Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Today we're revisiting Sambousek, a popular pastry and appetizer in the Middle East. They have a flaky and crispy shell that can be filled with any filling. We'll be making 3 fillings today, Cheese & Pasterma, Spiced Chickpea, and Chicken Musakhan.
🙌 Support the Channel 🙌
If you enjoy our recipes and want to help us make more, then consider becoming a Patron. You can get your name in the video credits as well as some behind the scene updates patreon.com/MiddleEats
📷 My Filming Equipment 🎥
Sony a6400: geni.us/Cc7J0Nj
Sony F1.8 Lens: geni.us/5ATix6
0:00 Intro
1:18 Cheese & Meat filling
2:28 Chicken Musakhan filling
5:34 Chickpea filling
7:46 Making Sambousek Dough
9:08 Shaping the sambousek
12:48 Cooking the sambousek
14:27 Taste test + Review
Dough:
375g (13.1 oz) AP Flour
3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Egg
1 Tsp Salt
150ml (5 fl oz) Water
Cheese filling:
50g (1.75 oz) Pasterma or cured meat
200g (7 oz) Kashkaval or melting cheese
50g (1.75 oz) Cream cheese
Musakhan stock:
250g (8.75 oz) chicken breast
1/2 Onion
1/2 Cinnamon Stick
3 Cardamom Pods
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Bay Leaf
1 Piece Mastic
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Black Peppercorns
1/4 Tsp Cumin seeds
1 Tbsp olive oil
Musakhan onions:
50ml (1.7 fl oz) Olive oil
1.5 Medium Onions
25g (1 oz) Sumac
25g (1 oz) pine nuts
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp pepper
Spiced Chickpeas:
200g (7 oz) Canned Chickpeas
1/2 Small Onion
1 Garlic clove
1 Tomato
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1/4 Tsp Cayenne pepper
Chickpea filling:
100g (3.5 oz) Carrots
20g (1 Tbsp) Red pepper paste
35g (1.2 oz) Slivered almonds
1.5 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic
1 Onion
1/4 Green pepper
1/4 Red pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1/4 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp pul biber
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Cheese filling:
1- Shred the kashkaval cheese
2- Dice the Pasterma into small squares
3- Mix everything together
Musakhan stock:
1- Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a pot over medium heat, add the mastic and let melt completely
2- Add the whole spices for the stock, toast for 1 minute
3- Roughly chop the onion then add to the pot and saute for 5 mins
4- Add the garlic and chicken to the pot. Sear on all sides till lightly browned
5- Add salt and enough water to cover the chicken
6- Turn the heat to high and bring the pot to a boil, then turn to medium and cover
7- Cook for 30 mins
Confit sumac onions:
1- Add the olive oil to the pot on low heat, cut onions into thin strips and add them
2- Mix together well, then cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook for 15 minutes
3- Add the Sumac in to the pot as well as the pepper and salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the onions have softened
Making Musakhan:
1- Shred the chicken into small pieces
2- Add the onions
3- Toast the pine nuts in olive oil until golden, then drain and add to the chicken
4- Mix everything together well until evenly combined
Spiced Chickpeas:
1- Add the Spiced Chickpeas ingredients to a pot and add boiling water to submerge the chickpeas
2- Cook on medium for 30 minutes (adjust for raw chickpeas)
Chickpea filling:
1- Add olive oil to a pot over medium heat, add 1 onion sliced into thin strips
2- Saute for 5 minutes then shred the carrot and add in. Mix then add 30ml of the chickpea cooking liquid
3- Let cook for 5 minutes until the carrots have softened
4- Slice your red and green pepper into thin strips then add to the pot as well as the Red pepper paste and spices. Mix and cook for 5 minutes more
5- Toast the almonds until they go golden, then drain and add to the pot
6- Mix until evenly combined
To make the dough:
1- Add all the dough ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer (or knead by hand) and mix on low speed until combined into a rough ball of dough
2- Knead on medium speed for 5-8 minutes until the dough is tacky
3- Oil a large bowl, then add the dough to it. Let it rest for 1 full hour
To shape the sambousek:
1- Flour your worksurface and empty the dough onto it
2- Divide into 4 pieces, then roll a piece out into a rectangle 1-2mm (1/16th") thick
3- Use a round cutter to cut as many circle pieces as possible
4- Add a heaped tbsp of filling into the circle, then fold in half and pinch the two sides together
5- Seal the entire thing until you are left with a semi circle shape
To freeze:
1- Place the shaped sambousek on a tray heavily dusted with flour, in a single layer
2- Place it in the freezer for 30m until the dough begins to harden
3- Move the sambousek to freezer bags and allow to freeze through completely
To cook:
1- Heat frying oil to 170-180c or 340-460f
2- Remove your sambousek from the freezer 15m before cooking
3- Add 3-4 pieces of sambousek into the oil, and push them down below the surface of the oil
4- Allow them to fry like this for 20-30 seconds then flip them over
5- Cook them for 2 minutes in total, flipping them over a couple times in between
Today we're revisiting Sambousek, a popular pastry and appetizer in the Middle East. They have a flaky and crispy shell that can be filled with any filling. We'll be making 3 fillings today, Cheese & Pasterma, Spiced Chickpea, and Chicken Musakhan.
