Samosa Recipe – How To Make The Perfect Samosa

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Triangular, crispy, deep-fried samosas are the most popular savory snacks in India.  Today we will learn how to make the perfect samosa at home with this samosa recipe.

Crispy and flaky on the outside with a spicy vegetarian filling on the inside.  

Traditionally the filling is made from potatoes and peas however ground meat can also be used, such as chicken and lamb.

Samosas are usually served with a chutney such as green chutney, but they also taste amazing with some ketchup. 

Once you mastered how to make the pastry for the samosa why not experiment with your own fillings.

Making your own samosa at home might be time-consuming but the mouthwatering flavors make them worth it.  The more you make them the quicker you will get.   

Crispy Flaky Homemade Samosa

Why You Should Try This Recipe?

Because it tastes amazing!

  • It’s easy and simple to follow.
  • Makes crispy & tasty samosas every time.
  • Vegetarian & meat filling can be used.
  • Can easily be frozen.
  • Be the center of your dinner party!
  • Great way to use up any leftover food as a filling such as aloo gobi (potato & cauliflower curry), keema matar (ground meat and pea curry).

You can use a variety of fillings for your samosa, the most popular filling is the spicy potatoes with peas. 

I don’t usually add peas to the potato filling but if I was making the filling using ground lamb then I would add peas.  It all depends on you and your taste buds.

Samosas are traditionally made during special occasions such as weddings and family gatherings. 

This favorite finger food brings the whole party together.  For this reason alone, you should give this samosa recipe a try.

Once you made your own samosas for the first time you will keep making them for every occasion.

The first time you make your own samosa it might be a little overwhelming with the number of steps involved, but not to worry, I have you covered.

I have broken everything down into smaller steps that makes it easier to fellow.

Better still you can watch the recipe video here.  Samosa recipe video!

I remember the first time I made samosas.  Let’s just say they were far from perfect but hey we all got to start somewhere.  Over time with practice and patience I have become better, if I can do it so can you.

Can You Freeze Samosa?

Yes, you can!  But only uncooked samosa.

The great thing about making your own samosa at home is that they can easily be frozen. 

I usually have about 10-20 samosas in my freezer at any given time.  This is perfect for any unexpected guests or when you just feel like having a quick snack here and there.

How To Freeze Samosa?

Never freeze samosa after they have been fried.  They will lose their texture and taste after being thawed.

Here are the steps to take when freezing your samosa.

  • Fill your samosa with the filling and seal them properly.
  • Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place your samosas on it.
  • Then put the baking tray into the freezer for a couple of hours until the samosas are completely frozen.
  • Transfer them into a zip bag or an airtight food container.

I prefer to use an airtight food container, this prevents the samosas getting damaged.

This is what I love about Indian food.  Most Indian food can be easily frozen.

3 samosas on a plate

Tips For Making The Perfect Samosa At Home

Making the perfect samosa isn’t difficult once you know the right techniques needed to make the perfect dough and filling.

This said it took me many years of trial and error to make the perfect samosa.  I will share with you what I’ve learned over the years, so you don’t repeat my mistakes.

Tips For Making The Perfect Dough For Your Samosa

  • Use ghee instead of oil, If possible.  Ghee is clarified Indian butter that is used in many traditional Indian recipes.  It makes the samosa extra crispy and buttery.
  • Mix oil into the flour well.  Using your fingers rub the oil into the flour.
  • The dough needs to be stiff. If you find your samosa are not crispy it’s probably because your dough was too soft.  For the perfect crispy pastry, the dough needs to be stiff.
  • Don’t over mix the dough.  You just want the dough to come together and that’s it. The more time you spend mixing the dough, the harder the pastry will become.  Samosas have a flaky crispy pastry, not hard pastry that breaks easily.
  • Let the dough rest.  Before you start making the pockets for your samosa filling, let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes.  I usually let it rest on the kitchen countertop with a damp cloth covering the bowl.  Be careful not to leave it for too long or you risk your dough becoming too dry which means it will be harder to work with.
  • Use cold hands.  Rinse your hands with cold water before filling your samosa with the filling.  Warm hands make the rolled-out dough flimsy to work with especially when you are trying to fill it with the filling.
  • Don’t use too much flour to dust.  When rolling out the dough avoid using too much flour as this can affect the crispiness of your samosa.  Instead, apply a little oil to your rolling pin.  I personally use flour, but the choice is yours.
  • Add a little water at a time.  Slowly add water to the flour. Remember we want the dough to be stiff, not soft.

