Why you will love this keema samosa?
Keema means “mince,” and in this case refers to the minced mutton (lamb/goat) or beef filling. In my humble opinion, my smoky keema filling makes the best samosa. Who doesn’t love a crispy, handheld pocket of delicious and dip-able meat?!? This patti samosa is the most loved deep fried golden beauties sold in street stalls or restaurants during Ramadan month. Perfect for parties, get together, game day, Ramadan Iftar or Eid, this traditional Indian and Pakistani snack is sure to please the whole crowd. Serve this delicious mutton keema samosa with your favorite green chutney, mango chutney or tomato sauce for a delicious appetizer along with mains like biryanis, mutton korma, or yakhni pulao, no matter what the occasion.
Ingredients & Possible Substitutions
This meat samosa recipe may look daunting, but it is likely that you have many of the spices and ingredients already on hand. Here is everything you need: A few notes on the ingredients:
Samosa Pattis - while pattis are the traditional wrapper used for samosa, you can easily substitute spring roll wrappers, phyllo dough or even puff pastry depending on what you have on hand. Ground Meat - I personally prefer mutton/lamb or beef for this recipe, but if you are avoiding red meat, ground chicken or turkey can be used instead. Ginger Garlic Paste - while I love keeping this on hand as a great time saver, you can opt to use minced garlic cloves and freshly grated ginger instead. Flour Paste - to seal the samosas, you need to make a paste of flour and water. All purpose, whole wheat or even gluten free all purpose flour can be used for this purpose. Mix together 4-6 tablespoons of water with 2-3 tablespoons of flour for your samosa sealing paste. Spice Powders - to season the keema filling, use ground turmeric, coriander, chili powder and garam masala. Feel free to adjust the spices to your preferred levels. Dill - this recipe calls for fresh dill, which I love for it’s bright green color and fresh, herbaceous flavor. If necessary, substitute 2 teaspoons of dried dill. Lemon Juice - whenever possible, use fresh lemon juice for the best possible flavors.
How to Make Keema Samosa?
Step 1 - Make Meat Filling
In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil. Add ¼ cup sliced onion and fry well till light golden brown. Then, add ground meat, browning it and breaking it up with your spatula. Now, add ginger garlic paste, all the dry spice powders, and salt. Mix and sauté on high heat for 1 minute. Cover and cook on low heat until just done and all liquid is evaporated. Take the cooked meat mixture off the heat and immediately add chopped cilantro, dill leaves, scallion, green chili, remaining sliced onion, lemon juice to hot meat mixture and mix well. Now, place a small steel bowl in the center of the mixture, and put the heated charcoal into the bowl. Pour 1 teaspoon ghee over the heated charcoal to create smoke, and immediately cover with the tight-fitting lid to allow the smoke to penetrate into the meat. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes. After 15 minutes, discard the coal. The meat mixture is now ready for filling the samosas.
Step 2 - Fold Patti Samosa
Take one patti and make a cone by wrapping one corner around as illustrated below. TIP: Be sure to keep stack of pattis covered with plastic wrap or a damp towel while you work. They will become dry and brittle if exposed to air for too long. Add a spoonful of mixture to the cone. TIP: Do not overfill the cone with the mixture as it may cause the patti to tear or overflow. Wrap the sides to form a triangle. Now seal the edges using the prepared flour paste. Wet the exposed edges with the paste, then gently press shut as though you were sealing an envelope. Repeat the same procedure till all the mixture is used up.
Step 3 - Fry the Samosas
Heat enough oil to fully immerse the samosas in a deep pan or a wok. Once the oil gets hot (~175-190C/350-375F), reduce the heat to medium-high and fry the samosas until crisp and golden brown. TIP: Oil temperature is very important when frying. When possible, use a frying thermometer to ensure proper temperature. If the oil is too hot, the samosas can burn. If it is too cold, the samosas will take on extra oil and become soggy. Don’t have a thermometer? You can approximate oil temperatures with a wooden spoon. Remove fried samosas to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Serve hot with green chutney or tomato sauce.
Expert Tips & Tricks
Storing & Freezing samosa
To Store: Uncooked samosas stay well in the fridge for up to 2 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months. Leftover cooked samosas will keep at room temperature for up to 8 hours and in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, use the oven, toaster oven or air fryer. To Freeze: After making the meat filling and wrapping the patti, you can freeze non-fried samosas for up to 4 months. I recommend you place them on a parchment lined pan in a single layer without touching, then freeze for about two hours. After this, you can place the samosas into a ziplock freezer bag, removing as much air as possible, and store. These frozen meat samosas doesn’t need thawing, you can fry them straight from the freezer.
More tasty appetizers for you :
If you tried my recipe for Keema Samosa, please let me know how they turned out for you. You can either comment and rate the recipe below, or tag me in your creations on Instagram or Facebook! You can also follow my kitchen adventures on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook if you prefer.
📖 Recipe
