Samsa (Uzbek variant of samosa) are the country's most popular baked snack — sold from tandoor bakeries, bazaar stalls, and restaurant menus everywhere.
Fillings: - Go'shtli samsa — lamb mince + onion + cumin. The default. - Piyozli samsa — mostly onion with a little meat. Sweeter, cheaper. - Kartoshkali samsa — potato filling. The main vegetarian option. - Qovoqli samsa — pumpkin filling (seasonal, autumn). Sweet and savory. - Tandir samsa — baked pressed against the tandoor wall, like non. The outer crust chars slightly and picks up a smoky flavour. Triangle-shaped. - Puff samsa — made with layered pastry dough (like croissant technique). Round, flakier, less common.
Prices: 5,000–15,000 UZS ($0.40–1.20) per piece depending on size and meat content.
Best samsa: - Fresh from the tandoor at 8–10 AM or 13:00 (second baking run). - Eat within 15 min of leaving the oven; they go leathery when cold. - Any neighbourhood tandoor bakery will have them. Bazaar stalls are reliable.
Pronounciation: SAHM-sah (stress on first syllable).
Uzbekistan in photos
A short visual companion to this entry — photographs from our Uzbekistan travel archive.
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