The Best Indian Punjabi Samosa
on Aug 04, 2022, Updated Oct 17, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This is definitely the best Indian Punjabi Samosa you’ll ever make at home! I’m arming you with step by step directions and a recipe video so you can learn how to make the samosa dough, the aloo stuffing, as well as how to easily wrap them.
As an obsessive samosa lover, I don’t think I would be exaggerating when I tell you that this homemade Indian Punjabi Samosa recipe makes the best samosas I have ever tried! These samosas have a perfectly crispy wrapping and a masala that’s so incredibly delicious and authentic, that just a bite of this will instantly transport you back to your favorite childhood mithai shop.
I should warn you though, this samosa recipe has no shortcuts, and requires care and patience. Plus wrapping samosas is a bit like art and can take a few tries to get right. But once you get it, you’ll be wrapping them like a boss. And don’t worry, I have a step by step video recipe, that’s going to make things even easier.
Jump to section: Punjabi Samosa
Ingredients for Samosa
For the dough:
The dough or atta for samosa is made with maida (all purpose flour), ghee and salt. This is similar to making pastry for pies where the flour and ghee are mixed together till the mixture is crumbly and then water is adding little by little till the dough comes together.
Here are some tips to help you make samosa dough like a pro:
- Don’t over knead or your samosas will be tough instead of crispy
- Its okay if you can see small pockets of ghee in your dough
- Its normal for the dough to have dimples or cracks. It need not be smooth
- The dough should be kneaded in a way that its stiff. That’s what helps form the crispy crust. If your dough is too soft, you’ve added too much water and this will make it difficult to wrap samosas and the crust won’t be crispy
- Rest the dough for 30-40 minutes for best results
For the samosa stuffing:
(In the picture above, methi seeds (fenugreek) are missing! Sorry about that. But it’s listed in the recipe card below.)
I recommend taking the time to source all of these ingredients as each of them play a role is adding flavour to the masala. Coriander seeds, saunf(fennel) and methi seeds (fenugreek) play an important role. They are lightly crushed so you don’t bite into them but adding them whole is what makes this masala so unique in flavour.
Samosa Filling
The filling or stuffing for samosas is easy to put together once you have all the ingredients. The potatoes are pre-boiled, peeled and mashed lightly before adding them to the cooked aromatics and spices.
Samosa filling can actually differ from region to region in India – some add green peas, some raisins, some make a dark brown masala and then there’s this which is my favourite.
How to wrap Samosas
Wrapping a samosa can take a little practice but I’ve detailed out the steps below. It’s like origami. If your dough is still like it should be, it’s easier to handle the wrapper.
The idea is a to make a cone from the dough. This is then filled with the aloo masala and sealed around the edges so it’s a stuffed triangle. The crispy edges are seriously the best!
- Make sure to roll out the dough thinly and evenly. If the wrapper is too thick, the samosas won’t cook properly from inside
- Do not use any flour while rolling the dough. There is enough fat in the dough and it won’t stick to the platform as you roll. Any extra flour can burn when you fry the samosas making them bitter
- Always fry samosas on low heat. This is so that the pastry cooks from inside. If the oil is too hot, they’ll brown too quickly on the outside but remain uncooked with raw pastry inside. Samosas take 15-20 minutes to fry to a golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
The samosa filling recipe that I have does not have any onions, but I do love adding garlic. However, if you don’t like garlic or don’t eat it, feel free to skip it and replace it with a pinch of asafoetida right in the beginning after you heat the oil.
Yes, and it should be. You will always get better results when you make the samosa dough in advance and keep it covered for 30-40 minutes. This helps form the gluten in the dough and the resting time gives you better control while rolling the dough. You can also make samosas in advance and refrigerate (upto 8 hours) or freeze them (up to 3 months) for later.
Samosas come in various shapes and forms and can be non vegetarian if you fill them up with keema/chicken but this particular recipe is vegetarian. You can easily make vegan samosas by swapping the ghee in the dough with oil
Yes, samosas can be baked in general. Though I believe deep frying provides the best results. To bake these, the amount of oil in the dough will need to be increased to give the same flaky results. I’m testing a baked samosa recipe and if I’m happy, I will put it up soon!
