Mini Samosa

Have you wanted to make a wonderfully crisp samosa with savory or sweet fillings? These are crispy mini samosa perfect to serve before a meal as an appetizer or as a snack any time during the day.

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Keyword mini samosa, potatoes, samosa

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Resting time 15

Total Time 45

Servings samosas

Calories 164kcal

Ingredients

Samosa pastry dough

2 cups All-purpose flour
2 tbsp Ghee melted
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Caraway seeds toasted
¾ cup Water up tp 1 cup

Potato filling

2 large Potatoes cut into cubes
1 tbsp Oil
4 Curry leaves
½ small Onion
1 clove Garlic minced
½ inch Ginger minced
½ cup Peas fresh or frozen
1 tbsp Lemon juice
½ cup Cilantro coriander leaves chopped

Meat filling

250 grams Ground meat beef, chicken or pork
1 small Onion
2 clvoes Garlic minced
1 inch Ginger minced
1 tbsp Coriander powder dhania
1 tsp Cumin powder jeera
½ tsp Turmeric powder haldi
1 tsp Chili powder
1 Greem chilly sliced
1 tbsp Lemon juice

Sweet coconut filling

3 cups Grated coconut
1 cup Jaggery or more
½ tsp Cardamom powder
½ tsp Vanilla extract
½ cup Chopped nuts cashews, pistachios, almonds
¼ cup Chopped raisins.

Deep frying

1 ltr Cooking oil

Green coconut chutney

½ cup Grated fresh coconut
1 cup Cilantro
1 Green chilly chopped
½ clove Garlic
¼ inch Ginger
2 tbsp chopped onion
½ tsp Tamarind paste or a small piece of tamarind
1 tsp Sugar
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Pepper

Tamarind chutney

½ cup Tamarind paste or 2 tbsp tamarind paste
2 large Date
¼ cup Jaggery or 2 tbsp palm sugar
1 tsp Chilly powder

Instructions

Samosa pastry

In a bowl, add the flour, salt, and caraway seeds. Then add the melted ghee and rub it well in the flour.
Pro tip - you want to spend some time rubbing the flour and ghee. This is the first secret to making a pastry-like dough.
Next, add water and combine well. Make sure to use less rather than too much water. You want a rough, not wet dough.
Pro tip- the second secret to making a good pastry dough is not to over-knead it. Kneading too much will activate the gluten in the dough making it soft. We want a crispy flaky dough.
Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. You can leave this dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Pro tip - if you have leftover dough, roll and cut it into squares. Then deep fry to make shankar pari.

Potato samosa filling

In a skillet, add the oil and curry leaves. Then saute the onions, garlic, and ginger until the onions are translucent.
Then, add the spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric) followed by the potatoes and peas. Cook for 2 minutes making sure everything is well combined.
Add, 2 tbsp water, cover the pan and cook on low heat until potatoes are soft enough to mash.
Pro tip - you may need to add a few more tablespoons of water to prevent it from burning but add the water gradually a few tablespoons at a time not all at once.
Once the potatoes are tender, add the lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Combine well and set aside to cool to room temperature.
Pro tip - you want the filling to be almost room temperature when filling the pastry as it is easier to work with.

Meat samosa filling

In a skillet, add the oil and saute the onions. Then add the ginger and garlic followed by the ground meat (chicken or beef). Breaking the meat apart cook on high until the meat is no longer pink and most of the water has evaporated.
Next, add the spices and season with salt and pepper. Cook on low until the meat is cooked about 10 minutes for chicken and 15 minutes for beef.
Pro tip - if the meat is too dry, add a few tablespoons of water to prevent it from burning.
Once the meat is cooked and all the water has evaporated, add the lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Combine well, taste, and adjust seasoning. Cool to room temperature to fill in the samosa.

Sweet coconut samosa filling

In a skillet over medium heat, add the grated coconut and jaggery. Cook until the jaggery is completely dissolved. Then cook until everything is absorbed and the coconut is dry again.
Taste and adjust sweetness. If necessary add a few teaspoons of sugar. Then add the cardamom powder and vanilla extract followed by the chopped nuts and raisins. Cool to room temperature to fill in the samosa.

Assemble

Once the dough is rested. Knead briefly to make it smooth. Then divide the dough in half and each half into 6 to make 12 mini samosas.
Roll each portion into a smooth ball. Let rest for 10 minutes. Then, roll each ball into a circle approximately 6 inches or 13 cm in diameter. Each circle makes 2 samosas
Pro tip - resting the dough between steps will relax the gluten and prevent it from shrinking.
Cut each circle in half. Working with one semi-circle at a time fold it into a cone. Then fill the cone with your choice of filling and seal the top ends close.
Pro tip - these samosas can be covered and kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours. You can also freeze them on a tray for up to a month. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Make sure to deep fry them just before serving.

Deep fry

In a large pot, pour the oil and heat it on medium-high heat. The oil must be hot but not too hot about 325°F to 350°F. No more.
Pro tip - as a guide for oil temperature - If you drop a samosa in there it should come up in 30 seconds. If it comes up before that meaning it's too hot, and of course, longer than it's not hot enough.
Deep fry the samosa for about 2 to 3 minutes each. Serve along with some sauce and chutney. I serve with my green chutney, tomato ketchup, and tamarind chutney.

Green chutney

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Pro tip- a green chutney has to have a good balance of freshness from the cilantro along with the slight spice from the chilly, and sourness from the tamarind. The little sugar helps bring it all together but adjust these based on your preference.

Tamarind chutney

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning and sweetness.
Pro tip - tamarind chutney is sour, sweet with a slight zing from the chilly but adjust based on your preference.

Notes

To make the pastry do not skip on the ghee. You can also use vegetable shortening but it is an important ingredient to get a nice crisp pastry.
I have given you three options for filling but the pastry makes enough dough for only 12 mini samosas. If you choose to make more than one filling you may want to make more pasty dough too.
The dough must not be too soft, we want a stiff dough so avoid adding too much liquid and do not over knead.
The filling is easy to make and can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Or can be frozen in the fridge for up to a month.
Once you fill the samosas, place them in the fridge, then deep fry when you are ready to serve. Samosas are best served hot and take no more than 2 to 3 minutes to fry.
When deep-frying the samosas remember the filling is already cooked. You only need about 2 to 3 minutes to cook each mini samosa.
Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze them for up to a month.

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