With this step-by-step samosa recipe, you will be able to make the perfect crispy and flaky samosa right in your kitchen. These potato samosas are filled with a spicy potato filling and are also vegan. I grew up in India, eating a lot of samosas, there were street vendors selling samosa at literally every corner of my hometown.
Whenever we had guests over for evening chai, my mom would always make onion pakora and order samosa from the street vendor. Honestly, we didn’t make too many samosas at home growing up, because literally they were available everywhere but once I moved to the US and started missing the samosas I enjoyed in India, is when I got into learning the tips and tricks behind making the perfect samosa.
Over the years, I have played around with this recipe and experimented several times to come up with an easy, foolproof recipe. I also learnt a few tricks from a street vendor during one of my India trips where he was gracious enough to share his knowledge with me. This is one of those treats that you should make for special occasions or over a weekend when you want to have some fun in the kitchen because it does take some time to put it all together.
Popular Indian snacks are often deep fried like pakora, kachori, and of course samosa! I love traditional deep-fried samosa; nothing beats munching on a good crispy samosa on a rainy evening with a cup of chai. But over the years, I have also baked samosas in the oven, made them with puff pastry and even air fried them. However, I always keep coming back to this traditional samosa recipe simply because there’s nothing quite like it.
Because samosa is so popular in India, I always assumed samosa was an Indian dish. Only later I read that it has its origin in Middle East and it was introduced to India during the Delhi Sultanate rule. It was later adapted as a vegetarian snack with spicy potato filling in India and thus aloo/potato samosa became the most widespread snack in India
I like adding peas to my samosa, if you don’t like it, you may skip it. But what you can’t skip is dunking hot samosa into spicy green chutney and sweet and sour tamarind chutney.
Tips to Make the Perfect Samosa
Here’s what I have learned over the years experimenting with making samosa in the kitchen and I am excited to share all my tips with you guys to make the perfect samosa at home!
Fry the samosa on low heat – the most important thing first- always fry the samosa on low heat (around 285 F degrees), that way they will turn crisp. Once they have become light brown in color and their crust is firm (after 10 minutes or so), then you can increase the heat and fry on medium heat.
- Mixing the oil with flour is important– rub the oil with the flour using your fingers for a good 3 to 4 minutes, this incorporates the oil well into the flour and makes the dough flaky.
- Don’t overwork the dough– you only need to bring the dough together. If you overwork it, and knead it a lot, the samosas will turn out hard.
- Dough should be stiff– soft dough will not give crispy samosa.
- Let the dough rest for around 40 minutes– always remember to let the dough rest for at least 30 to 40 minutes before you start making the samosa. A relaxed dough is much easier to work with.
- Roll the dough evenly and roll it thin–roll the dough thin for that crunchy samosa with thin edges- ideally around 1/16-inch or less and roll it evenly.
- Do not use any flour while rolling the samosa, you can apply little oil on your rolling pin.
Troubleshooting common Samosa problems
Why is My Samosa Not Crispy?
This happens when you fry the samosa in hot oil. You need to fry the samosa on low heat always, around 285-300 F degrees. Once the outer coating becomes firm, you can then increase the heat to medium at fry at 320-350 F degrees.
Another reason is that your dough wasn’t stiff enough. The dough should be pliable but stiff, it should not be soft like roti dough. It’s your dough is soft, you samosa will be soft as well.
Samosa isn’t flaky enough
The way to fix this problem is to make sure that the oil is well incorporated into the flour. Rub the flour with oil using your fingers for 2 minutes and they will be flaky/khasta (as we say in hindi).
Samosa crust has bubbles on top
This happens from dropping them in hot oil, drop the samosa in oil on low heat. That will prevent the formation of bubbles.
How to Make Samosa (from scratch)
- Start making the dough
After adding the oil, rub the oil with your fingers into the flour, this is an important step for flaky samosa.
- Make a stiff dough
The samosa dough should not be soft. And once you knead it to a stiff dough, cover it with a cloth and let the dough rest for 30-40 minutes.
- Boil and mash potatoes
First boil the potatoes and then mash them. Then start working on the samosa filling, first crackle the cumin seeds, then add crushed coriander seeds, ginger and chopped green chili.
- Finish making the samosa filling
Once the seeds crackle, then add the mashed potatoes along with green peas and ground spices like chili powder, coriander powder, amchur, and garam masala.
