Chicken Samosa – Spicy, Crispy & Delicious

I don’t know about you, but I love a good chicken samosa with all those lovely spices, and heat.

Arab people tend to be big fans of Indian food, not so different from most people around the world.

It kind of reminds me of the Middle Eastern turnovers, made with meat and spices.

The difference is that Arabic food is mostly warm spices, and Indian is hot spice.

I’ve been learning a lot about Indian spicing, and making the different curries from scratch.

Like Arabic food, Indian food is a bit time intensive, but worth every minute to make.

And if you make your spice mixes and pastes in advance then it’s not too bad at all.

Samosas are fun, and relatively easy to make, and as I mentioned delicious.

What is a Chicken Samosa?

A samosa is a type of Indian appetizer that is made with various fillings.

As you would expect Indian spices dominate this type of recipe.

The filling is made and placed in the center of raw dough which is then deep fried.

This food originated in the Middle East, and made its way to the sub continent via traders in the 13th or 14 centuries.

It was adapted and lots of spices were added over time making it more palatable to the local population.

It’s another food that shares its heritage with more than one people, evolving as it traveled.

Similarities Between Arab and Indian Foods

Some of the things that first come to mind is the freshness of the foods in each of these cuisines.

People from these cultures prize food that has not been sitting around, packaged or stored for long periods.

Flatbreads dominate the kind of bread mostly eaten in these two regions.

Lots of kebabs, of chicken, beef, and lamb, accompanied by lots of vegetables.

Fried filled breads like the samosa, or the sambousek, as well as several others are also eaten in both areas.

Lots of yogurt drinks is something else in common for these two great cultures.

Rice is another staple that is relied on in many of the dishes in both cuisines.

A lot of Indian influences in Arab food are prominent in the Arab Gulf States given the proximity of the subcontinent. 

How to Make a Chicken Samosa

This recipe starts with onions being fried, to which minced chicken is added and cooked in a saucepan.

Next the spices are added, and mixed into the pan, stirring until the chicken is cooked.

I love samosas, and I like them spicy so I add extra chili powder, garam masala, and onions.

Once the filling is almost done add the frozen peas to the mixture.

Remove from the pan and place into a large bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature.

In another bowl combine flour, salt, and oil, then water to make the samosa dough.

Mix all ingredients together until the dough emerges, then cover the bowl in plastic wrap.

Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes, then pour out over a lightly floured surface.

Divide dough up into small balls, and roll them out with a rolling pin into little rounds.

Place a portion of the chicken filling in the middle of the dough rounds and fold into a triangle cone shape.

To be safe, put a little flour paste along the edges to make sure the samosas don’t pop open during the frying process.

Deep fry the samosas until they are light brown to golden brown.

I like to use canola oil for this chicken samosa recipe.

Instead of dough some people use pastry sheets for these little parcels of delicious flavor.

Tips for Making Chicken Samosas

One of the important things to be sure of is that you have a robust dough that can be rolled thin enough, and fried.

The last thing you want is for your samosa to fall apart in the fryer.

Don’t stuff your samosas too full, also so they don’t burst.

And then you don’t want to have too little filling so it’s all dough.

Make sure the ground chicken does not clump as this will make your samosa uneven.

Don’t over fry, you want them crispy but not crunchy.