Samsa - general principles and methods of preparation
Russians rarely visit the countries of Central Asia, you can get to know the real cuisine of Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan only on TV and culinary portals. But if you visited the Crimea, then you probably noticed that the recipes of oriental cuisine are firmly rooted here than the local population is very pretty. Returning from exile, the Crimean Tatars brought again traditional lavash, lagman, pilaf and, of course, baked goods. Today, our attention is directed to samsa - a layered pie with meat, preferably triangular in shape. In all settlements of Central Asia, and now Crimea, samsa is traded in any roadside cafe, markets, roadside eateries.
In Russia, samsa is also sold in a cafe of Central Asian cuisine along with hot dogs and pies. In restaurants, it is served in a more Europeanized form - from yeast dough and various shapes. Thin crispy puff pastry, aromatic nourishing filling, spices - all this gives the Central Asian samsa a unique taste. The filling can be the most diverse - meat, sweet, vegetable, cheese. Even if it’s samasa with potatoes, it would never occur to anyone to call it a simple pie because of the special dough and characteristic oriental spices. Central Asian samsa is traditionally baked in tandoor (a special oven for making national bread), but recently it has been baked in the oven. In shape, it can be not only triangular, but also square, hexagonal, round.
Samsa - food preparation
As a rule, oriental samsa is prepared from puff pastry. As a "fat" ingredient, little is used, margarine or fat tail fat. First, flour is kneaded with water, and then greased with its fats, folded and sent to the refrigerator. As a filling, cheese, meat or minced meat with lots of stewed onions. Among the sweet fillings are pumpkin, quince.
Samsa - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Samsa with Chicken and Sesame
It’s best to take oily pieces of chicken. But if you want to reduce a little the number of calories - chicken breast is also suitable.
Ingredients: flour (250 grams), butter (100 grams), onions (200 grams), yolk, sesame seeds (for sprinkling), salt, pepper.
Cooking method
For minced meat, cut the chicken into very small pieces, or skip the meat grinder through a large grill. Onions are also finely chopped, salt, pepper and add 2 tablespoons of water. We need a homogeneous mass, mix thoroughly. Spread the cake with melted butter or margarine and put it in rectangles and send it to the refrigerator for 40 minutes. We roll out the dough, cut it into cakes and roll the circles.
Put the filling in the middle and pinch the edges with a triangle. We spread samsa on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 210 degrees. 5 minutes before the end we take out a baking sheet and spread the egg with a browning egg. Serve samsa should be hot. If you cooked more than necessary, leave the leftovers in the freezer, the semi-finished product can be stored frozen long enough. To samsa you can serve tea, a couple of vegetable salads.
Recipe 2: Puff pastry samsa
Puff pastry with fat tail fat is a common pastry in Central Asia. A hot dish is incredibly satisfying and tasty, you need to bake it at a very high temperature - at least 220 degrees, and sometimes up to 250 degrees.
Ingredients: flour (1 kg), water, salt, onions (4-5 pieces), spices (cumin, ground black pepper), fat tail fat (200-300 grams), fat tail fat (100 grams), meat (800 grams).
Cooking method
Knead the dough like dumplings - flour, salt, water. Let him rest in a bowl covered for 40-50 minutes.
Filling. We cut the meat and kurdyuk into small cubes of the same size. Cut onions a little larger than meat. Mix everything - meat, fat tail, onion, salt and add spices. Before adding cumin to meat, you can mash it in a mortar - so it will give the product more flavor. For juiciness, add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the filling.
Roll out the dough in a thin layer and grease it with melted fat tail fat at room temperature. We roll it into a large sausage with quick movements. Leave in the freezer for at least an hour. Preheat the oven. We cut the roll into small pieces 4 cm long. We form the cakes with our hands, crushing the dough, and lay out the filling. We pinch in the form of a triangular envelope. Lubricate the surface with raw yolk and bake in the oven at high temperature. The dough should rise, the remaining 15-20 minutes bake at a low temperature.
Recipe 3: Samsa with Pumpkin
We will need puff pastry. Of course, it’s a hassle, and if you don’t have time, it’s quite possible to use the finished dough from the deli. Stock up with dough and pumpkin, and now at any time for an hour you can cook a wonderful pumpkin samsa, fragrant and tender.
Ingredients: puff pastry (1 kg), pumpkin (200 grams), lard (30-50 grams), onions (2-3 heads), pepper, salt.
Cooking method
Peel the pumpkin and rub on a fine grater. We cut the fat into small pieces. We clean and finely chop the onion, mix all the products and salt and pepper the filling. Roll out the thawed dough in advance, divide by a knife into squares. Put the filling on the center of the square and pinch the edges. Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil, put samsa on it down with seams and put in the oven at a temperature of 220 degrees. Samsa is baked for 20-30 minutes, but 5-10 minutes before the end, grease with yolk. Before serving, you can pour sour cream on our beauties fat olives. This dish belongs to unsweetened pastries, but you can add sweets - sprinkle with sour cream sugar and get a healthy dessert.
Samsa - tips from experienced chefs
In Uzbekistan, samsa is traditionally served at the table with sour-milk products, radish salad, green tea. Seasoning can be table vinegar. But samsa with potatoes is really difficult to call a pie - try forming a filling of a lot of herbs (cilantro, parsley, dill), potatoes and an abundance of spices. In combination with the dough, smeared with a mixture of fats on each layer, you get a real oriental dish - it looks, smells and tastes appropriate.
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