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    Home » Recipes » Indian

    Punjabi Samosa Recipe

    Published: Jun 2, 2022

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    This homemade samosa recipe makes delicious deep fried samosas... but also works fantastically in the air fryer! I'll show you both ways to cook them!

    A plate of homemade samosas, with a small bowl of cilantro mint chutney.

    I recently updated my Gluten-Free Samosa Recipe on Beyond Flour, and have been thinking of samosas ever since.

    Because I’m low carbbing at the moment, it’s going to be a while before I have one, LOL.

    Anyway, I decided to live vicariously through my husband, and make a batch of traditional samosa for him. It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve made non-GF samosas - probably more than 10 years at this point - but they’re not hard to make.

    I first learned how to make Indian samosa when I was in Junior High home Ec class.

    Growing up in Winnipeg - home of Folklorama! - it wasn’t my first exposure to Punjabi samosa ... but it was definitely cool to learn how to make them.

    This is an Aloo samosa recipe - a spiced potato filling (Aloo = potatoes). These delicious samosas have a comforting filling, a flaky crust, and are actually vegan samosas, at that!

    This is an easy samosa recipe, in the sense that it’s all fairly basic technique. Even a Jr High student can make these, after all!

    That said, “easy recipes” don’t necessarily mean “low effort” - these do take a bit of work to make. It’s a great recipe for a cosy rainy day at home, or to whip out for special occasions, though!

    A 2 part image showing dough next to a folded samosa, and all 16 finished pastries on a work surface.

    Air Fryer Samosas

    This time around, we decided to air fry some of them. We love our air fryer, after all ... and I HATE deep frying things.

    Yes, I know that's the traditional way to make these, so I deep fried also - grudgingly, LOL. I don't like babysitting oil, or the cleanup, etc. I like the crispiness, but in general? Not a fan of deep fried foods.

    My husband is the same way, AND he's the one doing dishes, AND he's on a health kick... so he was 100% seeing how air frying would work.

    They turned out beautifully! Crisped up nicely, had a great texture - he didn't miss the oil at all.

    I made the air fried batch first, and he thought they were perfect, and exactly as they should be.

    When he tried the deep fried version, he said that there was a difference - the deep fried ones puffed up a bit more.

    That said, he actually ended up preferring the air fried ones! I wanted to make sure that was a legit statement, but he said even if healthiness and cleanup weren't issues, he'd prefer the air fried.

    Your mileage may vary, of course ... but these were definitely very convincing. I've used both photos of deep and air fried versions throughout thist post, labelled with the cooking method.


    A plate of air fried samosas, with bowls of tamarind and mint chutneys beside them.

    (Air fried!)

    Ingredients

    The ingredients for this recipe are relatively simple, and can be looked at in 3 groups: The samosa filling recipe, the samosa dough recipe, and the oil for frying.

    Samosa Filling

    This filling started out as the one I created for my Gluten-Free Samosa Recipe.

    It does make slightly too much filling for the dough recipe in this case, but I like the proportions of everything, so we just dealt with the leftovers.

    Then, once it was all done, we decided to add a bit more kick to the flavour. The original was pleasant, but I think might have been influenced by our environment - I was living in MN at the time!

    So, this time around, I added cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and some crushed chilies. SO GOOD!

    A bowrl of brightly coloured Indian spices.

    Anyway, for the filling you’ll need the following ingredients:

    Russet potatoes
    Onion
    Carrot
    Green Peas
    Cilantro
    Garlic
    Ginger paste
    Olive oil
    Lemon juice
    Cayenne Pepper
    Coriander Powder
    Crushed Chilies
    Cumin Seeds
    Curry Powder
    Fennel Seeds
    Garam Masala
    Garlic Flakes
    Salt & Ground Black Pepper

    ... yes, it’s a bit of a laundry list... but samosas need FLAVOUR!

    A bowl of peas and chopped cilantro.

    Crispy Samosa Dough

    Compared to the filling, the dough looks pretty sparse for ingredients, LOL. You will need:

    All purpose flour
    Carom seeds (Ajwain seeds)
    Vegetable oil
    Salt

    Oil for Frying

    You’ll want to use one of the vegetable oil options - like canola oil, corn oil, or sunflower oil - for deep frying. Peanut oil is another great option.

    These are all great oils for frying - neutral flavours, high smoke point, low cost.

    Olive oil is NOT appropriate for deep frying, but can be used as a spray if you’re baking or air frying these (more on that in a bit).

    Coconut oil and avocado oil also aren’t great for deep frying, but work well as sprays for baking and use in the air fryer.

    A plate of homemade vegetarian samosas, with a small bowl of cilantro mint chutney.

