SAUDI ARABIAN: Sambousek

Out of all the recipes I tried in the month of September, the only new recipe I saved for my collection was Sambousek (my pitas were delicious but incredibly pocket-less). Here's my recipe for Saudi Arabian turnovers.

Filling:
1 pound ground beef
2 grated onions
salt and pepper
1 tsp cumin

Dough:
3 cups flour
2 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp fennel
1 tsp poppy seeds
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
3.4 oz oil
up to 8 oz water

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, fennel, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.
2. Add oil to the flour mixture and mix until crumbly.
3. Add just enough of the water to the flour mixture to create a dough. Knead until smooth. Set aside, covered and warm, for 1 hour.
4. Cook beef, onions, cumin, salt and pepper in a frying pan over low heat until beef is browned.
5. When the dough is ready, roll it out and cut it into circles with an 8- to 10-cm diameter. Place 1 TBSP of beef filling in the center of each circle. Fold in half. Seal by pressing the edges, then rolling them upward in a clever pattern.
6. Heat more oil in a large frying pan and fry the sambousek on each side until lightly browned.