The humble, hot and spicy samosa is my go to snack !!
I am not a popcorn and coke person (there I said it ) !! The humble, hot and spicy samosa is my go to snack whenever I am out for a movie. The spicy potato filling within the crispy fried pastry is just the perfect accompaniment to a bollywood masala film :). Popcorn, nachos , sandwiches , etc just dont cut it for me.
The unique thing about having samosa in any Mumbai cinema hall is that it doesn’t matter where you are watching the movie , the samosa always tastes the same. As a child this was intriguing to me. Yes, I was a food obsessed child and I DID think of such things, in 1st grade I even made my mum call up a classmate’s mother for the recipe of a particular sandwich I had tasted in her tiffin ! Anyway, this mystery was very soon solved when I learnt that all of Mumbai’s movie theaters buy their samosa from the same caterer. None other than A-1 samosa in Sion. No wonder they all taste the same. Till date they supply samosas to most of the single screen theaters and multiplexes across Mumbai.
There are a lot of ways in which samosa can be made, one can find thousands of samosa recipes online. However, the A-1 samosa are my favourite but I couldn’t find any similar recipe online. So after a lot of trials I am finally happy with a recipe enough to share it.
The A-1 samosa’s specialty lies in the unique kala (black) masala instead of the usual laal(red) potato filling. I have used a freshly blended spice mix of whole fennel seeds, carrom seeds and nigella seeds along with some fragrant punjabi garam masala. To make this even more flavourful use freshly ground coriander seed powder.
The flaky crispy samosa crust is another secret I am divulging with this recipe. To make the crust bubble free and crispy keep these three important points in mind :-
- Use ghee/ hydrogenated oil, basically a saturated fat to make the dough.
- Make a fairly stiff dough with very little water.
- Fry the samosas in medium hot oil, it shouldn’t be too hot or too cold.
I guarantee that this recipe is going to evoke all kinds of nostalgia once you try a bite of the A-1 samosa that YOU make !
You can also checkout another copycat recipe of MANGO KULFI here. It is mango kulfi frozen inside the fruit,just like old delhi’s famous kuremal kulfiwala.
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SAMOSA – SION A1 SAMOSA / GURUKRUPA / MOVIE THEATRE STYLE – COPYCAT RECIPE
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12-15 samosas
- Category: snacks
- Cuisine: indian
Description
Flavourful potato filling encased in a crispy flaky pastry ! The taste of this samosa is just like Mumbai’s famous A-1 samosa !
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
All purpose flour (Maida)- 300 gram (1.5 cups)
Hydrogenated vegetable oil (vanaspati ghee)/ ghee- 45gms (3 tbsp)
Salt as per taste
Carrom seeds (ajwain) -1/4 tsp
FOR THE POTATO FILLING
Raw potato -500 gms (boil after weighing)
Dry peas – 55 gms or 1/4 cup
Oil – 1 tbsp
Ginger – 15 gms or grated 1 Tbsp
Mint leaves – 10 gms or 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves – 10 gms or 1/2 cup
Green chilly paste – as per taste
Whole coriander seeds – 1 tbsp
Carrom seeds – 1/4 tsp
Fennel seeds – 3/4 tsp
Nigella seeds – 3/4 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Asafoetida (hing) – 1/8 tsp
Dry mango powder (amchur) – 1.5 tsp
Salt to taste
Punjabi Garam masala – 1 + 1/4tsp
Instructions
- Add the salt and carrom seeds to the flour. Add the ghee in the flour and rub it thoroughly till it is well mixed with all the flour.
- Then add in water one tablespoon at a time and form a stiff dough. The dough should be fairly stiff, I used about 3-4 Tbsp water for this much flour. Knead it well. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30-45 mins. After this rest , the dough will become a little more pliable and easy to roll out.
- Crush the fennel seeds, carrom seeds and nigella seeds together without dry roasting them to make the special A-1 samosa masala. Also crush the fresh coriander seeds without roasting them to a fine powder.
- For the potato filling, heat some oil in a pan. Add in the asafoetida, and a pinch of whole cumin seeds.
- Once they crackle, add in the grated ginger, finely chopped mint and coriander leaves. These cooked leaves give a very distinct flavour to the filling. Saute them for 1-2 mins on low flame.
- Add the green chilly paste, garam masala, coriander seed powder and the samosa masala. Saute on low flame till this mix is fragrant, be careful not to burn the dry spices.
- Lastly add in the mashed boiled potatoes, boiled peas, salt , dry mango powder and cumin powder. mash the potatoes lightly, dont make the mix very very smooth. The unevenly sized potato bits taste better. Mix all this well and let it cool down before filling the samosas.
- Now divide your dough into equal sized roundels, from each roundel we will get 2 samosas, so you can make small or big sized roundels depending on the final size of the samosa you want.
- Without using any dry flour, roll them thin to about 2-3 mm. Roll them slightly elongated into an oval shape NOT round.
- Now divide this into 2 parts by runing a knife along the middle of the shorter diameter.
- Rub a little water along the stright side and fold it like a cone. Using pressure with your fingers join the 2 seams properly till they stick.
- Now fill in the potato filling, DO NOT overfill it or it may burst while frying.
- Stretch the seamless side of the samosa forward and join it with the other side to close the samosa. Wet the sides to do so.
- To understand this technique better please watch the video linked below. It is very important to fold the samosa correctly so that it has the perfect shape and doesn’t open in the hot oil.
- Once all the samosas are ready, you can cover them with a slightly moist cloth till they are ready to be fried.
- It is very important to fry samosas in medium hot oil to prevent bubbles on the crust. Heat some oil in a frying pan, preferably take a deep vessel.
- When it is medium hot, not very hot, add in the samosa. Add 2-3 at a time, don’t overcrowd the oil. when you dunk in the samosa very less bubbles should form in the oil i.e. they should form but it shouldn’t be bubbling vigorously.
- Fry the samosa like this in medium hot oil till they are golden brown, keep turning them with a slotted spoon to avoid over browning any one area.
Notes
- You can 50-50 whole wheat flour and all purpose flour combination.
- TO FREEZE – After filling the samosa, fry once in hot oil till a light golden crust is formed. Let them cool completely and then freeze them in a freezer safe container. You can also store the half fried samosa in the fridge for 2-3 days. Before serving, bring them to room temperature , then re fry in medium hot oil till they are crispy and golden brown.
Keywords: A-1 samosa recipe, samosa recipe, alu samosa recipe, easy samosa recipe
Watch this recipe in HINDI here :-
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