Tips For Making The Perfect Filling For Your Samosa

  • Don’t over mash the potatoes.  The potatoes need to be lumpy.  This gives the samosa more texture.
  • Don’t add too much water.  The samosa filling needs to be moist, not runny.  If the filling is too runny then you risk the samosa becoming doughy inside after being fried.
  • Don’t add too much salt.  There is salt in the dough so you don’t need to add too much salt to the filling, just enough for taste.
Crispy Flaky Homemade Samosa

Why is My Samosa Not Crispy?

This was something that I struggled with in the beginning.  The best thing about eating a samosa is biting through the crispy shell.  

If your samosa isn’t crispy not to worry, there are a few common reasons why this could be.

  • The dough is too soft.  The dough needs to be stiff.  The softer the dough the less crispy your samosa will be.
  • Oil not incorporated with the flour.  Oil is vital when it comes to the crispiness of your samosa.  Make sure that the oil is massaged into the flour completely before adding the water.
  • The dough hasn’t rested long enough.  The dough needs to rest for at least 30 minutes.  This makes the dough easier to work with plus makes your samosa more crispy.
  • The oil for frying is at the wrong temperature.  For the best crispy samosas fry them on low to medium heat.  If the oil is too hot then you will get crispy samosa but they will be cold on the inside.  If the oil is not hot enough your samosa will become soggy and not crispy.

How to Store Cooked Samosa

If you have any left! then you can either place them into a zip bag or an airtight storage container and refrigerate.

The samosas should be fine to refrigerate for 2 days.

Best thing to do is, only fry what you plan to eat and freeze the rest.  This way they can last a lot longer.

How to Re-heat Leftover Samosa

You can eat samosa cold, they taste just as good but if you want to reheat them you have a few options.

  • To reheat your samosas, you can simply use the microwave, however, using the microwave will cause your samosas to lose their crispiness.
  • You can reheat leftover samosas in the oven.  This method retains the crispiness of the samosa. I have found placing them in the oven at 350°F (176°C) for about 5-8 minutes is enough time to heat them up, but keep in mind every oven is different, so the time could vary depending on your oven.

Other Ways To Cook Samosa

Even though traditionally samosas are deep fried, there are a few other ways you can cook them. 

  • Bake: Preheat the oven for 5 minutes and place the samosas on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.  Cook for 30 minutes at 350°F (176°C) on the middle shelf of the oven.
  • Shallow fry: On a low to medium heat cook the samosas on each side until golden brown. 
  • Air fryer: Pre-heat the air fryer for 5 minutes.  Cook the samosas in the air fryer basket for 5 minutes on each side.

Is Samosa Healthy?

According to Fitbit each deep-fried samosa contains 156 calories. The key ingredients for this samosa recipe are flour and potatoes and both contain carbohydrates.

Why is Samosa Triangle?

The word samosa comes from the Persian word ‘sambusa’ which means triangle.  So it is the perfect descriptive word to describe this amazing little snack. 

Ingredients

(This samosa recipe makes 12 Samosas.)