- Divide and roll samosa dough
Divide the prepared dough into 7 equal parts of 58-60 grams each. Then roll each ball into a circle (start with 1 dough ball) and cut into half. You are going to make samosas with each half.
- Shape the dough into a cone shape
Apply water to seal the edges and then fold as shown in the pictures by bringing the two edges of the flat side together. Pinch and seal to bake a cone.
- Fill the samosa
Fill the samosa now with the prepared filling but do not overfill.
- Seal the samosa
And make all the samosas similarly. Keep them covered with a cloth to prevent them from drying.
- Deep fry in oil on low heat
It is very important to fry on low heat for crispy samosa. Fry until they are crisp golden brown.
Can I Bake Samosas?
Yes, you can definitely bake these samosas. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and then place the samosa on it. Brush the samosas with oil and then bake at 350 F degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until browned.
Leftover Samosa Ideas
If you have leftover samosas, you can use them in different ways. Like make, Samosa Chaat where you pair the samosas with chole and chutneys.
You can also make Samosa Sandwich, apply chutneys on bread and place a samosa in between. You can even put some sev on top and enjoy.
How to Make Homemade Samosa (Crispy & Flaky!)
Ingredients
Samosa Dough
- 2 cups all purpose flour (maida), 260 grams
- 1 teaspoon ajwain, carom seeds
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon oil, 65 ml
- water, to knead the dough, around 6 tablespoons
Samosa Filling
- 3-4 medium potatoes, 500-550 grams
- 2 tablespoons oil, I used avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
- 1 green chili, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon hing, asafoetida
- ½ cup +2 tablespoons green peas, I used frozen green peas which I soaked in warm water for 10-15 minutes before using
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon amchur, dried mango powder
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder, or add more to taste
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
oil, for deep frying
Instructions
Make Samosa Dough
- Start by making the samosa dough. To a large bowl, add 2 cups flour (260 grams), 1 teaspoon ajwain and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix well using a wire whisk or your hands. Add 4 tablespoons +1 teaspoon oil (65 ml) to the bowl and then start mixing the oil into the flour.
- Rub the flour with the oil using your fingers until the oil is well incorporated into the flour. Do this for 2 to 3 minutes, you don’t want to rush this step because this will make your dough crispy.Once the oil is incorporated, the mixture will resemble crumbs. Press some flour between your palm- it should form a shape (& not crumble) – that means oil is enough and well incorporated.
- Now, start adding water, little by little and mix to form a stiff dough. I used around 6 tablespoons water here, but it can vary. The dough needs to be stiff and not soft. Don’t knead the dough much.
- Cover the dough with a moist cloth and let the dough rest for 40 minutes. I usually soak a paper towel in water and then squeeze out all the water and then cover the dough with that. While the dough is resting, start working on the filling.
Make the potato filling
- Boil 4-5 medium potatoes (500-550 grams) until done- 8 to 9 whistles on high heat with natural pressure release if using stove-top pressure cooker or if using Instant Pot, add 1 cup water to the steel pot and then place a trivet inside, place the potatoes on top of the trivet and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes with natural pressure release.Once the potatoes are boiled, let them cool down a little and then carefully peel the skin of the potatoes and mash them using a potato masher. Set them aside.
- Now, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and 2 teaspoons coriander seeds (crushed using mortar pestle).Let the seeds sizzle for few seconds and then add 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, 1 green chili (chopped) and ¼ teaspoon hing. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the boiled & mashed potatoes to the pan along with ½ cup + 2 tablespoons green peas to the pan. Turn heat to low-medium.Then add 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala, ½ teaspoon amchur, ¼ teaspoon red chili powder (or to taste), and ¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste).
- Mix everything together using a spatula. I use my potato masher to combine the spices and seasonings well with the potatoes and peas.Once everything is well combined, remove the pan from heat and let the filling cool down a bit.
Shape & fry the Samosa
- Once the dough has rested, give it a quick knead and then divide the dough into 7 equal parts of around 58-60 grams each.Take one piece of dough and roll it into a thin circle, around 6 to 7 inches in diameter and 1/16 inch (or less) thickness, then cut the dough into two equal parts. Keep the remaining dough always covered with a moist cloth else the dough will dry out.
