Snack time: The diversity of the samosa

Irani samosas in old Hyderabad. The Irani samosa has a very thin pastry, which makes it extra crispy.

‘Samosa and chai’ may be a typical go-to mid-evening snack in India. But did you know that the samosa is not of ‘Indian’ origin? Intrigued? Read on:

Turning the pages of history

In his book The Illustrated Foods of India, food historian K.T. Achaya notes that the samosa is a “deep fried snack consisting of a crisp, triangular and layery wheat casing filled with spiced meat or vegetables. In about AD 1300 Amir Khusrau describes among the foods of the Muslim aristocracy in Delhi, the 'samosa prepared from meat, ghee, onion, etc.' About 50 years later, Ibn Battuta calls it samusak, describing it as 'minced meat, cooked with almonds, walnuts, pistachios, onions and spices, placed inside a thin envelope of wheat and deep fried in ghee.' The Ain-i-Akbari lists, among dishes of meat cooked with wheat, the qutab 'which the people of Hind called the sanbusa.' All these descriptions suggest that the samosa was not an item bought by these courts from their parent lands, but was an existing indigenous product, perhaps enriched in its stuffing to cater to these royal courts."

It is believed to have first found mention in the 10th century in the Middle East region and was called Sambosa. In fact, Iranian historian Abolfazl Beyhaqi’s work Tarikh-e Beyhaghi refers to a snack that could be carried easily by travellers called the ‘Sambosa’.

India calling

After the samosa made its way into India, travelling through Egypt, Libya, and Central Asia, it was popularised by the royals and has since taken on myriad forms.

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor says, “It doesn't matter where things originated but rather where they are today, as evolution is more important and there will be local influences. Did we always have filled fried snacks in India? Well, yes, but maybe not in the same shape. For instance, 50 years from now maybe mushroom noodle biryani will be commonplace as evolution in food is continuous and convenient. Also, the need for samosas to have a longer shelf life has meant we have seen new forms like the smaller, dried ones filled with namkeen. Then there were cocktail samosas, chocolate samosas and once there is success there are extensions.”

Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, food writer and consultant, adds, “Samosa is the quintessential pastry casing stuffed with something, and that combination works really well. The Irani patti samosa has a very thin pastry strip that makes it very crisp as opposed to the traditional thick cover. With so many amazing Bohri chefs in the fray, they make their version of it which is very good. Nany's Bakery in Dehradun makes an interesting Punjabi pea and keema samosa. Palak and cheese samosa at Soam in Mumbai is great too. At our studio we once did a samosa with apple and cinnamon as a twist to the typical apple pie. And when you see local farsan shops stock the Schezwan samosa, you know that the samosa has truly arrived.”

Desi avataar

Among the many variations is the ‘Lukhmi’ served in Hyderabad that has a thicker crust and has a minced meat stuffing while in Gujarat there is a smaller samosa filled with French beans and sweet peas.

The crisp onion samosa available in many parts of Karnataka and in the old time 'Irani cafes' of Hyderabad are small versions that are very crisp. Some parts of South India have samosa filled with cabbage, carrots and curry leaves and Goa ‘chamuças’ are usually filled with minced beef, pork or chicken.

A street-side stall in Mumbai selling vada pavs and samosas. (Photo: Arko Datta/Reuters)

Pushpesh Pant, academic, food critic and historian avers, “Samosa has originated outside India but has become the child of the soil. Samosa of some kind is cooked all along the Silk Route, and when it came to India, it transformed... It became vegetarian, as it was filled with spiced potatoes, that came to India in the 15th century through the Portuguese and travelled across the country to take on new forms."

"In Bengal, for instance, it is the Shinghara and has vegetarian versions as well as versions like the Mangsher Shinghara (mutton shinghara), Macher Shinghara (fish shinghara) and the Narkel er Shinghara (coconut shinghara). When the British came, we had hard-boiled egg samosas. Likewise, mawa samosa gave the dish a sweet twist. In Allahabad, Hari Ram & Sons in Loknath makes a samosa filled with dry masala, and spices and is fried in desi ghee. Street samosas come with their own stuffing and so many samosas are being eaten in the unorganized sector that they would easily outnumber the hamburgers and hotdogs by a factor of many hundreds," Pant adds.

"Samosa is also made into chaat and this becomes a meal in itself and many five star hotels offer large samosas like the one in Embassy in Delhi which is a meal in itself. Samosa is everywhere and I think except in Rajasthan where its presence is less, there is no other part of India where the samosa is not seen. In fact, the samosa is also served as part of the fine dining option on Thai Airways business class,” says Pant.

Samosa at Hopshaus in Bangalore.

Looking ahead

Kapoor says the samosa is amenable to many more experiments. “As Chinese food is popular, noodles being stuffed into samosa has become common, I have not seen rice being stuffed but I would not be surprised that you will see a biryani samosa. In fact, samosa has taken a healthy turn with air fried and baked samosas. There are bound to be other extensions. Even in the covering that is now usually maida, we will see more infusions like beetroot and even biscuit or naan.”

And even as the samosa continues to morph into newer ‘versions’, there is one thing that is clear. The samosa is never too far away irrespective of where you are in India, and it is sure to take your taste buds on a multi sensorial journey.