The South Asian samosa — spiced potato and peas in a thick triangular pastry — travelled to the Gulf and became the samboosa: thinner pastry, filled with minced lamb, pine nuts, onion, and warm spice. Both versions exist in Dubai, often side by side at the same counter.

The Ramadan samboosa is its own category: filled with dates, nuts, and occasionally cheese, fried until the pastry shatters. Sold outside mosques after iftar. AED 1–2 each. Eat them warm.