Sambusac

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In Spain, Portugal, and everywhere their empires touched, the simbusak is known as an empanada (Portuguese empada). These Iberian fried pastries originate from the Moors who occupied Spain for 800 years, themselves having received this cuisine from tranditional Middle Eastern fare, and North African cuisine. Middle Eastern cuisine to this day has similar foods, like simbusak from Iraq. Simbusak is a fried, filled "empanada." It is often prepared by folding a thin circular-shaped dough over the stuffing into a triangular shape. The resulting pastry is shallow fried on both sides, unlike the empanada which is usually deep fried. Sambussa as it is known throughout much of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Eastern Africa, is stuffed with an assortment of foods. Ranging from fish, to meat(a traditional way of making it being with ground meat, onions and peppers), and there are of course many vegeterian assortment including one with potatos found in the specialty aisles of large grocery stores such as Safeway and Loblaws in North America.