Iraqi Chicken and Chickpea Pastries

Name: Iraqi Chicken and Chickpea Pastries (Sambusak B’tawah)
Cuisine: Iraqi
Ingredients: 2 onions, chopped; 1 small green bell pepper, chopped; 16 ounces cooked chickpeas (½ cup dried) (canned are ok); ¼ cup olive oil; 4 cups all purpose flour; 1 cup chickpea cooking liquid; 2 cups chopped cooked chicken; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; ½ teaspoon turmeric; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; ⅓ cup olive or vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon salt; canola oil for deep-frying; ⅓ cup olive or vegetable oil

Sambusak B’tawah

Preparation info

Makes about
36
sambusaks

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Saffron Shores

By Joyce Goldstein

Published 2002

About

While Iraq is not directly on the Mediterranean, these sambusaks are so closely related to the Syrian ones I could not leave them out. You may use the dough in the classic sambusak recipe or you may use the one listed here.

Ingredients

For the Filling

16 ounces cooked chickpeas (½ cup dried) (canned are ok)
¼ cup<

Asia
Iraq
Pastry

Method

Mash the chickpeas coarsely with a fork. Do not make them too smooth. You want some texture. Warm the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions and bell pepper for about 8 minutes. Add the spices and cook 3 minutes longer. Add the chicken and the chickpeas and cook for a few minutes. Then stir in two eggs and cook for a minute or two. Cool the filling.

To make the dough, c