Vegan Cheese Samboosa

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

1/2 cup of raw cashews (pre-boiled for 10 mins)
3 tbsp of nutritional yeast
3 tbsp + 2 tsp of Tapioca starch
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cup of water

For the samboosa

1 package of samosa pastry sheets
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup water

Instructions

Add all the cheese ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth.

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.

Store in a glass container and allow to cool in the fridge for at least 30
mins before handling.

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).

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.

Continue until all samosa sheets are used up.

To cook in the oven

Pre-heat your oven to 200 C / 400 F

Place the samboosas on a lined baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil
on each side

Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and crisp

To cook in the air-fryer

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