🙌 Support the Channel 🙌
If you enjoy our recipes and want to help us make more, then consider becoming a Patron. You can get your name in the video credits as well as some behind the scene updates patreon.com/MiddleEats
📷 My Filming Equipment 🎥
Sony a6400: geni.us/Cc7J0Nj
Sony F1.8 Lens: geni.us/5ATix6
0:00 Intro
1:18 Cheese & Meat filling
2:28 Chicken Musakhan filling
5:34 Chickpea filling
7:46 Making Sambousek Dough
9:08 Shaping the sambousek
12:48 Cooking the sambousek
14:27 Taste test + Review
Dough:
375g (13.1 oz) AP Flour
3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Egg
1 Tsp Salt
150ml (5 fl oz) Water
Cheese filling:
50g (1.75 oz) Pasterma or cured meat
200g (7 oz) Kashkaval or melting cheese
50g (1.75 oz) Cream cheese
Musakhan stock:
250g (8.75 oz) chicken breast
1/2 Onion
1/2 Cinnamon Stick
3 Cardamom Pods
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Bay Leaf
1 Piece Mastic
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Black Peppercorns
1/4 Tsp Cumin seeds
1 Tbsp olive oil
Musakhan onions:
50ml (1.7 fl oz) Olive oil
1.5 Medium Onions
25g (1 oz) Sumac
25g (1 oz) pine nuts
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp pepper
Spiced Chickpeas:
200g (7 oz) Canned Chickpeas
1/2 Small Onion
1 Garlic clove
1 Tomato
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1/4 Tsp Cayenne pepper
Chickpea filling:
100g (3.5 oz) Carrots
20g (1 Tbsp) Red pepper paste
35g (1.2 oz) Slivered almonds
1.5 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic
1 Onion
1/4 Green pepper
1/4 Red pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
1/4 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp pul biber
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Cheese filling:
1- Shred the kashkaval cheese
2- Dice the Pasterma into small squares
3- Mix everything together
Musakhan stock:
1- Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a pot over medium heat, add the mastic and let melt completely
2- Add the whole spices for the stock, toast for 1 minute
3- Roughly chop the onion then add to the pot and saute for 5 mins
4- Add the garlic and chicken to the pot. Sear on all sides till lightly browned
5- Add salt and enough water to cover the chicken
6- Turn the heat to high and bring the pot to a boil, then turn to medium and cover
7- Cook for 30 mins
Confit sumac onions:
1- Add the olive oil to the pot on low heat, cut onions into thin strips and add them
2- Mix together well, then cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook for 15 minutes
3- Add the Sumac in to the pot as well as the pepper and salt. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the onions have softened
Making Musakhan:
1- Shred the chicken into small pieces
2- Add the onions
3- Toast the pine nuts in olive oil until golden, then drain and add to the chicken
4- Mix everything together well until evenly combined
Spiced Chickpeas:
1- Add the Spiced Chickpeas ingredients to a pot and add boiling water to submerge the chickpeas
2- Cook on medium for 30 minutes (adjust for raw chickpeas)
Chickpea filling:
1- Add olive oil to a pot over medium heat, add 1 onion sliced into thin strips
2- Saute for 5 minutes then shred the carrot and add in. Mix then add 30ml of the chickpea cooking liquid
3- Let cook for 5 minutes until the carrots have softened
4- Slice your red and green pepper into thin strips then add to the pot as well as the Red pepper paste and spices. Mix and cook for 5 minutes more
5- Toast the almonds until they go golden, then drain and add to the pot
6- Mix until evenly combined
To make the dough:
1- Add all the dough ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer (or knead by hand) and mix on low speed until combined into a rough ball of dough
2- Knead on medium speed for 5-8 minutes until the dough is tacky
3- Oil a large bowl, then add the dough to it. Let it rest for 1 full hour
To shape the sambousek:
1- Flour your worksurface and empty the dough onto it
2- Divide into 4 pieces, then roll a piece out into a rectangle 1-2mm (1/16th") thick
3- Use a round cutter to cut as many circle pieces as possible
4- Add a heaped tbsp of filling into the circle, then fold in half and pinch the two sides together
5- Seal the entire thing until you are left with a semi circle shape
To freeze:
1- Place the shaped sambousek on a tray heavily dusted with flour, in a single layer
2- Place it in the freezer for 30m until the dough begins to harden
3- Move the sambousek to freezer bags and allow to freeze through completely
To cook:
1- Heat frying oil to 170-180c or 340-460f
2- Remove your sambousek from the freezer 15m before cooking
3- Add 3-4 pieces of sambousek into the oil, and push them down below the surface of the oil
4- Allow them to fry like this for 20-30 seconds then flip them over
5- Cook them for 2 minutes in total, flipping them over a couple times in between