Absolutely! My mother has tested these samosas in the air fryer with great results. They will need to be brushed lightly with oil before being air-fried but the result is pretty yummy. They may not have the perfect, even golden brown crust but the pastry is cooked through and it’s quite crispy too, just like a good samosa should be.
You can easily make these samosas in advance and refrigerate them for about 6-8 hours. Or you can freeze them individually and store them in a ziplock or a freezer friendly container and fry them at a later date.
Richa’s Top Tips To Make Punjabi Samosas
- For the samosas to be crispy and flaky, it is important to add the right of fat to the flour. Don’t skimp on the ghee when kneading the dough, or your samosas will turn out hard and rubbery.
- Make sure to add water slowly and in small quantities when kneading the dough. Since the samosa dough is supposed to be tight and firm, using too much water won’t give you right consistency.
- These samosas stay good on the counter at room temperature for up to a day or in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
My favorite way to serve samosas is definitely with ketchup, but you can always serve these with coriander chutney or tamarind chutney, or turn them into a samosa chaat with all your favorite toppings.
Big thumbs up from Denver every time I make these which means they are approved by my biggest critic!
Watch the Video
This recipe was first published on October 8, 2017 and updated with new photos and a step by step video on August 19, 2021. A minor change was made to the dough recipe that results in crispier, flakier samosas.
The Best Indian Punjabi Samosa
Ingredients
Samosa Dough
- 2 cups Maida
- ¼ cup Ghee, clarified butter
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Water , + a few tablespoons extra, if required
Samosa Filling
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Saunf, fennel seeds
- A pinch of Methi Seeds, fenugreek seeds
- 1 tablespoon Ginger Paste, freshly ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Paste, freshly ground garlic
- 1 teaspoon Green Chillies, or Jalapeno (chopped)
- 2 teaspoons Red Chilli Powder
- 2 tablespoons Coriander Powder
- 3/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tablespoon Raw Mango Powder, Amchoor
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 3 Potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed (large, approx 360 grams)
- 6-7 Curry Leaves, finely chopped
- Salt to taste
Oil for Frying
Instructions
- To start making the samosa dough or pastry, mix together flour and salt and add ghee. Rub the ghee with the flour till it resembles bread crumbs. Start by adding 1/2 cup water and knead it into a firm dough. You may need a few extra teaspoons of water but add as you go. The consistency of the dough should be stiff. Don't over knead it. Its normal to see a few cracks and dimples. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and set aside while you make the filling.
- Heat oil in a pan. While the oil is heating, crush the coriander seeds, saunf (fennel seeds) and methi (fenugreek seeds) roughly and add it to the pan. Fry the spices till aromatic but be careful not to burn them. Add ginger, garlic and green chilies and stir fry for a minute or two. Add the remaining spices, mashed boiled potatoes and salt. I like to use a potato masher to just mash everything together and then mix it. Add the curry leaves right at the end, give it one more good mix and then set the mixture aside to cool.
Wrapping the samosas:
- Take a lime sized bowl of dough, roll it between your palms till smooth and dust it with flour. Roll it out into a circle which is less than 1 mm thickness and about 6 inches in diameter. Cut the rolled dough in half. Pick up one half and brush it with a little water along the straight edge of the pastry.
- Now take one edge of the straight side, and place it on the other edge of the straight side in such a way that the dough forms into a cone (watch the video for more clarity). Pinch the corner of the cone so that its sealed. Place a tablespoon and a half of the filling in the cone, making sure to fill it only 3/4th of the way. Brush the inside of the unfilled dough with a little water and seal it by pinching the edge together. Repeat till all the dough is used up. Place the samosas on a greased tray making sure they don’t touch each either and cover them with a damp cloth.
