Heat the oil over medium heat, or until it reaches about 400 degrees. At this point, drop in however many sambusas will fit, and cook for about 30-60 seconds on each side until golden. Safely transfer the cooked sambusas to a wire cooling rack to help remove any excess oil. Avoid placing them directly on a paper towel or you might end up with soggy sambusas, and nobody wants that!

Serving

These sambusas are best served fresh and hot! Serve these alongside your favorite dipping sauce or Ethiopian Salsa!

For visual instruction, check out this video!

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Healthy Air-Fried Pickles with a Creamy Herb Dipping Sauce

Pineapple Fried Rice

Shiitake & Cabbage Gyoza

Crispy Brussels Sprout Fritters

🤎 M