There is always a good time to have a samosa. Whether it is a rainy season or winter, summer or spring. This much loved appetizer recipe comes in all shapes and flavors. These tasty snacks top of everyone's list when it comes to street food. Onion patti samosa, vegetarian spicy potato, green peas and peanut filled sambosa, lamb keema sambosa or nuts & raisins filled sweet one. No wonder you see frozen samosas in all super markets. Another great variation is a samosa pinwheels for bento boxes. I love having both fried and air fried samose anytime. The same dough can be used for shakarpare, Namak pare or nimki.
Everyone has a favorite. Aloo ke samose, paneer samosa and samosa chaat is a signature dish of Indian food entrée every where. However, it doesn't last too long. You need snacks when you travel but boiled potato ones will go stale soon. Hence, dry mini samosa comes to your rescue. Chota samosa is filled with nuts raisins and moong dal along with some spices.Mini samosas snack a crowd favorite on long journeys. Learn to make this low oil air fried spicy and sweet samosas which can also be made as kachoris if you do not have time to fold. Other great travel recipes are air fryer sev.
Ever wondered, how many calories in mini samosa ?
The deep fry version has 40% more calories than an air-fryer version. What a win, cut your calories yet still enjoy your favorite snack. Of course, it does not mean you can have 2 pieces instead. Well I say yes on a cheat day 😉
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How to make mini samosas in air fryer? (recipe video)
Ingredients
For the pastry covering:
- All-purpose flour /plain flour/maida
- Semolina /sooji
- Chilled water
- Ghee/oil if vegan
- Caraway /ajwain seeds
- Salt
- Oil for brushing during baking
For Stuffing:
- Mung dal soaked in water and drained
- Chickpea flour /besan
- Almonds/cashews chopped
- Raisins /kishmish
- Red chilly powder
- Dried mango powder /amchur
- Fennel seeds /saunf
- Garam masala
- Sugar & salt as per taste
Refer to recipe card for details.
How to make mini samosa ?
- In a pan, heat oil, cook the soaked lentils after draining the water.
2. Add besan/chickpea flour to the lentils once they soften.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients(including the nuts), except raisins to the pan
4.Mix the spices along with the lentils and stir, continue to cook slowly for 8-10 minutes on low flame.Turn off the heat
5. In a large bowl, mix the cooked lentils along with raisins to make the filling.
6. Once you have mixed all ingredients, optionally pulse them in a food processor for 2-3 seconds so that they are mixed well.
To make the pastry:
6. Add all ingredients of the pastry in a bowl to knead the dough in the stand mixer(except water).
7.Mix the ghee/oil with flour, until you get a crumbly texture
8. Knead the dough with ½ cup water to get a semi hard dough. Add extra flour as needed, to keep from sticking to hands and board. Place the dough in a well-oiled vessel and cover with a cloth/plastic wrap for 15 minutes.
9. Take a small portion of it and roll the dough into small round shape. Cut it in 2 equal halves.
10. Make a cone by sticking the edges with water.
11. Fill the stuffing and close the cone with water. Seal the edges with a fork
You may fry them in hot oil, if you are not counting calories. Otherwise use the below steps to bake.
How to make mini samosa in an air fryer?
- Line up the samosas on the grill.
2. Bake for 18-20 mins, brushing oil 3 times in between at 170 degree C | 340F.
3. Serve as a snack during tea time.
How to make dry kachori in air fryer ?
Follow the full recipe for air fryer dry kachori here
- Follow the same steps for stuffing and pastry and shape them into round kachori.
- Brush oil and cook for 22-25 minutes in a preheated air fryer @180C|355F .Brush 2-3 times in between.
Once done, store them in an air tight container.
How to make mini samosa in the oven?
- Line up the samose pieces in a baking tray.
- Bake them in a pre-heated oven at 180 C (or 360 F) for 15 minutes(fan-forced)
- Brush/Spray with oil and bake further for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown in color.
- Brush/Spray with oil and bake further for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown in color.Total cook time of 30-35 minutes.
- Allow to cool on rack. Store in an air-tight jar.
Serve with or without mint chutney or tamarind chutney.
Related air fryer recipes
air fryer mini samosa recipe
Equipment
- Air fryer
- or oven
- stand mixer optionally for kneading
Ingredients
For samosa pastry
- 2 cup all-purpose flour /plain flour/maida
- 3 tbsp. semolina /sooji
- 1 cup water (little less than 1 cup )chilled
- 3-4 tbsp. ghee/oil if vegan
- 1 teaspoon caraway /ajwain seeds
- 2 teaspoon salt or as per taste
- 2-3 tbsp. Oil for brushing during baking
For Stuffing
- ⅓ cup mung dal soaked in water and drained
- ⅓ cup chickpea flour /besan
- 6-7 almonds/cashews chopped
- 8-10 raisins /kishmish
- 2 tablespoon oil for cooking the stuffing
Spices for stuffing
- 1.5 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 2.5 teaspoon dried mango powder /amchur
- 1 tbsp. fennel seeds /saunf
- 1 tbsp. garam masala
- 2.5 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For stuffing
- Heat oil in pan. Drain the water from lentils and add them to the pan.
- Add besan/chickpea flour to the lentils once they soften.
- Add all remaining ingredients(including the nuts) of the filling, except raisins to the pan.
- Mix the spices along with the lentils and stir, continue to cook slowly for 8-10 minutes on low flame.Turn off the heat
- In a bowl, mix the cooked lentils along with raisins to make the filling.
- Once you have mixed all ingredients, optionally pulse them in a food processor for 2-3 seconds so that they are mixed well.
For samosa /kachori pastry
- Add all ingredients of the pastry in a bowl to knead the dough in the stand mixer(except water)
- Knead the dough with little less water to get a semi hard dough.
- Add extra flour as needed, to keep from sticking to hands and board
- Place the dough in a well-oiled vessel and cover with a cloth/plastic wrap for 15 minutes.
For samosa
- Take a small portion of it and roll the dough into small round shape. Cut it in 2 equal halves.
- Make a cone by sticking the edges with water. Add a spoonful of filling and seal it.
For kachori
- Follow the same steps for stuffing and pastry and shape them into round kachori.Brush oil and cook for 22-25 minutes in a preheated air fryer @180C|355F .Brush 2-3 times in between.
To air fry
- Brush oil and cook for 17-20 minutes in a preheated air fryer @170C|340F .Brush 2-3 times in between.
- Allow to cool on rack. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Substitutions & Variations
- You can use olive oil while kneading the pastry dough instead of ghee if you are a vegan.
- You can replace amchur powder with lime juice if you do not have it at home.
- Add or remove the spices as per your taste. Add more sugar if you like yours a tad bit sweeter. Add a spoonful of coriander powder if you like. If you are allergic to cashews use almonds.
- Serve it with yogurt dips, sev, mint and tamarind chutney to make a samosa chaat.
Equipment
I have used the stand mixer to knead the dough. However, it is not mandatory. You can always knead with hands too. These chota samosas have been around for much longer times. Samosa existed even before stand mixer was invented! You can fry them if you like to make it traditional manner. Air fryer or oven can be used if you like to watch your oil in take.
Storage
You can store these prepared samosa in an air-tight container. They last around 2 weeks(if you can control eating them :))
FAQs
Yes, in an air tight plastic jar.
Conclusion: Homemade samosas are a perfect companion to your cup of tea. Afterall who can resist spicy snack with dry fruits and Indian spices. Bon appétit!
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