Vegan Lentil Sambusa Pie - the popular Ethiopian Street Food "Sambusa" turned into a savory vegan pie that your friends and family will love! No need to make your own crust - this recipe uses vegan puff pastry! Nutfree Soyfree. GF option

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 40 minutes
  • Total time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 12
  • Category: dinner, Main, Snack
  • Cuisine: ethiopian

Ingredients

  • 15 ounce can of lentils (drained or 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils)
  • 2 teaspoons oil
  • 1 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onion
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 inch ginger minced
  • 1 hot green chili minced (I usually add 3 or 4 but it can get really hot really quickly, or use 3 mild green chilis)
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1.5 teaspoon or more berbere spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup packed chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon or more lemon juice

For the pie

  • 1 sheet vegan puff pastry (9 by 9 inch or similar, see notes for Glutenfree options)

Method

  1. Prep your lentils by washing and draining if you're using canned lentils or making your lentils from dried if you haven't made yet.
  2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add oil. Then add onion and a good pinch of salt and cook until the onion starts to get golden.
  3. Then add in the green onion, garlic, green chili and another pinch of salt and cook until the garlic is cooked through. 3-4 mins.
  4. Then add in all of the spices and mix in and continue to cook for another minute.
  5. Add in the lentils, cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and a 1/4 cup of water and mix well and then continue to cook to simmer the lentils for 3 or 4 minutes.
  6. Then taste and adjust flavor. Add a dash of the lemon juice. Mix in and set aside.
  7. Prep your rolling station with a little bit of flour and roll out the partially thawed puff pastry sheet until it is almost double in size. Then slice it into half lengthwise.
  8. Put the lentils which should be cool by now. Use cool lentils on one of the pastry sheets. Spread it out and put the other pastry sheet on it. Keep about 1/2 inch on the edges of the pastry sheet so you can seal them. Brush water on the edges.
  9. Using a fork, seal the pastry sheets. Also using the fork, create some holes on the top of the pie or use a scissor to cut up a little bit of holes on top of the pie.
  10. Then bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 c) for 20-25 minutes or until nicely golden brown and puffy all over.
  11. Then remove from the oven. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Then slice as you like and serve. Serve as is or with sauces of choice or some tahini lemon dressing or other creamy sauces

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.