A sambusa – as referred to in Somali - is a Samosa, a triangle-shaped filo pastry stuffed with meat, fish, or vegetables and seasoned throughout with warm aromatic spices. One thing to note is that Somali food and Indian food are at once similar yet distinct; the presence of samosas in Somali cuisine represents a historical and economic relationship through long-established maritime trade across the Indian Ocean.

A variety of sambusa fillings exist. Most commonly, you’ll find meat sambusas stuffed with lamb and beef. On occasion, however, you’ll find fish sambusas stuffed with tuna. There is a universal agreement that meat sambusas are the inoffensive and superior option; tuna fails texture-wise and can often be dry. In fact, biting into a tuna sambusa can be a real source of distress for certain Somalis.

Sambusa is probably my favourite Somali staple. It doesn't make much of an appearance in day-to-day cooking and eating in Somali households, due to the complex preparation involved, but it always comes out in full force during Ramadan and is very much associated with the rituals and traditions of that time. In the run-up to the holy month, a day would be set aside for the kneading, folding, and stuffing of all the sambusas to be eaten after sunset. I maintain that freshly made sambusa, marked by homemade filo pastry, is the best kind. Fresh, crispy pastry is the defining feature of a delicious sambusa, so you shouldn’t cheat. It’s an arduous task, but it comes with maximum reward, giving you the crispiest pastry layer, covered in bubbles from deep frying. Biting into one of these crunchy, oily parcels after a long day of fasting remains a highlight of Ramadan for me.

These potato and anchovy sambusas are incredibly moreish, umami, soft, and moist. This recipe is heavily inspired by my favourite pasta dish, bigoli in salsa, a Venetian dish that consists solely of slow-cooked onions and anchovies.