- Take one part of the cut circle and apply water on the straight edge/side. I usually mix some flour with water so that it forms a nice glue.Now bring the two ends of the straight edge together and pinch them to form a cone. Refer to step by step pictures in the post for a graphic representation which might be helpful. Pinch the pointed ends to make it a perfect cone shape.
- Fill the samosa with the prepared potato filling, around 1 to 2 tablespoons. Don’t overfill the samosa.Now again apply water all around the circumference of the cone as you must seal it. Pinch the opposite side (side opposite to where you pinched to form the cone) to form a plate (refer to step by step pictures in the post). Then pinch the edges and seal the samosa.
- Your samosa is now ready. Repeat with remaining dough and make all the samosas similarly. Always remember to keep the filled samosa covered with moist cloth while roll and fill the others.
- Now heat oil in a kadai on low heat (around 285-300 F). To check if oil is ready, drop a small piece of dough into the oil, it should take a few seconds to come up to the surface. That means the oil is ready. Or use a kitchen thermometer if you have one.
- Drop the shaped samosas into the oil. Fry on low heat. After around 10-12 minutes, the samosa will become firm and light brown in color. At this point, increase the heat to medium (around 350 F) and fry until it gets nicely browned.Don’t overcrowd the kadai/wok, fry 4-5 samosas at a time. And each batch will take around 15 to 20 minutes since we fry on low heat so be patient.
- Once you finish frying one batch, lower the heat again to low and wait until the temperature of the oil drops and then add the second batch. If you fry samosa on high heat, they will not get crispy and the dough will remain uncooked so regulating the oil temperature is crucial while making samosas.Fry all the samosa and then enjoy them hot with chutney!
Notes
- Can I Use Whole Wheat Flour?
- How to Store and Re-heat Leftover Samosas
- How To Freeze Samosas
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe! I’m making them now and my kitchen smells so delicious my hubby can’t wait! Lol! Thanks so much for sharing.
welcome! 🙂
But I’m about to try them your way tomorrow and let’s see
Tried your recipe but used puff pastry (kinda lazy for the dough, lol) and it’s a massive hit at home. So quick and easy to follow, amazing recipe!! Thank you for sharing it with us…. much, much appreciated.
Kind regards.
glad to know!
Amazing recipe
this looks great, thank you! do you also have a baking version? (i kmow its not traditional)
try 375 for 45 minutes
Hi can I make them up in the morning then fry them off in the evening.
yes you may, cover and then store
I think the instructions for picture #23 are supposed to say “pleat” not “plate”. Also wondering about q substitution for asafoetida?
correct it’s pleat. Skip the hing (asafoetida).
Nice recipe
It’s interesting that your samosa pur is so much thicker than what I knew while growing up! I’m from South Africa and the type I know is rolled quite thin and cut into long rectangles and then slightly toasted. A portion at the bottom is folded to make a triangle and the filling is placed inside and it is then folded upwards in an alternating style making a triangle and sealed with a bit of flour and water paste. The samosas are then fried in hot oil
must be a country thing… this is how they are in Delhi 🙂
That is how I make them too, Nirvana
Manali, can you tell us what temperature your oil is when at low heat? 100 / 120 degrees Celsius?
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
around 250 F is my guess- which is 120 C
This is very simple but to fold it is hard for me please can you teach me Thanks you very much
folding isn’t hard, please follow the step by step pictures in the recipe
Instead of frying could the samosa be air fried instead?
try 350 F for 20 minutes
Manali, thank you so much for this recipe! I am a vegetarian white woman with an Indian daughter, and we cook together frequently. We also love to visit different styles of Indian restaurants, and on special occasions, we drive a good distance to get our favorite samosas. We followed your instructions carefully, and these turned out SO well, and we even baked them instead of frying them! The only change we made was that Chandra wanted to add turmeric to the potatoes. These are so delicious!
glad to know!
Hi Manali,
I haven’t got any maida flour, can I use type 405 normal white (wheat) flour
Thanks
Kate
Hi kate I am not sure what 405 is, but yes regular white flour is fine. It’s just called “maida” in hindi in India and all purpose flour in the US.
Hi Manali,
Type 405 (I’m in Germany) is all purpose plain flour, with no raising agents, so I guess it would be ok. Thank you very much for your reply!!
