World Samosa Day 2022: Fried, pyramid shapes of hearty goodness

Every year on 5 September, the global citizens celebrate one of humankind’s tastiest snacks – the samosa.

Made with a simple flour-based pastry and an ever-growing list of fillings, these deep-fried hearty treats are a firm all-time favourite snack.

A brief history

Despite popular belief, three-sided snack does not originate from India.

According to National Today website, the addictive triangle-shaped bites of goodness originated in the Middle East, sometime before the 10th Century.

“Many medieval Persian texts mention ‘sanbosag,’ which is an early relative of the samosa and the cousin of the Persian pyramidal pastry, ‘samsa,’” says the website.

Historical accounts refer to ‘sambusak,’ ‘sabusaq,’ and even ‘sanbusaj,’ as tiny mince-filled triangles eaten by travelling merchants around campfires and packed in saddlebags as snacks for a long journey.

They became extremely popular in India around the 13th and 14th centuries. Today, they are so well-loved in India that they can be found anywhere, from homes to fancy restaurants to roadside vendors.

Five yummy and bizarre facts about samosa’s

• Empanadas were inspired by samosas: The Spanish tweaked the recipe a little and created empanadas.
• It was not vegetarian at first: The earliest snacks were made with meat, pistachios, and onions.
• It comes in various shapes: In Turkish nations, samosas come in both half-moon shapes and triangles.
• It is connected to pyramids: The shape resembles a pyramid, so it is named after the pyramids of the Middle East.
• Vegetable samosas are the most common: Vegetable samosas are the most common, while only a few countries enjoy meat-filled samosas.
• They’re banned in Somalia: In 2011, Somali extremist Islam fighters banned the snack, claiming they were ‘too western’ and its supposed resemblance to the Christian trinity.

How to enjoy Samosa Day

Get a variety of samosas and enjoy!

Or you could try making them and experimenting with the fillings.

Tip and tricks if you are making your own samosa

You can buy a premade, frozen pastry/samosa strip if you have never made them before.

• Leave the pastry out to thaw out naturally, do not defrost in the microwave. It will harden the pastry.
  
• Wrap the pastry in a damp dish towel to prevent the strips from drying out and cracking.
  
• Use a flour and cold water paste to seal the samosa and on the ends if there are holes. The fillings will seep out when frying if the holes at the three points aren’t covered.
  
• Fillings must be dry and free of moisture/oil; otherwise, the pastry will get soggy.
  
• Chop up onions or any greens separately.
  
• The fillings must be cold or room temperature when making.
  
• The pastry will bubble when the oil is too hot, and your filling might still be cold or frozen in the middle.

See below for a video on how to fold samosas.

Compiled by Narissa Subramoney