    How to Make Samosas

    The full recipe is at the end of this post, in the recipe card. This is a pictorial walk through, as I find that step by step photos definitely help when folding samosas!

    Make the Samosa Dough Recipe

    Measure flour, carom seeds, and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine.

    Add oil to the bowl of flour mixture. Using clean or gloved hands, mix by hand - rubbing the oil into the flour - until it’s well incorporated, evenly distributed through the flour, and looks like relatively uniform crumbs.

    A 6 part image showing the dry ingredients being mixed, and the oil being worked into the flour mixture.

    Add about half of the water, and gently work it into the dough.

    Add a little water at a time, until a firm dough comes together. You may need slightly more or less water than called for - use just enough water to make it workable.

    A 4 piece image showing the water being added to the oiled flour and brought together into a dough.

    Note: for best results use COLD water. Ice water is best.

    Do NOT overwork the dough - you don’t want to develop the gluten, you want a flaky pastry dough!

    Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for an hour. As the dough is resting, make your potato filling:

    Make the Samosa Filling Recipe

    Peel potatoes, cut into large chunks. Boil potatoes until just tender, about 15 minutes.

    Chopped potatoes on a cutting board and in a pot of water.

    While potatoes are boiling, sauté onion, carrot, and olive oil in a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and ginger, cook for another minute or so.

    A 4 part image showing the carrots, onion, ginger, and garlic cooking in a pan.

    Add potatoes, spices, lemon juice, and water; mash lightly, stir to combine everything.

    Add peas and cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

    A 5 part image showing potatoes, spices, and peas being added to the filling and mixed together.

    How to Fold Samosa

    Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.

    A 2 part image showing the dough divided into 4 pieces, then 8 pieces.

    Scatter some flour over your - clean! - work surface.

    Using a rolling pin, roll one piece of dough out to a 6-7" square-ish piece. Cut in half, diagonally, forming 2 half-moon shapes.

    Working with one of the two cut pieces, lightly wet the straight edge you just cut.

    Fold the dough in half along that straight edge, so the wet edge meets up with itself. Press and crimp to seal.

    A 5 part image showing a piece of dough being rolled, cut, and folded in half.

    Pick up the piece of dough, gently separating formed "pocket" into a cone shape.

    Stuff with filling, then flip the uncut corner edge over to meet the cut edges.

    Pinch the edges of the stuffed triangle to seal.

    A 5 part image showing the piece of dough being formed into a cone, stuffed with potato filling, and sealed up into a pyramid shaped pastry.

    Repeat with the other cut piece, and remaining dough balls.

    16 assembled samosas on a silicone work surface.

    I like to keep the dough AND the finished samosas covered with a damp cloth, to prevent drying.

    A damp cloth with Canadian imagery draped over the resting dumplings.

    To Deep Fry Samosas

    Start heating your oil to 350 F (180 C) – you’ll want at least 2-3" of oil in your pot or deep fryer.

    Fry a few at a time in the hot oil, flipping them every few minutes - until crispy and golden brown, about 8-10 minutes.

    A 2 part image showing the samosas being deep fried.

    Use a slotted spoon to transfer fried samosas to platter lined with paper towel .

    Allow the oil temperature to come back to 350 F between batches.

    Serve hot, with sweet tamarind chutney and/or green chutney (Like my Cilantro-Mint Chutney Recipe!)

    6 freshly deep fried samosa, draining on paper towel.

    How to Air Fry Samosas

    Deep frying can be a pain, and sometimes I just don’t want to deal with SO much oil.

    I tell you, the air fryer we bought early in 2020 has DEFINITELY been one of the best pandemic purchases that we made!

    With just a little oil, the process of “frying” many things - including these samosas - got so much quicker and easier.

    Once all of the samosas are assembled, preheat your air fryer to 400F.

    Once heated, spray the air fryer basket with a small amount of oil, and arrange samosas in a single layer, leaving a bit of space between each. (You’ll need to do this in batches)

    Air fry for about 8-10 minutes. About halfway through, re-spray the samosas, then use a pair of tongs to flip each piece. Spray the new “top” side, and continue cooking.

    A 2 part image showing homemade samosas cooking in an air fryer.

    To Oven Bake Samosas

    Heat oven to 400 F (200 C)

    Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with pan spray.

    Arrange samosas on the pan, spray with a bit of pan spray.

    Bake for 10 minutes, then flip samosas.

    Spray once again with pan spray, bake for another 5-10 minutes, or golden brown and heated through.

    Leftovers

    Leftover samosas - whichever way they’re cooked - can be cooled to room temperature before being transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to a week.

    Alternatively, cooled samosas can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months.

