Samosa is a savory fried Indian snack that has a crispy outer crust and a spicy filling. Learn to make the best Halwai Style Indian Samosa at home using my easy recipe. Here is how to make it.
When it rains, two things hit my mind immediately, either hot Pakoras or crispy and flaky Samosas.
During my childhood, I remember my father used to get hot Samosa from a nearby Halwai on weekends which was filled with delicious spicy Aloo Masala. Aah, those days!
Since my marriage, I have been shifting too many places, and it’s not possible to get such good Samosas everywhere.
So to keep the tradition of relishing these Halwai Style Samosas during weekends or monsoons, I make them at home.
After a lot of hits and trails, I was able to get the same taste, and believe me it was the best day!
Well, I always feel a level of satisfaction when I am able to achieve what I exactly want to make.
While it is a very popular street snack in India, it is believed to be originated in the Middle East and brought to India by merchants.
For a samosa to qualify as a very good one, it has to pass certain standards.
The crust should be crispy and crunchy and slightly flaky and the filling should be a perfect balance of spicy, tangy, and full of flavors.
When we make these at home, a few tips must be kept in mind which will make sure the crust turns out perfect and I have mentioned them in detail in the post below.
The filling that I make for it is not overly spicy.
It’s loved by both adults and kids whenever I make it, I get great feedback from everyone.
Here are some versions of Samosa, that you might want to try – Moong Dal Samosa, Chicken Cheese Samosa, and Sweet Samosa.
What is Samosa?
It is a fried or baked snack with a crispy outer crust and a savory filling, such as spicy potatoes, peas, onions, lentils, cottage cheese, minced chicken or lamb.
The shape of the samosa varies depending on the region – triangular, cone, half-moon shaped, or square pockets.
Here, we are making a Punjabi Style Halwai Samosa, which is filled with delicious Aloo filling.
They make for a perfect appetizer or evening snack.
Serving Suggestions
These taste great along with Mint Coriander Chutney and Sweet Tamarind Chutney.
You can also make a Chaat out of it. Just crush the Samosa a bit, add some whisked yogurt, mint coriander chutney, sweet tamarind chutney and then top it with finely chopped onions, fine sec, and finely chopped coriander leaves.
Sprinkle a little chaat masala, red chilli powder, and squeeze some lemon juice.
How to make it in an oven?
To bake these in an oven, preheat the oven at 300 degrees F for 20 mins.
Arrange them on a baking tray and spray or brush them with oil.
Now bake the prepared samosas for 30 mins. Once done, serve with mint chutney.
How to make it in Air Fryer?
You can air fry the samosas if you have an air fryer handy.
Air-fired samosas have a better texture than the baked ones.
They taste similar to the fried ones and are not at all oily.
To air fry, preheat the air fryer at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Brush them with oil and put them in the air fryer.
Air fry for 10-15 minutes till golden brown. Serve hot with your favorite chutneys.
Can you freeze it?
These can be frozen before frying and also after frying.
Shape the samosas and place them on a sheet pan in a single layer and freeze them.
Once frozen, store them in freezer bags.
You can refrigerate the samosa for up to 6 months.
When you want to fry them, bring them to room temperature.
If you have leftover fried samosas, wrap them in aluminum foil or plastic wrap loosely and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Reheat in the oven at 350 F for 10 mins.
How to make these with wheat flour?
You can use wheat flour instead of maida to make a healthier version.
Make sure you add more water while kneading the dough as wheat flour absorbs more water than maida.
You can follow the rest of the recipe as is.
Filling Ideas:
Although potato is the most popular filling option for the Indian samosa, there are many other variations that you can try. Listing a few below
Paneer (Cottage Cheese) Samosa: Use minced paneer with green chilies and finely chopped onion and coriander.
Vegetable Samosa: Use any mix of vegetables for the filling
Sweet Samosa: This can be made by stuffing khoya and dry fruits. I have a detailed recipe, so do check it out here.
Chicken Samosa: Use minced chicken with all the dried spices for stuffing. I also have a chicken and cheese samosa recipe here.
Dry Fruits Samosa: You can add dry fruits like cashew nuts and raisins in the filling to make them richer.
Matar Samosa: Peas or Matar makes a yummy filling for these. Do try.
Moong Dal Samosa: These are a little different samosa which is served as dry snacks with tea.
