Samosa

For a flavor blast, they are eaten, dipped into the Mint chutney or Cilantro chutney and Tamarind chutney. A lot of times these are also assembled to a meal known as Samosa Chaat, in which they are topped with a chickpea curry (Chole), chutneys and crispy sev. It is finished off with a sprinkle of chaat masala, coriander leaves and pomegranate arils.

In this post I also share 2 instant recipes to make a small batch of the chutneys. You may find them after the photo instructions. Whether you are hosting an Indian themed dinner or a tea party, these will be the show stopper! Give these a try for your next occasion.

About Samosa

Samosa is a fried pastry snack, usually with a filling of spiced potatoes. They are very popular in India, Middle East & Asian countries. They originated from the Middle East and were brought to India by the Merchants. Today Samosa is one of the most eaten snack in the South Asian Countries.

You will find variations with mixed vegetables, keema, only onions and cheese/paneer. But nothing beats the Classic potato version and after Pakora, these are the most popular street snack in India.

You will find samosas everywhere, as a street food, party snack, restaurants and even in cafes. They are very special during Holi, the Indian festival of colors & also during the month of Ramadan and are eaten as an Iftar snack.

We usually avoid eating fried snacks in cafes and restaurants for health reasons (oil being heated too long). Years ago I learnt making samosas because my kids’ love them. Making them at home is super easy if you learn the steps correctly especially making the crust.

This recipe is from the Punjabi Chef Harpal Singh and anyone who has eaten these have said they are the BEST! If you want to make them with meat, use this Keema recipe to make the filling.

Expert Tips

A perfect samosa should be crispy & flaky with almost no bubbles or blisters on them.

• Flour to oil/ghee ratio is very important to make a flaky samosa crust. Too little oil may lead to hard crust and too much oil can break it. So use the right amount.
• It is essential to incorporate oil into the flour well, until it resembles breadcrumbs. This makes for the flakiest samosa crust.
• The texture of samosa dough has to be slightly stiff yet pliable & not too soft like roti/naan dough. So use water only as needed. Too much moisture in the dough will make lots of tiny air pockets in the crust and will prevent the samosas from turning crispy.
• Rest & knead the dough – This dough does not require kneading when it is made. But it needs resting. After the resting, knead it well for 3 to 4 mins. It should not turn smooth but has to be tight and stiff. So do not overwork here.
• Roll the dough to a disc of medium thickness. It should not be too thick or too thin. Check the video for the thickness. Thin layers will tear the samosas while frying. Too thick will not cook the crust well.
• Most important Tip – Frying: The key to the best flaky samosa is to fry them in moderately hot oil, on a low flame & for longer time (very important). Later you increase the heat and fry them on a medium heat until crisp. Since the pastry has enough fats, it won’t soak up oil with this method. This is the secret behind authentic Indian samosa that you get in the best samosa eateries.
• They should not be cooked in very hot oil or on high heat. Very hot oil will cause bubbles on the crust and frying at high temperature won’t cook the samosa dough from inside. You want to cook them on a low flame until the dough is well cooked from inside.

How to make Samosa

1. Peel, halve and boil 500 grams (3 to 4 medium) potatoes in a pot of water, until fork tender (not mushy). Or pressure cook unpeeled and halved potatoes for 2 to 3 whistles on a medium flame or in the instant pot for 5 mins, placed over a trivet with 1 cup water. Peel them after cooling.

2. Cool the potatoes and crumble them. Set aside.

Make Dough

3. To a mixing bowl add
2 cups all-purpose flour (organic maida)
¾ teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup oil or ghee (4 tablespoons)

4. Mix everything very well. Rub the flour in between your palms to incorporate the oil well for 3 to 4 minutes. After this step the flour should resemble breadcrumbs. Press down a handful of this flour in your palm, it should form or hold the shape. It should not crumble meaning oil is well incorporated. 

5. Add 4 tablespoons water and begin to form a dough ball adding more water as needed. I added about 4+ 2 tablespoons water in total.

6. Dough has to be firm, stiff and not sticky. Cover and rest for 25 to 30 mins.

Make Potato Stuffing

7. Heat 1 tablespoon oil or ghee in a pan. Next add ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds.

8. When the seeds begin to splutter, add 1 tablespoon minced ginger and 1 to 2 chopped green chilies. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds. Then add a pinch of hing. Optional – You can also add some chopped cashews and roast until golden.

9. Add the spice powders –

• ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to taste)
• ½ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon amchur powder (dried mango powder) or chaat masala (adjust to taste)
• ½ teaspoon fennel powder (optional, saunf powder)

Saute for 30 seconds and then add green peas. Saute for 1 to 2 mins. Then add potatoes.

10. Saute the entire potato masala for 2 to 3 mins until potatoes blend well with spice powders. Add ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves. Taste test this and adjust salt if needed.

Make Samosa

11. After 25 to 30 mins, knead the dough for another 3 to 4 mins. The dough has to be stiff yet and not soft. Divide the dough to 5 equal parts.

12. Oil the counter or the rolling board. Place the ball.

13. Roll it to a oval shaped even layer. Mine was 8.5 inches long and 6.5 inches wide. It has to be slightly thick and not too thin.

14. Cut it in the center to make 2 parts.

15. The roti shrinks back little due to the nature of all-purpose flour so I prefer to roll it gently again. If you feel the edges are too thick then roll a bit.

16. Apply water with your finger over the straight edge.

17. Join the edges to make a cone shape like you see in the picture. Stick the edges well. Stick the edge from inside the cone as well to secure. If you have a trouble sticking, make a paste of 2 tbsps flour and little water. Smear little paste to stick the edges.

18. Fill the cone with potato masala. Press down a bit with a tiny spoon.

19. Apply water on the edge.

20. Stick the edges to seal well. On one of the sides, make a pleat as shown in the image. I have shown an alternate but similar method in the video do take a look at it.

21. Bring the pleat to a side and stick it up. Make sure your samosa is sealed well. Pinch and Press down on the edges very well to seal them.

22. This will give you a perfectly standing samosa. Place them on a tray and cover to prevent drying. Just make 5 to 6 samosas first and then fry them. Make the rest of the samosas while you fry the first batch. This way the samosas will not dry up.

Fry Samosa

23. Heat a pan with oil for deep frying. The oil should be moderately hot and not very hot. When it is just getting hot, add a small portion of dough to the oil. It has to rise slowly & the oil must not be bubbling or sizzling a lot. You should see only tiny bubbles. This is the right temperature. (The dough should not come up immediately and turn golden.)

24. Gently slide as many samosas as you can to the oil (I fry 5 at one time). Fry them on a low flame, undisturbed for about 10 to 12 mins. When the crust becomes firm, increase the flame to medium. Turn them to the other side and fry until crispy and golden.

25. Don’t rush. They will take a lot of time to fry golden. Be patient and fry until golden & crisp.  When the samosas turn golden, remove them to a steel colander or wire rack. For the next batch, reduce the heat completely to bring down the temperature and add them.