It's time once again for a trip outside of West Africa. Today our journey takes us to the other side of the world, namely to India, with the dish Samosa .
Samosa , samusa or sambusa (in East Africa), are small, triangular pastries filled with all sorts of things. The filling can include vegetables, meat, lentils, and much more. There are even versions with sweet fillings.
Although originally from India, these delicious pastries are also very common in African cuisine, particularly in East African countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, where they are very popular. The name and filling may vary slightly, but the shape and preparation method are often very similar.
My samosa filling almost always consists of chicken or turkey meat, delicious vegetables, preferably Asian style, and rice noodles.
Samosas are very popular as an amuse-bouche . I usually make spring rolls rather than samosas because it's quicker. I always use the same filling and the same pastry sheets for both samosas and spring rolls. The only difference between the two is the folding technique. Folding the triangles can be a bit tricky for beginners. But as they say, "practice makes perfect."
The first time I wanted to make samosas, I watched at least five different videos to evaluate the folding technique that worked best for me. It was even fun at times, trying out the different techniques.
The result was impressive in the end, and even more importantly, delicious.
The whole thing as a video
Samosas chez Fadi's style
Ingredients
- 1 pack of spring roll wrappers (40 pieces)
- 500g Asian-style vegetable stir- fry
- 600g turkey breast fillet
- approx. 50 g rice noodles
- 50 ml cooking oil
- 500 ml frying oil
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp curry
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp garlic-ginger paste
- 1 large onion
- Salt
To seal the dumplings
- 1 tbsp flour
- approx. 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Cut the turkey breast into small cubes and place in a bowl. Add garlic-ginger paste, sesame oil, and soy sauce, and mix well
- Finely chop the onions and sauté them briefly in a wok or saucepan with cooking oil and salt. Then add the diced turkey breast pieces, paprika, curry powder, a little soy sauce, and the vegetables
- Mix everything well and sauté for about 2 minutes over medium heat.
- Then add the rice noodles to the pot, cover with the vegetables, and sauté for another 5 minutes. Afterward, cut the rice noodles into small pieces using kitchen scissors.
- Mix everything well again, remove from the heat and let it cool.
- Separate the spring roll leaves from each other and lay them diagonally on top of each other so that they can be easily removed
- Mix flour with a little water to form a thick liquid
- Then fold the leaves as shown in the video, garnish with the filling, and seal with the flour-water mixture. Repeat this process until no leaves or filling remain
- Pour frying oil into a small pot or deep fryer and heat it up. Then fry the samosas in it until golden brown on all sides.
- Remove the cooked samosas from the pot and drain them on a paper towel. Serve with soy sauce or Chez Fadi's Hot & Spicy Sauce and enjoy
