Sambusak are half moon pastries of the Iraqi Jewish kitchen, cousins of a whole family of filled turnovers made from India to the Mediterranean. In Baghdad they were made for Sabbath lunches and for holidays such as Shavuot, Purim and Hanukkah, when fried foods are customary. Iraqi Jews brought them to Israel, where Iraqi bakeries and family kitchens kept them going, and today the chickpea version, sambusak b'tawa, fried in a pan, is a favorite snack, appetizer and party food. Similar pastries are also made with meat or with salty white cheese and za'atar.

The filling is humble and quietly addictive: onions cooked slowly until sweet, turmeric and cumin for warmth and color, and chickpeas crushed just enough to hold together. The dough is soft and easy to handle, the frying is shallow rather than deep, and sixteen of them disappear from a plate far faster than they took to make, which is the usual fate of anything worth making.

The dough

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 2/3 cup (160 ml) warm water
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

The chickpea filling

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1 can (15 oz, 425 g) chickpeas
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Shaping and frying

Ingredients

• 1 cup (240 ml) neutral oil for frying

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