🇹 Ethiopian · Street Food & Snacks
🥟 Ethiopian Shiro Sambusa
ሽሮ ሳምቡሳ — Shiro Sambusa
Ethiopian Shiro Sambusa — the crispy sambusa pastry filled with thick shiro paste, onion, garlic, and coriander. The fasting-period sambusa — when lentils run out, shiro provides the filling. Silkier and richer than lentil sambusa.
Shiro Sambusa uses the chickpea flour stew (shiro) as its filling — the thick shiro sets firmly when cooled, making it an ideal sambusa filling. The resulting sambusa is silkier than lentil-filled versions.
Ingredients
Equipment: Saucepan for shiro, Rolling pin, Deep pan
Sambusa Pastry (same as ETH161)
Shiro Filling
- ¾ cup shiro powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 onion — finely diced and fried
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- Oil for frying
Method
- Make thick shiro: cook onion, add shiro powder mixed with water. Cook until very thick. Cool completely.
- Make pastry as per ETH161.
- Shape, fill with thick cool shiro, seal, and fry as per ETH161.
Chef Tips
- Shiro filling must be very thick — it sets as it cools.
- Cool completely before filling.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Thin shiro — runs out of the pastry.
The Science
See ETH161 for sambusa frying science.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- Chickpea protein from shiro.
- Vegan and fasting period appropriate.
Cultural Note
Shiro Sambusa is the fasting chef's ingenuity — taking the pantry staple (shiro powder) and using it as a sambusa filling, demonstrating that the Ethiopian fasting tradition produces creative solutions rather than limitations.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten immediately. Freeze uncooked.
Reheating: Oven at 190°C.
Serve with: With Silsi (ETH146), During fasting periods