- Heat about 2 inches oil in a pan. To test if the oil is hot enough, add a tiny piece of dough to the oil and if it bubbles and floats slowly to the surface, your oil is ready for frying. Add the samosas to the oil making sure not to overcrowd the pan, and reduce the flame to a simmer. Fry the samosas on a low flame till golden brown on both side. It's important to fry them on a low flame, or the pastry would be raw from the inside and golden brown on the outside. They take 15-20 minutes to fry. Take them out on a plate lined with paper to absorb any extra oil and serve them immediately with ketchup, coriander chutney or tamarind chutney.
Video
Notes
- Make sure to roll out the dough thinly and evenly. If the wrapper is too thick, the samosas won’t cook properly from inside
- Do not use any flour while rolling the dough. There is enough fat in the dough and it won’t stick to the platform as you roll. Any extra flour can burn when you fry the samosas making them bitter
- Always fry samosas on low heat. This is so that the pastry cooks from inside. If the oil is too hot, they’ll brown too quickly on the outside but remain uncooked with raw pastry inside. Samosas take 15-20 minutes to fry to a golden brown.
- Can samosas be baked? Yes, samosas can be baked in general. Though I believe deep frying provides the best results, and when you are enjoying something like samosas, you should stop worrying about it being healthy and just indulge. To bake these, the amount of oil in the dough will need to be increased to give the same flaky results. I’m testing a baked samosa recipe and if I’m happy, I will put it up soon!
- Can samosas be made in the air fryer? Absolutely! My mother has tested these samosas in the air fryer with great results. They will need to be brushed lightly with oil before being air-fried but the result is pretty yummy. They may not have the perfect, even golden brown crust but the pastry is cooked through and it’s quite crispy too, just like a good samosa should be.
- How to freeze samosas? You can easily make these samosas in advance and refrigerate them for about 6-8 hours. Or you can freeze them individually and store them in a ziplock or a freezer-friendly container and fry them at a later date.
Great recipe. Turned out just like market
Thanks Meeta!
Wooooow… that’s looking so nice, hope this is yammii tooo…
thanks for sharing the recipe here , definitely i would try this at home.
Very easy recipe..first time I am seeing..thanks a lot..got the confidence to make
Hi.
Is there a substitute for the mango powder? Or can I skip that completely?
I just got back from India and samosa had been my favorite snack during the whole duration of my stay. Actually it was my snack, dinner, breakfast lol.
Anyway, the mango powder is something that I have not bought when I was there and it is not available here.
Thanks!
Hey Mikko – you can skip the mango powder here. It adds a nice tang to the samosas and rounds up the flavour but they will taste amazing even without it. Alternatively, you can look up ‘amchoor’ or ‘raw mango powder’ on Amazon or find it in Indian grocery stores. Its a great addition to Indian recipes. Either way, I hope you try this recipe and like it!
I add dried mango or raisins when I have no Amchoor 😊
very nice recipe
Hey Richa!
Tried the samosas today. They turned out awesome. Followed the recipe exactly and they tasted better than anything I’ve ever had. Perfect for monsoons.
Yay!! So glad you liked these!
I’m not sure what happened- I followed your recipe exactly but the outer layer wasn’t quite right. I did measure all the ingredients out for flour, salt, and oil and water but It felt too dry, and slightly chewy. The filling was perfect- though I made with just a little extra green chili and chaat masala. Any suggestions what went wrong with the outer layer?
Hey Lili, this can happen if the outer layer is not cooked properly. The thing with samosas is that they have to cook long and slow so that the dough is cooked well from inside. If its uncooked, it can be dry and chewy. I’m sorry this didn’t turn out well. I hope you’ll try making them again.
By the way thank you for sharing the recipe i will must try .
Punjabi samosa hot or warm with imli chutney or tomato sauce. in north india, they also serve punjabi chole with samosa. its called as samosa chana chaat. the combo of samosa with masala chai is irresistible. You must try Samosa with cold curd.
It looks Yummy.
Thanks for sharing.
So good and a fine recipe where all eat it and especially a Punjabi samosa need to say that more than in the writing part I understood in the video
Thank you!