Sambusas are one of those Afghan foods that everyone knows but everyone makes slightly differently. The basic structure is a thin pastry filled with a savoury mixture and either deep-fried or baked until golden. The variations across Afghan families, regions, and traditions are wide. The cultural place of sambusas in Afghan family life is consistent across all those variations — they appear at celebrations, at Ramadan iftars, at weddings, and at the family gatherings that mark the year.

My grandmother made sambusas the way her mother had taught her, with a particular set of decisions that I learnt as the right way before I learnt that other Afghan families made them differently. The recipe below is hers, with the small adjustments I have made for Sydney ingredients and Sydney kitchens. It is not the only way to make sambusas. It is one way, and it is the way that connects me to my family’s kitchen in Kabul.

The pastry.

The traditional sambusa pastry is a thin hand-rolled dough. My grandmother made hers with a soft dough rested for an hour, then rolled very thin and cut into triangles. The skill was in the rolling — thin enough that the pastry cooked through crisp without burning, thick enough that it held the filling without splitting.

In Australian kitchens many Afghan families use store-bought spring roll wrappers or filo pastry as a practical substitute. The result is different but it is acceptable, and the time saving is meaningful. My family uses spring roll wrappers for everyday sambusas and the hand-rolled pastry for the celebration occasions where the work is part of the tradition.

The dough recipe my grandmother used:

500g plain flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon olive oil (she used local oil in Kabul — olive oil works well in Sydney) Warm water as needed to bring the dough together

Combine the dry ingredients, add the oil, and gradually add warm water while mixing until a soft but firm dough forms. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth. Cover and rest for an hour at room temperature.

The filling.

The classic Afghan sambusa filling in our family is a spiced mince mixture. Other Afghan families make a lentil-based filling for vegetarian sambusas, particularly during fasting days. The mince filling is what my grandmother made for celebration occasions.

500g lamb mince (or beef — my grandmother used lamb, my mother sometimes uses beef) 1 large onion, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon salt Half teaspoon black pepper A small handful of fresh coriander, chopped A small handful of fresh mint, chopped 1 fresh chilli, finely chopped (the heat is to taste) Squeeze of lemon

Heat oil in a heavy pan. Cook the onion until softened. Add the garlic and the spices and cook for a minute. Add the mince and break it up as it cooks. Cook until the mince is fully cooked and most of the moisture has evaporated. Add the fresh herbs and the lemon at the end. Allow to cool completely before filling — hot filling will weaken the pastry.

The forming.

Cut the pastry into squares or rectangles depending on the size of sambusa you want. The traditional shape is a triangle, formed by folding the pastry in alternating directions around the filling.

A square of pastry: place a tablespoon of cooled filling in one corner. Fold the corner over the filling to form a triangle. Fold the triangle along its edge. Fold again, alternating directions, until you reach the end of the strip. Seal the final edge with a paste of flour and water.

The shape should be a tight triangle with the filling fully enclosed and the seams well-sealed. Open seams will leak filling into the oil and spoil the sambusa.

The cooking.

The traditional cooking method is deep-frying. The oil temperature matters — too cool and the sambusa absorbs oil and becomes greasy, too hot and the pastry burns before the inside heats through. The right temperature for sambusas is around 170°C.

Fry in batches without overcrowding. Turn the sambusas during frying to ensure even browning. Cook for about 3-4 minutes per batch until golden brown. Drain on paper towel.

Baking is an acceptable alternative for healthier preparation. Brush the formed sambusas with oil or melted ghee and bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes until golden, turning once during baking.

The serving.

Sambusas are served warm rather than hot, with the traditional accompaniment of chutney — typically a coriander chutney with mint, garlic, chilli, and yoghurt. The chutney recipe is its own family tradition and varies across families.

A simple chutney that works:

A large bunch of fresh coriander, washed Half a bunch of fresh mint, leaves only 2 cloves garlic 1 fresh chilli Half a cup of plain yoghurt Salt to taste

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Adjust seasoning. Serve alongside the sambusas.

The cultural place.

In Afghan families across the diaspora, sambusas are the food that comes out at every celebration. Eid, weddings, the breaking of fast during Ramadan, family gatherings for visitors, the first meal welcoming someone returning from a long absence. They are not everyday food. They are the food of the occasion.

The work of making sambusas is part of the cultural transmission. Several women working together — the older generation teaching the younger generation the techniques, the rolling, the filling, the sealing, the frying — is one of the ways the food tradition continues across generations and across distance.

My grandmother made sambusas in Kabul. My mother made sambusas in Peshawar after the family moved during the war. I make sambusas in Sydney. The recipe has shifted slightly with the ingredients available in each place. The cultural memory the food carries has stayed the same.

For Afghan-Australians and others interested in the food traditions of the Afghan diaspora, sambusas are one of the dishes that opens the cultural door. The recipe is approachable but not trivial. The work is rewarding. And the food itself carries the cultural memory of one of the longest food traditions in Central Asia.