    An air fryer is the absolute best way to reheat them, regardless of the initial cooking method. We like to microwave them a bit first - to heat them through - then air fry at 400 for a few minutes to crisp them up.

    A plate of air fryer samosas, with bowls of tamarind and mint chutneys beside them.

    (Air fried!)

    More Indian Recipes....

    Love Indian cuisine? Be sure to check out these other fabulous Indian - and Indian inspired - recipes!

    Butter Chicken
    Chicken Shahi Korma Recipe
    Cilantro Chicken Recipe
    Cilantro Mint Chutney Recipe
    Mango Lassi Popsicles Recipe
    Paneer Burgers Recipe
    Tandoori Spiced Chicken Burger with Mango Recipe

    Specialty Diet Versions

    Looking for gluten-free and/or low carb Indian recipes? Here are a few from my other blogs:

    Gluten Free Chicken Pakora
    Gluten-Free Mixed Vegetable Pakoras
    Gluten Free Paneer Pakora
    Gluten-Free Samosas
    Keto Chicken Biryani
    Low Carb Butter Chicken
    Keto Chicken Korma
    Low Carb Shrimp Curry

    A plate of homemade samosas, with a small bowl of cilantro mint chutney.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below!

    A plate of homemade deep fried samosas, with a small bowl of cilantro mint chutney.

    A plate of homemade deep fried samosas, with a small bowl of cilantro mint chutney.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 1 vote

    Traditional Samosa Recipe

    This traditional samosa recipe makes delicious deep fried samosas... but also works fantastically in the air fryer! I'll show you both ways.
    Prep Time45 mins
    Cook Time40 mins
    Resting time1 hr
    Total Time2 hrs 25 mins
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: Indian
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Servings: 16 Samosas
    Calories: 114kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Equipment

    Rolling Pin
    Deep Fryer Optional
    Air Fryer Optional

    Ingredients

    Filling:

    • 3 Russet potatoes washed
    • 1 Onion finely chopped
    • 1 Large carrot
    • 1 tablespoon Olive oil
    • 3 Garlic cloves minced or pressed
    • 1 Tablespoon Ginger paste
    • 1 tablespoon Curry powder
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
    • 1 teaspoon Garam masala
    • ½ teaspoon Ground coriander
    • ½ teaspoon Cayenne
    • 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoon Water
    • 1 cup Frozen peas thawed
    • 2 tablespoon Chopped cilantro
    • Salt and pepper

    Dough:

    • 2 cups All purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon Carom seeds
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • ¼ cup Vegetable oil
    • ⅓ cup Water

    Other

    • Oil for frying See post for options

    Instructions

    Filling:

    • Peel potatoes, cut into large chunks.
    • Boil until just tender, about 15 minutes.
    • While potatoes are boiling, sauté onion and carrot in olive oil until tender. Add garlic and ginger, cook for another minute
    • Add potatoes, spices, lemon juice, and water; mash lightly, stir to combine everything.
    • Add peas and cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

    Dough:

    • Measure flour, carom seeds, and salt into a large bowl, stir to combine.
    • Add oil to the bowl. Using clean or gloved hands, mix by hand - rubbing the oil into the flour - until it’s well incorporated, evenly distributed through the flour, and looks like relatively uniform crumbs.
    • Add about half of the water, and gently work it into the dough. Add more water, a little at a time, until a stiff dough comes together. You may need slightly more or less water than called for.
    • Do NOT overwork the dough - you don’t want to develop the gluten, you want a flaky pastry dough!
    • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for an hour.

    To Assemble:

    • Start heating your oil to 350 F (180 C) – you’ll want at least 2-3" of oil in your pot or deep fryer.
    • Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.
    • Scatter some potato starch over your -clean! - work surface.
    • Roll one piece of dough out to a 6-7" square-ish piece. Cut in half, diagonally.
    • Working with one of the two cut pieces, lightly wet the straight edge you just cut.
    • Fold the dough in half along that straight edge, so the wet edge meets up with itself. Press and crimp to seal.
    • Pick up the piece of dough, gently separating formed "pocket" into a cone shape.
    • Stuff with filling, then flip the uncut corner edge over to meet the cut edges.
    • Pinch edges to seal. Repeat with the other cut piece, and remaining dough balls

    To Cook:

    • Fry a few at a time - turning every few minutes - until crispy and golden, about 8 minutes.
    • Use a slotted spoon to transfer fried samosas to platter lined with paper towels.
    • Serve hot, with cilantro-mint chutney

    Notes

    Nutritional information does not include the oil from either deep frying or air frying.
    See post for air frying instructions.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 152mg | Potassium: 244mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 742IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg
    A plate of air fried samosas, with bowls of tamarind and mint chutneys beside them.

    (Air fried!)

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