Samboosa, samosa – Potato, potahto. Either way – it is a savory pastry that is stuffed with delicious, meaty goodness.
During Ramadan, this savory treat is typically served as a snack during Iftar. After fasting during the day, Muslims across the globe break their fast with fruits, water, and several types of snacks – and Samboosa is one such snack.
The best part? This snack is super easy to make! My Muslim colleague made this snack quite a few times during Ramadan earlier this year. Needless to say, I ended up being a fan, and recently I thought of making these at home!
FYI, I took inspiration from a conventional Onami recipe. The recipe is about infusing ground beef with spices, herbs, tomatoes, and vegetables into pastry dough.
Now, you just gotta make triangular shapes out of the dough before frying them – and wham! You will have the best homemade samosas in the whole world. Yep! And I’m here to help.
Now I don’t think I am a good cook really – I’ve recently embarked on a culinary adventure. The idea is to learn and share my experience with the world. But instead of running an active vlog, I want to blog about my journey – say hello to old-fashioned blogs, notes on my experiences, and candid details on all the mistakes you should NOT make while cooking.
Having said that, let’s fry some samboosas!
Stay tuned!
What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Samboosas At Home?
If you live in the United States, then chances are it will be very difficult to find samosa dough. After much research, I’ve discovered that you can easily use egg rolls, puff pastry, or phyllo dough for your samosas.
Also, you can consider making the dough at home – you just need plenty of time and patience. So, if you lead a very busy life, making it at home is not a great idea.
So, I had traveled to Egypt last year during Ramadan and literally took it as a gastronomic opportunity to indulge in these treats every day. Literally! Naturally, once I was able to make these at home with uncooked tortillas, there was no stopping me.
The best part? You can make these with all kinds of fillings – you can opt for the traditional potato stuffing famous in India, or you can use meat, as is common in the Middle East. Or you can also consider experimenting with green onions and cream cheese. Or make it like they do in Saudi Arabia – stuff the samosas with a chicken, cheese, vegetable, and date mix. Seriously, I am not kidding – the sky’s the limit!
However, if you are wondering which is the most common variation, then the answer is ground beef and veggie mix.
Ingredients For Making Samboosas:
So, here’s a list of ingredients you will need for making samosas at home:
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Vegetable Oil | 2 tablespoons |
| Ground Beef | 1 pound |
| Diced Yellow Onion | 1 |
| Peeled & Minced Clove Garlic | 1 |
| Minced Parsley or Cilantro | 1/4 cup |
| Tomato Paste | 2 tablespoons |
| Grounded Cinnamon | 1 tablespoon (scant) |
| Black Pepper, Cumin, Cayenne, Turmeric | ½ teaspoon |
| Kosher Salt | 1 teaspoon |
| Water | 2 cups |
| Grated Carrot | ¾ cup |
| Frozen Green Peas | ½ cup |
| Filo Sheets | N/A |
| Oil (For Frying) | N/A |
| Flour | 2 tablespoons |
Ingredient Notes:
Before I discuss the steps to follow when making samosas at home, here are some notes to consider regarding the ingredients and variations of the dish.
- Uncooked Tortillas: If you can’t get hold of traditional samosa sheets, you can always use uncooked tortillas. Additionally, you can consider making samosa sheets at home using your dough.
- Ground Beef Filling: If you opt for a ground beef filling, then don’t forget to add parsley, onions, and spices to the seasoning.
- Chicken Filling: If you opt for a chicken filling, then cut the chicken into cubes and definitely consider using chicken breasts. Also, you can incorporate onions, green peppers, black olives, and spices into your filling.
- Cheese Mix: If you opt for a cheese mix filling, then definitely consider mixing things up with mozzarella, parmesan, and feta.
- Flour: If you are using flour to make homemade samosa sheets, then don’t forget to add some water to seal the dough once you have added the filling.
How To Make Samboosas? A Step-By-Step Guide
So, how to make samboosas at home? Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Make the dough with flour – and ensure that you get the right mix of flour and water. It is vital to ensure that the consistency is accurate. Otherwise, it will be difficult to seal the samosa’s edges. Alternatively, you can simply purchase samosa sheets.
- Now, take a large skillet and heat some oil on medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add some ground beef, garlic, and onion. You have to cook this till the meat turns a delicious brown. It took me around 7 minutes, so give it 7 to 10 minutes. Also, keep breaking up the meat with a large wooden spoon.
- Now, add tomato paste, salt, spices, cilantro/parsley, and carrots. Saute the mixture for a minute or two before adding water. After adding water, cover the pan with a lid. Now, let the mixture cook until all the liquid evaporates, leaving the carrots tender.
- If you are using a tortilla sheet, cut it in half and sprinkle flour on the edges. Add the filling and fold the tortillas into cone-shaped pieces.
- Don’t forget to press the edges tightly, sealing them properly so that they don’t open up while frying.
- Take a large frying pan and heat some oil. Add the samosas to the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes on all sides until they are golden brown.
Making Samboosas At Home? Tips For Perfection!
Here are some tips to make the perfect samosas at home!
- Never overstuff your samosas! It might sound tempting, but the truth is that when you overstuff your samosas, it gets very difficult to seal the mouth. Moreover, the samosa will open up when you are frying it.
- Once you’ve finished frying, transfer the samosas to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.
- If you don’t want to fry samosas, also consider using an air fryer instead. You can spray cooking oil on the samosas and use your air fryer to fry these for 4 to 5 minutes on all sides at 350°F. Additionally, you can also bake these delicious snacks.
Samboosa Variations:
So, let’s look at some of the most common Samboosa variations that you can try making at home:
- Taco Samosa: Use ground beef and taco seasoning to make Taco Samosas.
- Chicken Samosa: Instead of beef, use chicken filling and make it spicy.
- Cheese Samosa: Instead of a meaty filling, how about a cheese mix? It just melts inside your mouth.
- Pie Samosa: Experiment with your sweet tooth and use a pie filling to make sweet samosas!
- Lentil Sambusa: Strictly for vegetarians, you can add lentils and spices to make these vegetarian babies. Also, you can try making samosas the Indian way – add some garam masala, potatoes, parsley, nuts, and other Indian spices to the filling.
Samboosa Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 pcs Onion (finely chopped)
- 1 pcs Leek (washed and chopped)
- 1 minced Clove garlic
- 2 pounds Ground beef
- 2 teaspoons Ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons Ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tbs All- purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 tbs Water (as needed)
- 1 package Spring roll wrappers (14 ounces)
- 1 quarter Frying oil (as needed)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients
- Heat olive oil and add the onion leek and garlic, stir them still transparent and add the beef. Cook till slightly pink color.
- Season the cumin, cardamom, salt and pepper well. Continue the cooking process until the beef is brown and crumbles.
- Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Mix the flour and water together and make a thin paste. Then use one piece of dough to make the cone shaped wrapper.
- Fill the cone with the beef mixture and then close the top and seal it well.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or a saucepan to 365 degree F. Submerge the samboosas completely in the pan. Fry for a few minutes till they are golden brown.
- Remove them on a paper towel-lined plate.
Bon Appétit!
So, if your Samboosas are ready, serve them piping hot with some tomato ketchup and pudina chutney. This tasty and popular Middle Eastern snack has many variations across the globe because it is easy to make. Moreover, you can literally experiment with so many different types of filling.
Ideally enjoyed at Iftar, you can serve these at any time – not just during celebrations but literally at any hour! These are easy to make and hardly take any time – so you can whip them up whenever hunger pangs hit you!
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