Samosa Week: You Say Samosa. I Say Sambusa Because I'm Eating Ethiopian At Soretti's

The last stop on Samosa Week takes us the farthest away -- Burtonsville and Soretti Ethiopian Cuisine.

The Ethiopian samosa is a sambusa.  It's the classic fried savory pastry with dough wrapped around a filling.  Soretti does three versions: beef, chicken and lentil.  They're the ideal fried item, so not-greasy that I thought it might have been pan-fried until I realized it was browned all over.

The sambusas are triangles.  Thinner than the Indian samosa.  The dough is thinner too, but still chewy.  It's somewhere between the thicker Indian and the crisp Afghan version.  The chicken version has minced meat with a little corn and other vegetables.  The lentils are tender and firm.

Like the Indian samosa, Soretti's sambusa itself doesn't have much spice to it.  It's great for the crunch, but the flavor comes from the accompanying sauce.  It's brown and slightly sour.  I was thinking tamarind again, maybe even lemon.  But that couldn't have been more wrong.

The sauce is based on balsamic vinegar with basil, olive oil, honey and black pepper.  Vinegar, oil and basil?  Can anyone say Italy?  Of course, that's the history of Ethiopian, and it just shows that fried pastries can rule the world.

If you give sambusas a try, they're a fine appetizer before Ethiopian stews that soak into the injera.  Consider the vegetarian and meat samplers as I wrote in a prior post.

This is part of Samosa Week -- a celebration of savory pastries from India and beyond.  We're highlighting the best of Howard County's fried appetizers in all kinds of flavors.

Samosa Week: To Fry Or Not To Fry, That Is The Empanada From El Patio Market In Jessup

Cheese gives everyone an unfair advantage, and El Patio's empanadas stand out in Samosa Week because you can get several varieties stuffed with creamy goodness.

The empanadas from El Patio Market in Jessup need cheese in this week's contest because they're competing without the benefit of oil.  The empanadas are baked and sold from a case at the checkout.  You can have them heated there or bring them home for a quick 400-degree touchup in your oven.

Until samosas, the empanadas come with enormous variation.  Depending on the day, you can get cheese and onion, ham and cheese, spinach, chicken, and more.  The flavor is in the fillings -- that melted cheese or shredded chicken mixed with spices and vegetables.  The shells are a shiny pastry that crackles after it has been reheated.

These could be a hot lunch if you were running errands, or they can be a super-easy dinner if you wanted to carry something home.  Each variety is folded slightly different -- one folder corner, two corners, a letter pressed into the dough -- so you can recognize the filing even without cutting them open.  Because they're baked, you can leave them in the fridge and re-heat them when you want.

If you go to El Patio, check out the savory pies in the counter as well.  We tried one with a shredded chicken filling, and it reheated deliciously.  Same crisp crust on the top and flavorful filling.

This is part of the Samosa Week -- a celebration of savory pastries from India and beyond.  We're highlighting the best of Howard County's fried appetizers in all kinds of flavors.

El Patio Market 
7968 Washington Boulevard (U.S. 1) 
Jessup, MD 20794 
443-755-0385

NEAR: Just south of Rte 175 on U.S. 1. It's on the west side about a block south of the intersection. Very convenient from I-95.

Samosa Week Goes To Thailand: Chicken Curry Puffs With Cucumber Sauce At Bangkok Garden

When all the contestants are fried, the dipping sauce can carry the day.

Samosa Week went to Thailand for Bangkok Garden's curry puff appetizer, and the first note was the sweet, cucumber-flavored sauce.  The sauce, which comes with chopped onion and sliced jalepeno, certainly distinguishes the Columbia restaurant from Indian joints.

But the curry puff actually makes the "best samosa" list on its own.  The filing was a puree of chicken, potato and herbs.  That's as much flavor as an Indian samosa with the same profile of spiced, but not spicy.  Even more impressive, the pastry was perfect.  Crunchy and thick like an Indian samosa, but dry to the touch.  There is so little grease that it almost looks baked.

The Thai samosa is not a crazy pick.  I was surprised when I first read about curry puffs on Good for the Palate, but Bangkok Garden delivers on all three dimensions -- filing, pastry and sauce -- and contrasts the fried puffs nicely with fresh, lighter stirfries.  It's a new kitchen since the place was sold earlier this year, and definitely one worth visiting.

This is part of the Samosa Week -- a celebration of savory pastries from India and beyond.  We're highlighting the best of Howard County's fried appetizers in all kinds of flavors.

Samosa Week Crosses The Border: Thin Pastry Afghan Style At Maiwand Kabob

The first thing you'll notice about the Maiwand Kabob samosas is that you get a plate of them.

Afghan samosas -- as served by Columbia's premier Afghan restaurant -- are smaller than Indian samosas.  They're cousins, not twins, and Maiwand's appetizers come wrapped in a thin pastry, more like filo dough than the bumpy, thick skin of the samosas at places like House of India.

The filing is mashed potato.  It's not hot, but it is spiced to a zesty flavor with maybe tumeric, pepper, cumin . . .   I recognize the peas, but I can't win that Top Chef contest where they identify ingredients in a mystery sauce.  I do recognize the cilantro sauce, which seems similar to many Indian restaurants.  The yogurt sauce is unique.

Like many of the Samosa Week winners, the Maiwand Kabob samosas make the list because they're not greasy.  They come out hot and crispy.  The sauces contrast beautifully with bright and fresh flavors.  Frankly, they make a meal for two if you order samosas and maybe the mantwo or a plate of kabobs and rice.


This is part of Samosa Week -- a celebration of savory pastries from India and beyond.  We're highlighting the best of Howard County's fried appetizers in all kinds of flavors.

Samosa Week: India And Pak Make A Great Fried Pastry, But Can They Out-Appetize The World?

I don't think that samosas were my first Indian food, but they have certainly become a gateway drug for many people who explore the cuisines of the subcontinent.

And why not?  The appeal is international -- grab a handful of filling, wrap it in dough, drop it in hot oil to fry to a crisp.  Variations run from empanadas to sambusas to the knish.

But I think it's fair to start with the samosa.  You'd do fine at any of the Howard County Indian restaurants or even at the cashier at Food Cravings, but I'll start today with the vegetarian ones at Mango Grove / Mirchi Wok, the paired restaurants in Columbia off Dobbin Road.  (The Howard County planning board approved plans to knock down the building.  Anyone know what is happening to them?)

Two in a $5 order, they come out hot from the oil.  That's a key.  Samosas have a thick pastry shell that often bubbles and browns.  It's thicker than an egg roll, thinner than a calzone.  The best ones are fried and served fresh so that they don't soak in the grease and congeal.