An unbelievably delicious chicken samosa recipe. The crispy, golden exterior breaks into shards giving way to the tastiest warmly-spiced minced chicken filling.
This epic chicken samosa recipe is now my go-to.
The filling is so yummy that I make it just to eat with naan for dinner. I even stuffed it into puff pastry for samosa sausage rolls over the holidays. Super delicious.
Table of Contents
About These Chicken Samosas
This chicken samosa recipe is actually Kankana Saxena’s recipe for Chicken Shingara from her BEAUTIFUL new book, Taste of Eastern India.
Kankana’s Indian-food blog, Playful Cooking, is one I’ve been following for the better part of a decade. Her photos are so pretty that her cookbook serves as a coffee table book in our house. This girl’s got talent in spades.
She explains in her book that shingara is to Kolkata what samosa is to the rest of India. Call it what you want, to me it’s a chicken samosa and a really freakin’ delicious one.
I take some liberty with her recipes to make them more accessible to my pantry. She uses nigella seeds and mustard oil frequently. I’ve been omitting the former and swapping the latter for canola oil and — although in making these swaps I may be ignorant to some whole ‘nother level of deliciousness — her recipes are GOOD.
How To Make Chicken Samosas
1. Make The Samosa Dough
The samosa dough recipe is a simple mixture of flour, oil and water, rested and then formed into balls. The balls are flattened then the oblong rounds are sliced down the middle to make half-moons. The half-moon shapes are stuffed and sealed.
Related: How to Make Authentic Indian Chai Tea
I clearly do not have the technique for beautiful samosa shaping but I’m sure it’s something you could find on YouTube if aesthetics are important to you.
(Note: I left nigella seeds out of the dough recipe and swapped the whole wheat flour for white.)
2. Make The Chicken Samosa Filling
The filling is a tasty mixture of sautéed onions, ginger, garlic and spices along with minced chicken. You will have to exercise 100% willpower to shovel it into the samosa dough and not directly into your mouth.
3. Fry The Samosas
WAIT! Don’t run away. Deep frying is not scary.
Just use a bigger vessel than you think you need, and ideally use a cooking thermometer. I use my dutch oven and fill the oil to 3″.
Don’t over-crowd the hot oil with food, as this can make the oil bubble up too hard, and also will reduce its temperature. Instead, work calmly in batches so that the samosas aren’t rubbing elbows, and everything will go swimmingly.
Kankana advises to fry low and slow at 200ºF for 15 minutes, followed by a brief fry over higher heat. That’ll ensure that the pastry crust is crispy all the way through.
I personally fried mine at about 350º for a much shorter time (maybe 6 minutes?) and they were super crispy outside, but the dough was softer (but still cooked) inside.
It’s your call. Patience is not my strong suit.
My Indian Husband’s Favorite Recipes
If you love samosas as much as my husband Adarsh does, make sure you try my Samosa Pie (totally loved by everyone who makes it)and Potato Samosas next!
And I’m sure you’ll love many of these other super tasty fan-favorite Indian recipes, too! Here are a few other favs not to miss:
- Lamb Vindaloo or Pork Vindaloo Curry
- Adarsh’s Chicken 65
- Spinach and Paneer Curry (aka Saag Paneer)
- The recipe for butter naan that almost broke Instagram
- The recipe for chicken korma that Adarsh says is the best curry I’ve ever made
- My Mother-In-Law Amma’s delicious recipe for Masoor Dal
- This absolutely delicious Butter Paneer Masala recipe
- This Butter Chicken Sauce is one of my favorite foods in the world.
- The Butter Naan Recipe that went totally viral.
- Adarsh’s Chicken Korma that he says will change your life.
- This recipe for Madras Lentils is one of my fav easy vegetarian comfort food dinners.
- Amma’s special South Indian Masoor Dal recipe
- Malai Kofta (paneer and potato balls in creamy tomato sauce). It’s my favorite dish to order in an Indian restaurant and even better homemade!
Chicken Samosa Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp water
For the filling:
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp grated garlic
- 1 tsp salt divided
- 8 oz minced chicken
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ¼ cup frozen green peas
- 2 green chillies chopped (optional)
Instructions
- To make the dough, combine flour and salt in large mixing bowl, then stir in oil. Add water, little by little, to form a workable dough. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in a damp kitchen towel to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- To make the filling, place a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and add the oil. When oil is hot, add the onion, ginger, garlic, and 1/2 tsp salt and stir. Cook for 2 minutes or until onion softens. Add minced chicken, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, cumin, coriander and chili powder. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then sprinkle with garam masala and add frozen peas. Stir and cook 5 more minutes. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Add chopped chillies if using (filling will be mild without).
- To shape the samosas, divide the dough into 6 equal portions, then roll each into a smooth ball on a well-floured surface. Roll each ball into a thin, oblong shape, then use a knife to slice in half lengthwise to make a half-moon. Take one half in your hand, brush some water on the edges, and fold into an open cone shape, pressing edges to seal. Hold the cone and fill with about 2 tbsp chicken filling. Pinch to seal Allow it to sit on a cutting board to form a flat bottom. Finish shaping remaining samosas.
- To fry the samosas, pour the oil into a deep saucepan or dutch oven to a depth of 3″ over medium heat. Fry the samosas in batches once the oil reaches about 200ºF. Fry for 15 minutes until golden, then increase heat to high and cook for 5 minutes at a hotter temperature until deep golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.
Made these this weekend and they were EXCELLENT. Great recipe.
They are good for children’s lunch
hi. could you do the chicken samosa in the oven or on the stove top instead of frying
Hi Lorraine, it’s a great idea and I’d like to try it but I haven’t yet! You could brush it with oil and bake for about 20 mins at 400, turning once. You’ll have to cut into one to make sure the pastry is cooked through.