  • Ingredients for the dough:
    • 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1/4 cup (60ml) oil or melted ghee
    • 1/3 cup (80ml) water
  • Ingredients for the filling:
    • 3 Potatoes, boiled (500g)
    • 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or sunflower)
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 1 teaspoon cilantro seeds, crushed
    • 1 teaspoon turmeric
    • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon Garam masala
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
    • 1 teaspoon ginger & paste paste
    • 2 green chili finely chopped
    • 1 medium onion finely chopped
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 10 cashews, crushed (optional)
    • 1/4 cup (60ml) water
    • 1 cup (150g) Green peas, fresh or frozen (optional)

Method

  • Making the samosa dough.
    1. Before you start, boil the potatoes and mash them lightly and keep them aside for the filling part.
    2. In a large bowl add all-purpose flour, salt and mix.  Add ajwain (optional).
    3. Add oil or ghee, using your fingers massage everything together until it looks like breadcrumbs.
    4. Now add in the water (little at a time ) and knead until you get a stiff dough. Don’t overwork the dough or your pastry will become hard.
    5. Let your dough rest for 30 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth.
  • Making the samosa filling.
    1. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat.
    2. Once the oil is hot add cumin seed and crushed cilantro seeds (fry for 30 seconds).
    3. Add the spices (turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala and salt. Stir the spices well and cook them for 2 minutes.
    4. Add ginger & garlic paste and green chilies and cook for 1 minute.
    5. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
    6. Now add the boiled potatoes from earlier and mix well. If you want to add peas to your filling you can put them in at this stage. Cook for 3 minutes.
    7. Add lemon juice, cashews nuts, water and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.
    8. That’s the filling made, put it aside and let it cool down completely before putting together your samosas.
  • Putting together your samosa (see diagram below).
    1. Divide the dough into 6 even dough balls. To prevent the dough from drying out keep it covered with a damp cloth.
    2. Roll out the dough balls one by one into a flat round shape.
    3. Cut in half.
    4. Take one half and fold in the edges to form a cone.
    5. Use water to seal the edges together.
    6. Hold open the cone and fill it with the filling.
    7. Seal the opening with water and press down with a fork.
3 Samosa being served with tomato ketchup

Samosa Recipe

Delicious homemade samosa with a spicy potato filling, perfect for any occasion. 
These triangular crispyIndian snacks are the most popular savory snacks in India and now you can makethem at home with this easy-to-follow recipe.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Resting Time 30 mins
Course Main Course, Snack
Cuisine Indian
Servings 12 samosa
Calories 156 kcal

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for the dough

  • 2 cups All-purpose flour (250g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/4 cup Oil or melted ghee (60ml)
  • 1/3 cup Water (80ml)

Ingredients for the filling

  • 3 medium potatoes (500g) boiled
  • 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable or sunflower)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cilantro seeds crushed
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger & paste paste
  • 2 green chili finely chopped
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 10 cashews, crushed (optional)
  • 1/4 cup water (60ml)
  • 1 cup green peas 150g (optional)

Instructions
 

Making the samosa dough.

  • Before you start, boil the potatoes and mash them lightly and keep them aside for the filling part.
  • In a large bowl add all-purpose flour, salt and mix.  Add ajwain (optional).
  • Add oil or ghee, using your fingers massage everything together until it looks like breadcrumbs.
  • Now add in the water (little at a time ) and knead until you get a stiff dough. Don’t overwork the dough or your pastry will become hard.
  • Let your dough rest for 30 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth.

Making the samosa filling.

  • Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat.
  • Once the oil is hot add cumin seed and crushed cilantro seeds (fry for 30 seconds).
  • Add the spices (turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala and salt. Stir the spices well and cook them for 2 minutes.
  • Add ginger & garlic paste and green chilies and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  • Now add the boiled potatoes from earlier and mix well. If you want to add peas to your filling you can put them in at this stage. Cook for 3 minutes.
  • Add lemon juice, cashews nuts, water and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.
  • That’s the filling made, put it aside and let it cool down completely before putting together your samosas.

Putting together your samosa (see diagram above recipe card).

  • Divide the dough into 6 even dough balls. To prevent the dough from drying out keep it covered with a damp cloth.
  • Roll out the dough balls one by one into a flat round shape.
  • Cut in half.
  • Take one half and fold in the edges to form a cone. Use water to seal the edges together.
  • Hold open the cone and fill it with the filling.
  • Seal the opening with water and press down with a fork.
    How to fill and seal a samosa

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal
Keyword Indian Snack, Samosa, Samosas
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made these the other day they were great. Made a mistake of not cutting the veg small enough but still tasty. Will chop finer next time.

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