A little history on this glorious well traveled triangular snack~ Samosas are so identified with Indian cuisine that it comes as a surprise for many to learn Indians didn’t invent this iconic snack. In fact, samosas were introduced to India and parts of Africa by merchants from the Middle East. Originally known as samsa, paying homage to the pyramids of Central Asia, likely that it might have come from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, where royal families of time bygone transported these as snacks for hunting and royal tea parties. The earliest records of recipes are found in 10th-13th-century Arab cookery books, indicating it to have originated in Persia around the 11th century AD, under the names sambuseh, sanbusak, sanbusaq, and sanbusaj, all deriving from the Persian word sanbosag.
Growing up in Tanzania, I would see street food vendors selling this flavor-packed delicacy, known locally as sambusas, but they were most often filled with beef. As Sunday treats we would get the lamb samosas sold at the little bar inside of the Elite Cinema. We would skip over with my Ayah to where my Dad and his friends were having drinks, and sit outside on the barazza with other friends, waiting for the one of the staff to bring out the brown paper bag dotted with oil containing four samosas and lime wedges, a couple of newspaper cones of roasted peanuts and ice cold Coke bottles. We would either climb onto the truck bed of a friends car or spread out our food over the barazza, emptying the peanuts into the Coke bottle and chugging it down between bites of samosas squeezed with lime.My Mum made them with minced lamb which was marinated the night before, I often asked her why, and she would say that it made the lamb more flavorful and removed the gamey smell, her were tiny and uniform in size, my MaaIL, on the other hand, made hers with minced beef, and I make them with minced chicken.
East African home cooks have varied takes on samosa fillings, but the homemade "pati" or wrapper is non-negotiable, its taste and texture is. The mornings would start with Mum preparing dough. The clinking bangles pushed far up her forearms and as she kneaded, rolled circles, glued them together with oil, and rolled a larger one, then over a gentle flame cooking the pastry, flipping and peeling off delicate pastry sheets. Each sheet would be cut into a semi-circle, which would eventually be formed into a hollow triangle that would be stuffed with a veggie or meat mixture. Some she would cut into strips and deep fry for the kids to eat with ketchup. Sometimes she would cut the circle into small strips to make mini cocktail samosas, the method I am using in the video is what Mum called “sari - samosa” because you sort of fold it like a sari! When you move away from home, I think most will agree that using store-bought spring roll wrappers is the key to unparalleled crispness.
I usually spend a whole Saturday, meditatively filling close to 400 medium sized samosas, flash frying them to just crisp up the outer layer and freezing them in batches so they’re ready to be popped into the air fryer anytime we fancy a bite with our chai. Serve these with nariyal ni chatni (coconut chutney) and wedges of lime.
Basic Kheema filling:
To make the mince meat filling:
- 2 lbs. (4 cups) lean ground Chicken/lamb/beef
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil (optional my MaaIl used it)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1.5 tsp. garlic paste
- 1 tsp ginger paste
- 1 tsp. Thai green paste or more
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1.5 tsp. ground cumin and coriander powder (Dhana jeera)
- 1/2 tsp dry red chili powder (optional)
- 2 cups finely cut yellow/Spanish onions
- 1 cup finely cut green onion (cut in ½ lengthwise first)
- 1 tsp. garam masala
- 2 tsp. salt or to taste
- 3 tbsp. lemon juice
- ½ cup finely cut cilantro
- 3 green onions, finely sliced (optional)
- 2 finely cut jalapeño or Thai hot chilies (optional)
- 8 fresh mint leaves finely cut (optional)
- Heat a large skillet or wok on medium heat and add the ground meat with the 1/4 cup water.( My MaaIL used to heat a bit of oil and add the meat - I do it both ways)
- Stirring continuously and breaking up the mince, until finely crumbled.
- Add, ginger, garlic and chili pastes, salt, turmeric, cumin & coriander powder
- Cook for 8-9 minutes, stirring at regular intervals, until all the juices are absorbed and the mixture is dry
- Stir in the lime juice and the garam masala and red chilli powder (if using) and cook for a further minute.
- Leave the mixture to cool down before adding the onions, spring onions and cilantro (jalapeño pepper and mint if using). Mix well.
Find more tips and notes on how to fold the samosas using Spring Roll wrappers or Homemade wrappers ~ known as the “Sari Method”, along with an easy-to-follow diagram, as well as making the Traditional Patti/Chapri/Wrapper {Stove-top or Oven Method} and tips and notes- on Nadia's Meza nadiasmeza.com/
#samosa #eastafrican
24 июн 2024
