Vegan Cheese Samboosa Recipe

Author: Nada E.
Recipe type: Sides and Snacks | Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Prep time:  30 mins | Cook time:  12 mins | Total time:  42 mins
Serves: 15-20 samosas

These crispy little pastry pockets stuffed with the meltiest homemade vegan cheese is my plant-based rendition of a Ramadan staple enjoyed by many across the Arab world.

Ingredients

For the cheese
½ cup of raw cashews (pre-boiled for 10 mins)
3 tbsp of nutritional yeast
3 tbsp + 2 tsp of Tapioca starch
¾ tsp sea salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1¼ cup of water

For the samboosa
1 package of samosa pastry sheets
1 tbsp olive oil
½ cup water

Instructions

1. Add all the cheese ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth.
2. Pour the blended mixture into a small saucepan on medium heat, then using a wooden spoon or spatula, continuously stir while cooking. You will see small clumps start to form as you do and at about the five minute mark your mixture should turn into one big gooey mass of cheese. Cook for an additional 30 seconds to one minute to ensure everything is firmed up.
3. Store in a glass container and allow to cool in the fridge for at least 30 mins before handling.
4. To assemble place a samosa pastry sheet vertically on a cutting board or plate and start by adding a light wash of water using a pastry brush - this helps the edges stick together better (depending on how dry/moist your sheets are you may be able to skip this step).
5. Add about 1-2 teaspoons of the cheese mixture to the far right corner, then using the bottom right "point" fold the pastry over the filling in a triangle shape. Then take the top right point of that triangle and fold horizontally, alternating the previous two steps until you have a triangle shaped parcel, sealing down the final flap.
6. Continue until all samosa sheets are used up.

To cook in the oven
1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 C / 400 F
2. Place the samboosas on a lined baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil on each side
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and crisp

To cook in the air-fryer
1. Brush each samboosa lightly with olive oil on each side, then place 4-6 parcels at a time in your air fryer basket and cook on 200 C for 6-10 minutes until slightly browned and crisp

Notes
- If you have a high-speed blender, you can skip boiling the cashews but as a general rule it doesn't hurt
- If you're not using a high-speed blender, you can drain the cheese mixture through a fine sieve or nut milk bag to eliminate unblended cashew pieces and get a smoother texture
- Don't substitute Tapioca with any other thickener as they won't yield the same results
- Be sure to read the ingredients on the samosa pastry sheets, most supermarket brands are naturally vegan
- If you don't want to make all the samboosa at one go, you can freeze them for later use