samosa

The tradition & historical record

A samosa () () or shingara is a fried Indian subcontinent turnover with a savoury filling that mostly consists of vegetables like spiced potatoes, onions, and peas, but can include cheese such as paneer, meat or even fish. Its name originates from the Middle Persian word sambosag (سنبوسگ) (meaning 'triangular pastry'). It is made in different shapes, including a triangle, a cone, or a crescent, depending on the region. Samosas are often accompanied by chutney and have origins in the Middle Ages or earlier. Sweet versions containing traditional Indian flavours, or even chocolate, are also made. Samosas are popular snacks in South Asia and within the Indian diaspora across the world. ¹

The English word samosa derives from the Hindustani word samosa (Hindi: समोसा), traceable to the Middle Persian word sambōsag (سنبوسگ) 'triangular pastry'. Similar turnovers are called sambusak in Arabic from Persian; Medieval Arabic recipe books sometimes spell it sambusaj. All these word-forms are borrowed from the Persian. The names shingara, singara, or singada, used in the East of the Indian subcontinent including Bengal and Eastern Nepal, denotes the water caltrop, a plant whose fruit is sharply tetrahedral like the pastries made there. ¹

The South Asian samosa is believed to be derived from a medieval precursor from the Middle East that was baked and not deep-fried. The earliest mention of a samosa precursor was by Abbasid-era poet Ishaq al-Mawsili, praising the sanbusaj. Recipes are found in 10th–13th-century Arab cookery books, under the names sanbusak, sanbusaq, and sanbusaj, all from the Persian word sanbosag. Among these is sanbusaj in the Arabic 10th century Kitab al-Tabikh in the same chapter as sausages, suggesting the dough may have been a substitute for intestine. In Iran, the dish was popular until the 16th century, but by the 20th century, its popularity was restricted to certain provinces (such as the sambusas of Larestan). Abu'l-Fadl Bayhaqi (995–1077), an Iranian historian, mentioned it in his history book, Tarikh-i Bayhaqi. The Central Asian samsa was introduced to the Indian subcontinent in the 13th or 14th century by chefs from the Middle East and Central Asia who cooked in the royal kitchens for the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. Amir Khusrau (1253–1325), a scholar and the royal poet of the Delhi Sultanate, wrote around 1300 CE that the princes and nobles enjoyed the "samosa prepared from meat, ghee, onion, and so on". Ibn Battuta, a 14th-century traveller and explorer, describes a meal at the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq, where the samushak or sambusak, a small pie stuffed with minced meat, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and spices, was served before the third course of pulao. Ni'matnāmah Naṣir al-Dīn Shāhī, a medieval Indian cookbook started for Ghiyath Shah, the ruler of the Malwa Sultanate in central India, mentions the art of making samosa. The Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century Mughal document, mentions the recipe for qottab, which it says, "the people of Hindustan call sanbúsah". ¹

In the Indian subcontinent, samosas are prepared with an all-purpose flour (locally known as maida) and stuffed with a filling, often a mixture of diced and cooked or mashed boiled potatoes, onions, green peas, lentils, ginger, spices and green chillies. A samosa can be either vegetarian or non-vegetarian, depending on the filling. The entire pastry is deep-fried in vegetable oil to a golden-brown colour. It is served hot, often as a chaat street food, with fresh chutneys. In the Indian states of Assam, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand, singara (সিঙ্গারা) or shingra (চিংৰা) (the East Indian version of samosas) is a popular snack. They are somewhat smaller than in other parts of India, with a filling of cooked diced potato, peanuts, and sometimes raisins. In Hyderabad, a smaller version with a thicker pastry crust and minced meat filling, called lukhmi, is eaten. Both flat (triangular) and full-shaped (tetrahedron/triangular pyramid) samosas are popular in Bangladesh. A Bengali version of the full-shaped samosa is called a shingara (সিঙাড়া) and is normally smaller than the standard variety. The shingara is usually filled with pieces of potatoes, vegetables, and nuts. Samosas are called singadas in the eastern part of Nepal; the rest of the country calls it samosa. A distinct variety, available in Karachi, is called kaghazi samosa (Urdu: کاغذی سموسہ; "paper samosa") due to its thin and crispy covering, which resembles a wonton or spring roll wrapper. Fillings include beef, chicken, and lamb, or they can be made as a sweet. The samosas made in Maldivian cuisine are known as bajiyaa. They are filled with a mixture including fish like tuna and onions. ¹

The samsa is a savoury turnover in Central Asian cuisines such as that of Uzbekistan. It consists of a pastry stuffed with meat and sometimes vegetables and baked in a tandoor oven, rather than being fried. In Tajik cuisine, sambusa-i varaki are triangular turnovers, filled with minced beef or mutton mixed with tail fat, flavoured with onions and spices, and baked in a tandoor oven. ¹

Samosas are called samuza (စမူဆာ) in Burmese, and are an extremely popular street snack in Burma. Samosas are also used in a traditional Burmese salad called samuza thoke (စမူဆာသုပ်‌; lit. 'samosa salad'), a salad of cut samosa pieces with onions, cabbage, fresh mint, light potato and chickpea curry broth, masala, chilli powder, salt and lime. In Indonesia, snacks similar to samosas include pastel, panada and epok-epok. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Samosa”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

samosa is baked dish common to South Asia and the Middle East, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 10 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²