As it turns 6pm in Karol Bagh in Delhi, the nightfall is coming on a December chilly evening, street vendors have lights around their stalls each screaming to get customers attention so they can make their ends meets. 6pm means snack time, and street vendors are gearing up for the rush hour, and one of those street vendors is serving up one of the most humble street snack in India; Samosa.
Widely considered a quintessentially Indian delicacy, few people know that the samosa does not have an Indian origin. The deep fried, tightly pack of spicy goodness that people think belongs to India is actually from Central Asia.
The samosa’s origins are from thousands of miles away in the ancient empires that came up in Iran at the time of civilisation. There is mentions of sanbosag, from 10th century Middle Eastern cuisine in early medieval Persian texts as a relative of samosa and a cousin of the Persian pastry, samsa.
In India, Samosa was introduced by the Middle Eastern chefs who migrated for employment during the Delhi Sultans rule, having earned the blessings and love of the Indian royals, the samosa became a snack fit for the king. There is also traces that have been validated by one famed poet Amir Khusrau; the samosa being enjoyed by nobles in the royal Indian courts in the year 1300.
The British fell in love with the samosa on their arrival in India and they, along with the Indian diaspora, took the tasty tidbit with them to the far corners of their colonial empire. The samosa settled in the hearts of people everywhere, leading to the evolution of multiple regional versions that is enjoyed by all.
There are a number of variations in India, all of them served with chutneys. According to samosa God's, a samosa is deemed perfect when crispy-crunch of the lightly golden with soft texture and spicy taste of the filling.
The samosa is undoubtedly the brightest star of Indian street food. When you bite into a gorgeous, golden samosa, what you taste is the story of India – a melting pot of cultures, cuisines and cooking traditions.
Now that we know the origin of Samosa, we have taken it another level up to make this into a pie, do try Team India's samosa pie as we carry the tradition of this great Indian street food forward.