Samosas are the perfect accompaniment to any Indian meal. Crispy, delicious, and surprisingly light. If you are looking to make your own samosas, not only will you need to make a tasty filling, but you are going to need to learn to wrap them too. It can be tricky, but today I will to you an easy way as to how to wrap samosas. I’ll also give you a quick recipe so that you can make your own wrappers too! Let’s get right to it.
How to Wrap Samosas | A Step-by-Step Guide
Wrapping samosas is really easy. It’s up to you whether or not you use homemade wrappers or filo pastry.
And…
I’ve included a method for both.
You’ll need the following.
- Samosa filling
- Your choice of wrapper (either filo or homemade)
- A thick paste of flour and water
- A spoon or kitchen brush
- A clean and flat surface
Filo Pastry Strip Method
This method can be a little tricky to start off with, but once you nail it, it is simply a case of rinse and repeat. The trick is to avoid overstuffing your samosa wrappers.
- Cut your filo sheets into 4” x 8” strips (or any size that is twice as long as it is wide)
- With the long edge facing you, fold the top corner over so the short right-hand edge lies along the bottom edge. You should have a long strip with a right-angle triangle along the end.
- Fold the samosa wrapper along the left (vertical edge of the triangle you just formed).
- Fold the samosa up along the diagonal edge, so what used to be the far-right ‘short edge’ lies parallel with the long edge.
- (carefully) pick the entire wrapper up. If you give it a gentle squeeze, it should form a sort of ‘cone’.
- Fill the cone with your choice of samosa filling.
- Apply your flour and water paste to the remaining rectangular flap. Fold this over and stick it to the main body of the samosa.
- Smile as you realise you only have another 30 to make!
Homemade Samosa Wrappers (The ‘Full Moon’ Method)
The above is a lot of folding and messing around, right?
There is a simpler way, and this is my preference. The full moon method is simple and takes far less time (and effort). You’ll need round samosa wrappers for this to work…
- Lay your round samosa wrapper on a flat surface and paint all around the edges with flour and water.
- Lay a heaped spoonful of your filling slap bang in the centre of the wrapper.
- Fold one edge towards the middle of the filling. Fold the opposite edge to the middle of the filling at an angle. Press the edge down gently to get it to stick
- Fold the top ‘flap’ over the remaining filling and lightly press the edges to stick it all together.
You can see the above methods, plus a few more, in this quick video here: -
What Are Samosas?
Samosas are a triangular-shaped Indian appetiser. They normally consist of spiced meat or vegetable filling wrapped in a crispy shell that has been deep-fried.
While you can buy premade samosa wrappers, or even use filo pastry, traditionally samosas were, in fact, wrapped in a chapati, a sort of thin Indian style wrap.
While deep frying will give you the best result, you can also oven bake samosas if you are trying to be healthy. They don’t turn quite as golden brown, but they are just as delicious!
What Can I Use as a Samosa Wrapper?
You’ve got a few options as to what you use as a samosa wrapper.
If you want to go down the traditional route, I’d suggest buying yourself a pack of chapatis. This saves quite a lot of time and will give you a really authentic (and quite perfect) result.
You could also give filo pastry a try. You gain quite a lot in terms of convenience, but there are a few downsides. Filo pastry can be tricky to handle, as it is really thin. It also dries out quickly, so you have to work fast!.
Your final (and in my opinion best) option is to make your own samosa wraps. The recipe is super simple, and you don’t need any fancy equipment apart from a bowl, a spoon, and a rolling pin. Here’s my version…
Homemade Samosa Wrapper Recipe
Ingredients
- 200g white flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 100ml warm water
Method
- In a large bowl (or stand mixer), combine your flour, salt, oil, and water.
- Mix well until you have a stiff dough. If it is a bit wet, add some more flour. If it is too dry, add a splash of water.
- Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and kneed for 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
- Pinch off a golf ball-sized lump of dough and, using floured hands, roll into a ball shape.
- Dust your work surface with flour and squash the ball into a thick disc. Then, continue to roll flat with a rolling pin. You want it to be about the same thickness as a coin.
- Give it a final dust with flour and store it on a plate as you repeat the process.
How Do You Keep Samosas Crispy?
If you are finding that your samosas are emerging from the fryer and are a little soggy, there is a chance that you are overcrowding the pan. The trick with samosas is to cook them in batches. You want to make sure that they aren’t touching when they are in the pan. This allows the oil to stay hot and every inch of that samosa drenched in hot oil.
And there’s more.
If you are deep frying samosas, the key to keeping them crispy is to stop the filling ‘steaming’ the outer shell as they rest.
And here’s the thing.
If you just pile them into a bowl, this is exactly what will happen.
Here’s what to do.
Put your oven on a low light (100°C or less). As you fry each batch of samosas, put them directly onto the wire shelf to keep warm as you cook the rest!
Final Thoughts…
Samosas aren’t supposed to be complicated. They are an authentic Indian staple, and literally, millions are cooked each day should be proof. Knowing how to wrap samosas is half the battle. For an easy method, make your own samosa wrappers and follow the ‘full moon’ technique. How did it work out for you? Let me know in the comments.
