Samsa

Samsa is a savory pastry of Central Asian cuisines, a bun stuffed with meat and sometimes vegetables, almost always baked, often in a clay tandoor oven, in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Iran and Xinjiang in China, unlike the related South Asian samosa, which is usually fried. The dough can be a simple bread dough or a layered pastry dough, and the most common filling is minced lamb and onions, though chicken, minced beef and cheese versions are also common from street vendors alongside fillings such as potato or pumpkin. In Central Asia samsas are commonly sold hot on the street from dedicated kiosks or alongside other fast food, and in Tajik cuisine a triangular version called sambusa-i varaki is filled with ground beef or mutton mixed with tail fat, onions, spices and cumin seeds before baking in a tandyr.