Oh my goodness, I love this authentic as my mum’s. Thank you so much. I love this and just based on the success of this one recipe, Manali, I’m going to be ordering the book. Thank you x
Thanks Abida 🙂
Hi Manali
Over the years i have tried many samosa recipes, but we like this recipe best.
I have been using your recipe for some time now but never thanked you for sharing this recipe properly. Mamali thank you so much for sharing your excellent recipe of the most delicious samosas out there :))).
glad to know!
Can the samosas be made one day and then taken on picnic next day ……. not heated, at atmosphere temperature …..
yes, they just won’t be as crispy. I would store them at room temperature in air tight container after they have cooled down. And then take them to picnic next day,
Love the term atmosphere temperature
These were excellent, only problem I had was that when I put them in the oil over low heat nothing really happened, they just sat there. This is probably because I had the dough in the freezer before cooking and also the filling had been refrigerated beforehand. So I turned up the heat to medium-low, waited for the oil to start simmering, and then turned it back down to low. Thanks for the recipe Manali!
Do you have to defrost them before frying if frozen? If so, how long before cooking should you get them out?
I would fry straight away
Impressive recipe… made Somosas for the first time and everyone has said they will help make them next time, so we can have them soon! Thank you for the great tips and pictures too. Will try with a little bit of curry leaves next time.
so glad to know!
Hi,
I made this for my family they love it, i had few leftover so i froze it before cooking but i did not get even golden color like the unfrozen ones, can you please give me tips for get even color for frozen samosa, planning to make it for my daughter’s birthday so i need big batch.
you mean they didn’t get brown while frying? there’s no trick, you have to fry the frozen ones also until they become golden brown, keep heat on low-medium and have patience or try baking at 375 F for 45 minutes
Hi lovely recipe!
The kcal is that per samosa or total or?
Thank u!
I wish 14 samosa would have only such less calories, haha! they are an estimate for 1 samosa, calculated automatically by a plugin. It’s not 100% accurate but as estimate.
Can I ask what type of oil you mix in with the flour?
any oil is fine- avocado, olive, canola, vegetable! I have used avocado oil
What about using ghee?
you can!
I haven’t made them yet, beautiful recipe! If I freeze them before cooking, do I have to defrost them before cooking? I plan to brush them with oil and use my new air fryer!
I would probably put them straight into air fryer. add few extra minutes.
Wow wow wow delicious my family loved them instead of potatoes l did them with mince ?????mouth watering
Hi, I saw the answer to freezing but can you make a day or so ahead and refrigerate too?
you mean fry and then refrigerate? sure but they won’t taste as good as fresh. heat them up in oven.
These taste just like what I buy at a Indian restaurant.
in the recipe you say add the oil to the flour, but the ingredient list shows 4 tbls water and 1 tbls of oil – are these mixed together and then added to the flour? And after that the 6 tbls of water used to pull it together to make the dough? Just about to start and wanted to get it right!!
“4 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon oil 45 ml + 5 ml” – this is just oil , I have not mentioned water here, please check again. You add 4 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon oil (total 50 ml) to the dough and then yes around 6-7 tablespoons water to bring the dough together.
Thank you for this recipe! We don’t have a way to deep fry, so we bake it in the oven
Amazing! Soo good. I had a ton of extra filling after making 14 samosas, so I am going to make another dough batch and freeze these ones.
What is the cooking instructions for frozen samosas?
Thanks!
Hi Lisa, glad you like it! Hmm I would fry them straight away from the freezer, should be okay. or bake them at 375 F for 45-50 minutes ?
Ok thanks! I’ll try both ways and report back.
OMG
Finally my SAMOSAS turned out so good.
I have tried few samosa recipes before and they were never good
But you rock
My family loved it
Thanks
yay! so glad
When you say low heat for the frying what temp is that?
Thanks!
hmm I have never measured it, but definitely lower than 350 F…maybe 200-250 F
Made these for my family tonight (with the help of my 5 year old daughter). Wow. We’ll be making them again!!!
Note to people making this in Canada: our winter wheat is famously very gluten-heavy and absorbs a lot of water. For 2 cups of all-purpose flour, it took 23 tbsp before we got a dough ball! But it made a beautiful pastry nonetheless. I baked for 35 minutes and then switched to the broiler on low for a minute a side for extra browning. A huge hit with the whole family–thank you!
welcome, glad to know!
