Samsa

Samsa is a baked pastry filled with spiced minced lamb and onion. It is a Kyrgyz dish that is also made in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, where it is sold as a snack from bakeries, market stalls and street ovens. Each country has its own way with the dough, shape and seasoning, so no single version is the only one.

What it really is

A plain wheat dough is rolled thin and wrapped around a filling of minced lamb, chopped onion, cumin and salt. Cooks shape it into triangles or rounds and bake it until the outside turns golden and the meat is cooked through. The traditional oven is a clay tandoor, which gives the base a crisp finish and the top a blistered colour, though home cooks bake samsa in a standard oven. Lamb is the classic meat, and the filling is seasoned with little more than cumin and salt, so the flavour comes mostly from the meat and onion.

How it's served

• Hot from the oven, while the pastry is still crisp.
• Eaten by hand, as a snack or a starter, often with tea.
• Sold by the piece from bakeries and market stalls.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the meat: minced lamb. If the kitchen uses beef or mutton, say so.
• Flag the wheat in the dough, which is the main allergen in the classic recipe.
• Ask the kitchen whether the dough is brushed with egg before baking, and flag eggs if it is.
• State the standard filling: lamb, onion, cumin and salt.
• Say that it is served hot from the oven, since it loses its crispness as it cools.