Scrumptious Chicken Samoosa recipe – 2 ways

This Cape Malay spicy Chicken Samoosa recipe makes delicious crispy triangles filled with minced chicken, aromatic spices, finely diced onion and coriander. My favorite is an approximation of my mother’s easy samosa recipe using minimal spices.

Samoosas are a very popular snack item in Cape Town and during Ramadhan it is practically compulsory at iftar with soup, boeber or falooda milkshake.

My mother never made the samosa sheets herself but used home made ready made pur or samosa pastry strips. You can use store bought good quality samosa pastry strips to make this chicken samosa recipe.

My father always found a reliable supplier for the pur or samosa pastry sheets, and my mother made her own filling for chicken samoosas, meat samoosas, cheese samoosas, potato samoosas and vegan samoosas (made with soya mince). The best thing about making our own samoosas was having the off-cut pastry to fry for paaper and snacking on later.

One day after my father’s best friend mentioned that his daughter Feroza had started a small cottage industry, my dad immediately called her to place an order to support her business. Her products included meat samoosas and chicken samoosas, and from the first bite we were hooked. Her samosa pastry was crispy when fried, and the beef and chicken samoosa filling tasted very close to my mother’s own recipes. We ordered fresh and frozen samosas from her until she stopped making them for sale.

Thereafter my mother resumed making her own samosas until my father passed away.

How to make a chicken samoosa

For as long as I can remember, my late father refused to eat anyone else’s chicken samoosas because he said no one else’s tasted as good as my later mother’s samoosas.

I have included two chicken samoosa filling recipes below because they have similar ingredients but different methods of making the filling. Both versions are sealed with an edible glue slurry made from flour and water.

Method 1 is how I remember my late mother making chicken samoosas:

• Dry fry the minced chicken until no liquid reminds.
• Rub finely chopped onions with salt and then blanch with hot water and drain and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. This will remove what my mum referred to as ‘wild onion taste’.
• Basic spices like garlic, ginger, cumin powder and NO garam masala.

Method 2 is the way Katriena makes it based on my Aunt Gadija’s recipe:

• Dry fry the minced chicken until no liquid reminds.
• Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the onions then simmer the onions with cooked minced chicken.
• Add garam masala and other spices.

 

Top tips for making home made samoosas

• Use a clean unused fabric kitchen towel for squeezing the liquid from  the onions. I found that cheesecloth works for small batches of onion but you may require a tea or dish towel for bigger amounts . Soak the bag in soapy water immediately after use to remove the smell and yellow onion stains.
• Don’t use the onion cloth for anything else and when it has dried, store it in a ziplock bag for future use.
• When folding a chicken samoosa make sure the filling is tightly packed but not overfilled and that the pastry can be folded over to make a tight corner.
• Check that all the corners are tight and small enough to hold any back any small fragments of filling. If the corners are wide open the filling will escape during frying and turn black in the oil. Remove any burnt bits with a skimmer or spider strainer.
• When removing the cooked samoosas from the oil let them drain on a plate or baking sheet lined with kitchen paper towel.
• Do not stack the hot samoosas against or on top of each other as the steam and heat will cause the pastry to become soft.
• The uncooked samoosas can be frozen for 3-6 months if you do not want to use them immediately. I normally pack 10-12 samoosas laying flat in a ziplock bag and then freeze. It takes up less space this way.
• Defrost in the fridge before use in summer and on the counter for a few hours during winter.

Samosa folding method

There are two ways to fold samosas using pastry strips, and you should use the method you find easiest. While you are folding the samosas ensure that the unused pastry sheets are covered with a clean damp tea towel to prevent them drying out and cracking.

Method 1

• Fold one end of the strip over and fold it over again to form a triangle pocket. Spoon in the chicken filling then fold over the long end until the triangle is sealed and the corners are tight. Smear the glue across the last portion to seal the samosa.

Method 2

• Lay the samosa strips on the work surface and spoon on a bit of the chicken filling. Fold over the short edge to form a triangle and keep folding towards the long end until a short piece remains. Smear the glue across and seal. Ensure that all the corners are tightly sealed.

My mother always used the first method and I didn’t know there was even a second method until we saw her newly married friend’s wife making minced beef samosas one day when we visited their home.

More than twenty years later the same couple were invited to lunch at our home one Sunday. My mother was making samosas for Ramadhan and when her friend arrived earlier than his wife, he helped us with the samosa folding. When his wife arrived about 20 minutes later she found him chatting away, rapidly folding one samosa after another (using method 1).

I’ll never forget the look on her face as she watched him in utter dismay. Eventually she couldn’t help herself and blurted: ‘you never told me you knew how to fold samoosas’. My mum laughed and said: ‘he’s been folding samosas since he was 9 years old and we helped Mrs. Boltman on a Friday night when she had the takeaways downstairs’.

He looked up sheepishly and said: ‘you were always so organised with your samosa making and I didn’t want to interfere’. 😀

How to cook chicken samoosas

Chicken samoosas can be deep fried, shallow fried or baked from frozen. Serve your chicken samoosa with delicious chutney.

How to Deep Fry chicken samoosas

• Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or deep saucepan on medium high until the temperature is between 170C-185C.
• Test if the oil is hot enough by inserting the back of a wooden spoon into the oil and if bubbles form around it you can start frying.
• If frying from frozen, put the samoosas into cool oil and it will heat up together. This ensures that the samoosa pastry doesn’t burn while the filling remains cold.
• Take each room temperature samoosa and lightly press against the sides to puff them up, taking care not to press too hard and split the pastry.
• Place the samoosas carefully in the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden.

How to Shallow fry chicken samoosas

• Heat the oil on medium heat in a shallow frying pan.
• Test if the oil is hot enough by inserting the back of a wooden spoon into the oil and if bubbles form around it you can start frying.
• Take each samoosa and lightly press against the sides to puff them up, taking care not to press too hard and split the pastry.
• Place the samoosas carefully in the oil and fry until golden then turn and fry until the second side is the same color.
• The samoosas will be darker where the pastry is closer to the cooking surface of the pan.

How to Bake chicken samoosas

• Heat the oven to 200 Celcius / 180 Fan / 390 F / Gas Mark 4 about 10 minutes before you want to bake your chicken samoosas.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray or brush the paper with oil.
• Place the chicken samoosas on the parchment paper and brush or spray the top with a light coating of oil.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes then flip them over and bake for another 8-10 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Other recipes you may like

• Daltjies spinach and corn fritters
• Sweet corn and polenta fritters
• Caramelised onion, fig and brie tart
• Mouthwatering Velvety Prawn Coconut Curry Soup
• Creamy Mushroom soup

Method 2 is by Simone and Katriena Fortuin. When relatives in Citrusdal wanted Samoosas a few Christmasses ago,  Simone and Katriena set about to make their own minced meat and chicken samoosa fillings. Katriena couldn’t remember how my mother used to make it and asked my Aunt Gadija for guidance. I have tasted their samoosas and they are very delicious.

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