Hi, I’m from Malaysia. Tried this recipe for a customer food order yesterday and it turned out perfect. The dough stayed crisp for a long time. Usually I refrain recommending fried items for catering as the oily effects are ugly after a while but this is a safe recipe. Will definitely keep this recipe for good. Good tips that helps a newbie. Thank you so much
welcome! glad to hear
can you tell me where the best place is to get the spices I am in Ontario Canada just so you know. I really want to try and make these wish me luck I have not made much Indain food but love to eat it so I thought this White girl is going to try and make them. Any tips would be helpful
Best place would be an Indian store, sorry I have never been to Ontaria and neither I am familiar with the area so can’t say where but check out local Indian Grocery store.
Penny–where in Ontario? If you’re rural or remote, Amazon is pretty good. Near mist cities, a Great Canadian Superstore, Loblaws. and even Food Basics has quite a bit (coriander, cumin, fennel), but for the more special spices, you need to find a special shop. Here in Sudbury, the best source for a long time was hidden away at the back of a convenience store–wasn’t advertised or nothing, heard about it by word of mouth. But it has a great selection, even ajwain, amchur, hing, and some of those harder to get stuff. Recently a dedicated Indian grocer opened up, and we finally have EVERYTHING.
If you’re anywhere the GTA, you’ll have better luck than elsewhere.
Penny, Spice Trader (in Toronto) has a great selection of spices and they have online ordering and shipping.
I made these yesterday, as an appetizer for Thanksgiving, as my family was coming over and I was hosting. All I can say is wow!! Everyone was in love with these, and I had no leftovers. The instructions were so easy to follow, and the images helped a lot. I doubled the recipe as there were many hungry people lol. The only change I made is lessen the amount of chili powder, as not everyone can handle it. Thanks, Manali, this recipe is a keeper!! xoxo
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to make this. Great blog.
This is fantastic! I follow a low carb diet so I used a different recipe for the dough (but added the all important ajwain to it) and used cauliflower instead of potatoes for the filling, and it was still delicious! We had this with mint chutney on a rainy Diwali Sunday and it was amazing… So many happy memories of India! Thank you so much, this made my day 🙂
Thank
Hi Manali, I changed recipe to without spice. Made 20 samosa, because I wanted to have a thin layer around filling. Finally baked them. They were delicious ?
I had no idea where to start but remember watching mum as a child so I recognised the steps! This is just like my mum made them. Authentic home made samosas at their best. Thank you for the recipe. It’s perfect xxx
awesome!
Was looking for a good samosa dough recipe to use up some aloo gobi, had to improvise based on my available ingredients so used 50/50 all purpose flour and chapati atta and coconut oil, came out really well so will be buying ingredients and giving the whole recipe a go this weekend – great instructions and photos that really helped a first timer, thank you ☺️
it is awesome site . thanks a lot for uploading.
Thanks Manali ! Your recipe is so perfect with precise measurement. My samosas turned out crispy and not oily at all. My family enjoyed them. Thanks a lot!
glad to know Snehal!
This really is the best, most authentic recipe for samosas I have ever come across. Excellent! The detailed instructions, pictures, and precise ingredients list are very helpful.
More importantly the recipe really works and produces samosas equal to or better than those in shops I have bought them from – and south Asian friends who have made them – here in the UK.
Many Thanks Manali!
welcome Robert, I am glad to knoe! 🙂
I’m Indian but wanted to follow a recipe with the right quantities As not Made them for a few years! And nothing beats home When Ready made ones from a shop
Are always disappointing. These were the best ever! The pastry and cooking tips did the trick! Thank you. I added onions and coriander within my filling. Both add more flavour. And I shall again use these quantities but vary my filling for variety! Thank you ?
you are welcome! glad you enjoyed them!
This was great! I just made the filling and used a rice wrapper for the outside as I’m gluten free. Very very tasty, thank you!
Did you bake yours or fry?
Hi! I was wondering how to bake in oven after freezing. Has anyone tried this.
try 350 F for 40 minutes
Made this today and the recipe was easy to follow. The samosas have come out superb even I say do myself. Family are happy. That’s a big tick!! Thanks for the awesome recipe
glad to hear!
Nice recipe. I have tried your recipe yesterday and my husband loved it. Thank you, keep sharing wonderful recipes.
Manali ji your recipes are very good. Its really easy to follow and make samosa. Everyone enjoyed at home. Thanks for sharing.