How To Stuff And Fold Samosas Like A Pro

Cultures all over the globe love to snack on savory pockets of dough stuffed with tasty filling. In India, the most beloved version is the samosa, a snack which can be found from north to south and east to west. Samosas consist of fresh dough folded into a properly plump, pyramid shape around a flavorful combination of spiced veggies or meat, or a mixture of both, and fried to a crispy finish. The shape creates a perfect pocket for scooping up a bit of your favorite type of chutney as you munch.

If you'd like to try making homemade samosas, and you've always wondered how to accomplish creating that 3D stuffed shape, Varun Inamdar, the Indian celebrity chef and owner of New Light in Kashmir, Anokhi in Shanghai, and 27° West in Singapore, has some handy tips. To begin, he says, "Roll the dough into an oval and cut it in half. Form a cone and seal the edges with water." The final samosa size depends on how big your oval of dough is — you can decide if you want mini versions or bigger bites. Dampen the straight-edged side of the half oval semi-circular shaped dough with water and then bring the two corners together and press them together, forming a hollow floppy ice-cream-cone shape.

Once your cone is accomplished, chef Inamdar says to "fill with stuffing, making sure it's not too moist." The texture of any mixture designed for filled pastry is key to a great result. Too much moisture in the filling can make for a soggy or burst samosa when it fries, because the water turns to steam and needs to escape. You can hold the cone in one hand and use a spoon to put the filling inside with the other, checking the consistency as you go.

For the final step, chef Inamdar advises to "pinch and fold the top properly in an overlapping pinch to avoid breaking during frying." You'll bring the rounded edge of what was the oval over the top of the samosa filling, making a cap on top of the cone. If you don't get a good pinched seal on these edges, your samosa filling will most likely leak out into the fryer oil, causing sputtering and making a mess, so this is a very important step to get right. As with many other wrapped and stuffed snacks, it takes a bit of practice to get the fold just right, but these pro tips will speed you on your way to perfection in no time.

As for what dough to use, you can make your own using all-purpose flour, water, and oil, or take a shortcut by turning store-bought puff pastry into a batch of samosa dough.