Keema Samosas (Chicken Samosas)
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 2teaspoons canola oil
- ½teaspoon ginger paste or finely grated fresh peeled ginger
- ½teaspoon garlic paste or finely grated fresh garlic
- 2medium yellow onions, finely chopped
- 1teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
- 1teaspoon ground red chile
- ½teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1pound ground chicken
- 1teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- ½teaspoon garam masala
- 2 to 3fresh Thai green chiles, stemmed and chopped
- 3tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 14spring roll wrappers (8 inches square; see Tip)
- 3tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Canola oil, for frying
- Mint Chutney, for serving
For the Filling
For Assembly and Cooking
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the filling: Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, until the raw smell dissipates, about 2 minutes. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the cumin seeds, ground chile, coriander and turmeric. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not burned, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the chicken, salt and vinegar, and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring to break up the chicken, until all the liquid has evaporated and the chicken is cooked through but still retains some moisture, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the garam masala and fresh chiles, and stir for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add the cilantro. Stir until well mixed and let stand until cool enough to handle.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, prepare to assemble the samosas: Line a sheet pan with wax paper or plastic wrap. Stack the wrappers and cut evenly in thirds to create 42 rectangles, 8 inches long by 2⅔ inches wide. If your wrappers are not 8 inches square, aim to cut 42 rectangular shapes in a 3-to-1 ratio. Place a damp clean cloth over your pastry sheets to prevent them from drying. Place the flour in a small bowl and add enough water (about 3 tablespoons) to make a smooth paste that’s the consistency of craft glue.
- Step 5
Take a pastry rectangle and place it with the long side facing you on a flat work surface. Replace the damp cloth over the remaining pastry sheets to keep them from drying out. Take the bottom-right corner of the rectangle and fold it over the top, with the short side extending 1 to 2 inches past the top. The overlapping pastry at the bottom right of the sheet will form an equilateral triangle with sides that are about 3 inches long. This triangle will be the final shape and size of the samosa. Fold the triangle so its right outer edge is aligned with the horizontal bottom edge of the sheet. There should now be a triangular pocket with two flaps sticking out to the left. Pick up the pocket so it is open and upright like a cone. Fill the cone with 2 teaspoons of the filling. Using the back of a small spoon, spread the flour paste in a thin layer over the remaining strip of pastry. Fold it over the stuffed triangle to seal the samosa. If the corners of the samosa have any gaps, fill them with the flour paste and pinch them to seal. Repeat with the remaining filling and rectangles (you may have leftover wrappers) and lay on the lined sheet pan, spacing apart. They can be fried or baked right away, or frozen on the pan until firm, then sealed in an airtight container or freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 2 months before frying and go straight into the hot oil from the freezer.
- Step 6
To fry the samosas, fill a frying pan with oil to a depth of ½ inch. Heat the oil over medium-high until it ripples. Add enough samosas to fit without overlapping and shallow-fry until golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes per side (longer, if frying directly from the freezer). Transfer to a cooling rack or plate lined with a paper towel to prevent them from getting soggy. Repeat with the remaining samosas, replenishing and reheating the oil between batches.
- Step 7
To bake the samosas, heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 1-inch-deep sheet pan with foil and add a thin layer of oil to the pan (about ¼ inch). Coat the samosas with the oil in the sheet pan and arrange them on the pan in a single layer in rows. Bake, turning once halfway through, until evenly golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a cooling rack or plate lined with a paper towel to prevent them from getting soggy.
- Step 8
Serve hot or warm with the mint chutney for dipping.
- TYJ brand spring roll pastry yields the flakiest, crispest samosas. Other brands work as well. If your wrappers are not 8 inches square, cut them into rectangles with the long sides about three times the length of the short sides.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
re: How to fold samosas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4alDsqqTlFk
A quick diagram of the triangle folding technique would be helpful
A great recipe what a lovely written article. Superb, though I would recommend having the Samosas while being serenaded by the pittar patter of a monsoon rain
For a quick appetizer, put the filling in Athens phyllo cups with a dollop of cilantro-mint chutney on top.
This is a good folding video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czii8XK0a9Y
Love keema samosas. The one’s I have had in the past are made from minced beef. You can definitely replace chicken with beef in this recipe.
A video of the recipe developer (who is also my wife) making the samosas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDtFW4lpFEM&t=96s&ab_channel=NYTCooking
How to fold samosas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4alDsqqTlFk
How to fold samosas - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4alDsqqTlFk
Keema refers to any ground meat. In Pakistan, keema is usually made from beef, but you could use lamb or chicken also.
This link has just what the doc ordered. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/565201821965007037/ The youtube video below gives a right triangle, which would be just as tasty & easier to fold.
I have been making samosas for years with strips of phyllo folded up into triangles. The geometry is easy and there are no holes. I brush them with butter and bake them. Very crisp and tasty.
Make sure buy the right size spring rolls. Making them a pain. Best with two people.
These samosas are delicious—the only weak point being my less than perfect oven baking. Has anyone tried to cook them in an air fryer? Any recommendations on temperature and time? All suggestions welcomed!
The aloo (potato) samosas are better.
I read this recipe and thought it wonderful - until I read the folding instructions. There is likely a correct medical label for it, but I call myself spatially dyslexic and instructions like this make me panic. Thank you so much to those who posted video demonstrations - I managed to mix, fold, cook and eat. They were delicious.
These are phenomenal! We subbed beef for chicken but that’s the only change we made. We folded and froze most of them and pop out a few when we feel like samosas. Taste good fried, but equally as delicious baked. The mint chutney that goes with this recipe is really delicious too. Will definitely make again!
Question: my boyfriend (of Muslim Indian descent, from one of the areas adjacent to the Pakistani border) makes a *beef* dish called keema (made from ground beef). Is keema the preparation style? Is this just a difference in regions (even adjacent ones) and they're just the same word for different dishes?
Keema refers to any ground meat. In Pakistan, keema is usually made from beef, but you could use lamb or chicken also.
Looked 3 times for what to do with the ingredient. Never found it in the instructions.
See Step 3. Turn off the heat and add the cilantro.
It’s in step 3. “Turn off the heat and ad the cilantro.”
Great recipe! I substituted beef for chicken. My package of spring roll wrapped had 20 wrappers so I made a 1.5x batch. Lots of samosas for the freezer. Fantastic flavour! A fun project.
I have been making samosas for years with strips of phyllo folded up into triangles. The geometry is easy and there are no holes. I brush them with butter and bake them. Very crisp and tasty.
Mine came out quite dry. Is there a way to keep them more moist?
The folding directions were maddening. Thanks to Prakash for providing the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4alDsqqTlFk
My friend Linda and I made the keema samosas exactly following the recipe with two minor exceptions, we could not find Thai chiles so substituted Serrano chiles and we forgot to get turmeric. We also made the spicy mint chutney to pair with the samosas. The balance of flavors was spot on. They were absolutely delicious and easy to make. We used the oven frying method and the filling was perfectly cooked and a crisp wrapper. This recipe is a keeper!
A video of the recipe developer (who is also my wife) making the samosas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDtFW4lpFEM&t=96s&ab_channel=NYTCooking
These were divine! I folded them as instructed and they held together perfectly. The video posted by u/boognish provided helpful visuals. I couldn't find spring roll wrappers, so used egg roll wrappers instead - they were a little smaller than a typical samosa, but crunchy, chewy and delicious. My partner and I both woke up thinking about them and ate them again for breakfast this morning.
Plan to devote a lot of time to fill samosas. I would like to bake with an oil spray. Has anyone tried this? Very tasty filling.
Advertisement