The filling is a spicy and tangy lentil filling and this samosa can be kept for a long time. Check out the blog post for the recipe here.
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Step by Step Recipe
Heat vegetable oil in a pan.
Once the oil is hot, add hing, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and coriander seeds and fry them for a few seconds.
Add ginger and green chilli in the pan.
Add mashed boiled potatoes and peas.
Now add kauri methi, anardana powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, black pepper powder, amchoor powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well.
Using a potato masher. mash everything well to make a smooth filling. Add salt, fresh coriander and mint and mix well. Remove the pan from heat and let the filling cool completely.
Mix all purpose flour, salt, ajwain (carom seeds) and oil in a bowl.
Mix well for a minute.
Add little water and knead to make a very stiff dough.
Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Knead the dough once again for a minute. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Make them into balls. Cover and keep aside for 10 minutes.
Roll the dough ball to make an oval.
Cut the oval from the centre. Roll and cut all the dough balls in the same manner.
Roll each half oval part a little more.
Apply little oil on straight sides and bring the two ends together to make a cone. Make sure to seal the ends tightly.
Fill 2 tbsp of potato filling in the cone.
Apply more water on the open sides and make a pleat at the centre of the round open edge.
Seal the edges to make a triangle. Press the entire samosa a little bit so that it does not puff up while frying. Make all of them in a similar manner.
Heat oil for frying in a pan. When the oil is just hot, drop a few samosas in it.
Make sure that the hot is not too hot, otherwise the samosas will have blisters on the surface. Fry on low flame until they are golden brown in color. Do not over crowd the pan while frying and fry them in batches. Each batch will take 15-20 minutes. Once they are golden brown, tale out on a plate lined with kitchen tissue. Serve hot.
Punjabi Samosa Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust
- 250 g All Purpose Flour
- 3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Carom Seeds/ Ajwain
- 1 tsp Salt
- Oil for frying
For the Filling
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 tsp Hing
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 2 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds (Crushed)
- 2 tsp Ginger (Finely Chopped)
- 2 tsp Green Chilli (Finely Chopped)
- 3-4 Boiled Potatoes (Refrigerated for 4-6 hours.)
- 1/2 cup Peas (Boiled)
- 2 tbsp Kasuri Methi
- 2 tsp Anardana Powder
- 1/2 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garama Masala Powder
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
- 2 tsp Dry Mango Powder
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
- 1 tbsp Coriander Powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp Coriander Leaves (Chopped)
- 2 tbsp Mint Leaves (Chopped)
Instructions
For the crust
- Mix all purpose flour, salt, carom seeds and oil in a bowl.
- Mix well for a minute.
- Add little water and knead to make a very stiff dough.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and keep aside for 30 minutes.
- Knead the dough once again for a minute.
- Divide the dough into 4 equal parts.
- Make them into balls.
- Cover the dough balls and keep aside for 10 minutes.
- Roll the dough ball to make an oval.
- Cut the oval from the centre.
- Roll and cut all the dough balls in the same manner.
For the filling
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add hing, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and coriander seeds and fry them for a few seconds.
- Add mashed boiled potatoes and peas.
- Add kauri methi, anardana powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, black pepper powder, dry mango powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well.
- Using a potato masher, mash everything well to make a smooth filling.
- Add salt, fresh coriander and mint and mix well.
- Remove the pan from heat and let the filling cool completely.
Assembly
- Roll each half oval part a little more.
- Apply little oil on straight sides and bring the two ends together to make a cone.
- Make sure to seal the ends tightly.
- Fill 2 tbsp of potato filling in the cone.
- Apply more water on the open sides and make a pleat at the centre of the open edge.
- Seal the samosa to make a triangle.
- Press the entire samosa a little bit so that it does not puff up while frying.
- Make all the samosa in the similar manner.
- Heat oil for frying the samosa in a pan.
- When the oil is just hot, drop a few samosas in it.
- Make sure that the hot is not too hot, otherwise the samosas will have blisters on the surface.
- Fry on low flame until they are golden brown in color.
- Do not over crowd the pan while frying the samosas and fry them in batches.
- Each batch will take 15-20 minutes.
- Once they are golden brown, tale out on a plate lined with kitchen tissue.
- Serve hot.
Notes
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!