Chicken samosa is a traditional snack of Muslims of Kozhikode. This easy Malabar chicken samosa is a favorite during Ramadan and a must have snack at Iftar parties.
If you have ever visited Kozhikode (Calicut) I am sure, you must have tasted the famous Kozhikodan chicken samosa. I have some good Muslim friends and it is through them that I get to taste and learn Malabar Cuisine. It was Nidhi, who bought some chicken samosa from school, which her friend had given her....I still remember the first bite....and all I could say was OMG! it was so good, the flavors were so different from the cutlets I make. I decided at that moment that I should ask Nidhi's friend's mom for the recipe, and I did....after a few phone calls; I was staring at the roughly written Malabar chicken samosa recipe.
I have a neighbor friend, Shini.....who also introduce me to Malabar cuisine....so, I asked her how she makes chicken samosa and to my surprise, the recipe was almost the same.....and she told me that they make big batches of samosas during the time of Ramadan....it seems they make in the morning and fry and keep aside......and then for Iftar they double fry it.
The one thing that makes this filling stand out is the use of Saunf or Perunjeerakam; its subtle taste along with the other spices makes this very unique and very Malabar.
If you by any chance visit Kozhikode, please make sure you get to taste these chicken samosas from the bakeries here....I would recommend Cochin Bakery.
Author: Nisa Homey
About 30 samosas.
Ingredients:
For the samosa:
Flour/Maida: About 2 cups.
Ghee or Shortening: 1 tbsp.
Water: As needed.
Salt: 1/2 tsp.
For the chicken filling:
Chicken: 250 gms.
Saunf/Perumjeerakam: 1/2 tsp.
Kashmiri Chilly Powder: 1 tsp, divided.
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp, divided.
Coriander Powder: 1/2 tsp.
Garam Masala: 1/2 tsp.
Salt: 1 tsp, divided.
Coconut Oil: 2 tbsp.
Water as needed to cook the chicken.
To Mince/Chop Finely.
Onion: 2, chopped finely.
Green Chilly: 2, chopped finely.
Ginger: 1 inch piece, chopped finely
Garlic: 4 to 6 cloves, chopped finely.
One Sprig of Curry Leaves
One Sprig of Coriander Leaves.
Method:
Let first cook the chicken. Put the chicken into a pan or kadai, add in 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder (if using regular chilly powder reduce by half), 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp salt....add little water and cover and cook.
It no secret that I am a food processor addict; so I use them here; you can use your blender or chutney bowl. Once the chicken is cooked and cooled, I like to run it in my food processor rather than shredding with my hands or a fork...I feel this will make the chicken mince evenly....yes, you can use your chutney jar of your mixie.
NB: I prefer to make the chicken filling a day or two before and refrigerate; it does make the whole process a lot easy.
Now lets make the dough for the samosa wrappers. Again, I like to use my food processor for easy mixing....you can use the same with your hands too. I put the flour and salt and ran the processor to that it is mixed evenly, then through the feeder, I poured in little water; so that it gathers into a dough. Then I transferred into a bowl, added 1 tbsp ghee, mixed into a soft pliable dough.
Lets make the filling! For my ease, again I used my food processor to mince them.....you can chop them individually.
Heat coconut oil in a kadai or pan, add in 1/2 tsp saunf or perumjeerakam...once it starts to splutter, add in the chopped/minced onion mix....stir it for a minute or two....reduce flame and again let it saute for another 3 min or until it starts to brown lightly....add salt.
Add in the spices. Half tsp Kashmiri chilly powder, half tsp coriander powder and garam masala powder.....mix them.
Add in the minced chicken and mix well for another 2 minutes.....allow it to cool....this is our Malabar chicken samosa filling...you can store this in the refrigerator; if you are not using it now.
Now lets, make the samosa wrappers. Pinch of lemon sized dough and make into balls and place it into a floured bowl. Take one ball, lightly press into circular with your fingers and dust flour as needed, then roll out with a rolling pin into a circular shape. Cut into half with a pizza cutter or knife. Bring one end half way to make a cone
Press the sides firmly, I normally do not use any water to seal the sides; but if you need you can; though, just pressing firmly is enough.....fill in 1 tbsp of the chicken filling into the cone.
And press the sides firmly. To make the edges more attractive, I just placed it on the surface, and pinched and pressed into the dough....you can skip it if you find it difficult.
Make the rest of the samosas the same way and deep fry in hot oil.
Serve with Homemade Tomato Sauce.
Notes:
Though, I do not favor using flour/maida for everyday cooking; I used it here, to show you the exact way it is made traditionally. You can use whole wheat flour in its place, like I made these palak samosas.
You can fry the whole lot and then allow them to cool down and refrigerate and again fry it in hot oil as and when needed; this is a tip from my friend Shini, which she does during the time of Ramadan. This method is called double frying; it is said double frying makes the snack a lot crispier.
Other Samosa Recipes You May Like:
Whole Wheat Beef Samosa.
Whole Wheat Baked Vegetable Samosa (Punjabi Style)
How To Make Mini Samosas
