Samosas are one of the most popular Indian snack foods. They are triangular shaped fried pastries filled with various savory fillings such as spiced potatoes, lentils, onions or paneer.
My version is based on the homemade samosas my mother made. My mom’s weren’t your typical restaurant samosa. Although tasty, those samosas are usually much larger and have a thicker pastry on the outside than the ones my mom made at home. She always made these mini samosas for parties and dinner gatherings.
Served hot out of the fryer, they would be finished before the second batch even made it to the table. They have the crispiest outside and best potato vegetable filling you could imagine.
This recipe is time consuming, but not as much as most because you don’t need to make and roll dough. It uses pre-made spring roll wrappers, which is what makes it so crispy on the outside.
The folding takes some time, but if you can recruit a friend to help, it goes by fast. (Just promise them a portion of the samosas!) It makes about 100 samosas, but they freeze well pre-fried. I like to have them on hand for last minute guests.
It’s easy to take out just a few from the freezer and fry them for a snack. If you want a healthier option, you can bake them. I’ll be honest, though, there’s no doubt that the fried ones are better!
So go ahead, give it a try! Serve them hot with ketchup, tamarind-date chutney, or try this cilantro chutney.
Vegetable Samosa Recipe
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Ingredients
25 spring roll shells, super thin, thawed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cinnamon stick
tablespoon ginger
1 chili pepper, minced
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
2 red potatoes, diced
1 cup carrots
1 cup green peas
1 cup corn kernels
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
vegetable oil, to deep fry
Directions
Place the potatoes in a large bowl, sprinkle with two tablespoons of water, cover, and microwave cook for 4 minutes.
Combine the carrots, peas, and corn in a bowl, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of water, cover and microwave cook for 3 minutes
In a large pot, heat the oil on medium heat and add the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick.
When the cumin is slightly brown and fragrant, turn the heat to low and add the ginger, chili pepper, turmeric and garam masala. Stir for one minute.
Add the potatoes and return to medium heat. Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the rest of the vegetables and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice, salt and sugar.
Add the chopped cilantro, let the mixture cool and remove the cinnamon stick.
In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup water with the flour and set aside.
Cut the spring roll sheets into quarters so that you have four long pieces.
Taking the corner of one strip fold it to make a cone shaped pocket and fill the pocket with about a teaspoon of the filling.
Continue to fold the strip over to create a triangle shape and seal the remaining edge with a dab of flour water mixture.
In a large deep fryer, heat about 1 to 1 ½ inch of vegetable oil to medium heat. To test the temperature, place a small piece of the dough in the oil. If it is ready, it will sizzle and rise to the top.
Place the samosas in the pan a few at a time, turn slowly and fry until golden brown.
Notes
Garam masala is a spice mixture that can be found in Indian grocery stores.
The spring roll sheets can be found in the frozen section at Asian markets. They come in different versions so look for the thinnest.
To bake instead of fry, brush each samosa with oil, lay them flat on baking sheet, and bake at 400°F for about 8 minutes, turning them over after 4 minutes.