Kenyan Beef Samosa
Crispy pastry triangles filled with spiced ground beef, potatoes, and peas—a beloved Kenyan street food. Baked until golden, not fried, for an easier weeknight meal.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 285
- Protein
- 12g
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground beef
- 1 whole potato, medium
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 8 sheets phyllo dough sheets (or samosa wrappers)
- ½ whole onion, medium
- 1.5 teaspoon, combined cumin, coriander, and ginger (or garam masala)
Instructions
- 1
Set the oven to 400°F and wait until the indicator light tells you it has finished heating, about 10 minutes.
- 2
Peel the potato and cut it into 1/4-inch cubes—about the size of peas. Set them in a small bowl.
- 3
Cut the onion in half lengthwise from root to tip, then dice it crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces until you have about 1/4 cup.
- 4
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers and slides quickly when you tilt the pan, about 1 minute.
- 5
Add the diced onion and cook, stirring once every 15 seconds, until it turns pale golden and smells fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- 6
Crumble the ground beef into the skillet using a wooden spoon, breaking it into pea-sized pieces as it touches the hot pan. Stir once every 20 seconds until no pink remains and the meat is light brown, about 3 minutes.
- 7
Stir in the spice blend (cumin, coriander, and ginger or garam masala) and cook, stirring constantly, until the spices smell strongly fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- 8
Add the potato cubes and frozen peas to the skillet and stir to mix. Cook, stirring once every 30 seconds, until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork, about 4 minutes.
- 9
Remove the skillet from the heat and let the filling cool for 3 minutes so it does not tear the pastry when folded.
- 10
Lay one phyllo sheet on a clean, dry surface. Place 2 tablespoons of filling in the corner closest to you, leaving 1 inch from the left and bottom edges.
- 11
Fold the left corner of the phyllo sheet over the filling to form a triangle. Then fold that triangle upward and to the right to create another triangle, enclosing the filling. Repeat folding up and to the right, like closing a flag, until you reach the end of the sheet.
- 12
Place the folded samosa seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets and filling until you have 8 samosas.
- 13
Brush or lightly spray the top of each samosa with a tiny bit of oil so they turn golden and crispy when baked.
- 14
Slide the baking sheet into the preheated oven and bake until the samosas turn the color of warm honey with edges just beginning to look darker, about 12 minutes.
- 15
Remove the sheet from the oven using oven mitts and let the samosas cool on the sheet for 2 minutes before serving.
Tools you’ll need
- small bowl
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- 12-inch medium skillet
- wooden spoon
- fork
- parchment paper
- baking sheet
- pastry brush or spray bottle
- oven mitts
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