Onion Samosa, Vengaya Samsa

Recipe for South Indian style Onion Samosa / Vengaya samosa -வெங்காய சமோசா / வெங்காய பப்ஸ்.

We the people of Coimbatore call these beauties as “Onion Pupsu” while the rest of Tamilnadu calls this a “samsa”. Onion Samsa / pupsu was a nostalgic snack sold in cinema theatres till the 90’s until the popcorn took over. These are bite sized divine mouthfulls. Handsdown one of my favorite.

Here is how to do Onion Samosa.
First, lets make the filling.
Slice around 3-4 Indian purple onions. Around 250-300 grams. No need to slice very thin. A rough slice will do.

Heat oil in a pan and add in the cumin seeds. Add in the sliced onions and the salt. Saute for 2-3 minutes till the onions are soft. No need to brown the onions.

Add in the red chilli powder and the garam masala. If you want a really spicy samosa, you can add few chopped green chillies. Saute for a minute more. Add in the aval / poha. Aval will help in absorbing the excess moisture from the onions. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Now lets make the samosa wrappers.
Combine a cup of Maida, salt and the teaspoon of oil. Add water little by little and mix to form a dough. The consistency of the dough should be stiff and that of a chapati dough.
Note: You can make this 50:50 maida and atta (whole wheat flour) and it works well too. A cup of flour will make 24 samosas.

Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. Rest the dough ball for 10 minutes. Make 6 balls out of the dough. Set aside.

Take a dough ball and generously dust it with flour. Roll the dough into a 4 inch round on a flat smooth surface using a rolling pin. Brush oil on top of the rolled dough. Sprinkle flour on it.

Place another rolled sheet on top of this and roll again. Sprinkle flour while rolling. It will expand. The thinner the sheet, the better. Dont press too hard. Be gentle while rolling. The oil and the sprinkled flour in between the sheets will help to remove the sheets later on.

Place the combined sheets on a hot griddle and cook for a few seconds on each side. No need to brown the sheets. Cooking for a few seconds till the moisture in the dough dries up is all we are looking for. We still need the sheets to be pliable. So do not cook for long.

Remove the sheets from the pan and gently separate the sheets. Repeat the same with the remaining sheets. Cook all the sheets. Set aside.

Now using a knife, cut the sheets into four triangles. Cover them with a cloth so it does not dry up a lot.

The triangle sheets are ready. Each triangle will make one samosa. In a small cup dilute two tablespoons of maida with two tablespoons of water. This is our maida gum. Set aside.

Take a triangle sheet. Apply Maida gum on the edges (half side) like the picture shown below. Fold on one side like below.

Gather the other side and make a cone. Press well so the maida gum adheres.

Fill the cone with the onion filling we made before. Apply the maida gum on the remaining sheet and fold to make a triangular samosa. Pinch the edges so there is no holes.

Repeat with the rest of the sheets. Set aside.

Double Frying the samosas.
Heat oil in a pan until hot. Add in the samosas and fry for a minute till half cooked. Remove and set aside. Let it cool off a bit. Fry all the samosas till half done. We will fry all the samosas till half done and then fry again. Double frying gives these samosas the crunchiest texture.

Now fry the samosas again till golden. Double frying gives the crunchiest samosas. That “krrk” sound when you bite into the samosa is all forms of divinity.
Note: In case of a party, cook the samosas till half done and fry them again to golden when guests arrive so you can serve hot samosas in no time.

Serve hot. It stays crisp for a long time.

Onion Samosa, Vengaya Samsa

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Recipe for South Indian style Onion Samosa / Vengaya samosa -வெங்காய சமோசா / வெங்காய பப்ஸ்.

• Total Time: 45m
• Yield: 24 samosas 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the filling
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
300 grams onions, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup aval / poha
For the samosa sheets
1 cup maida / all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Other Ingredients
2 tablespoon maida (for maida gum)
Vegetable oil to deep fry

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Instructions

The filling : Slice around 3-4 Indian purple onions. Around 250-300 grams. No need to slice very thin. A rough slice will do. Heat oil in a pan and add in the cumin seeds. Add in the sliced onions and the salt. Saute for 2-3 minutes till the onions are soft. No need to brown the onions.

Add in the red chilli powder and the garam masala. If you want a really spicy samosa, you can add few chopped green chillies. Saute for a minute more. Add in the aval / poha. Aval will help in absorbing the excess moisture from the onions. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Samosa Wrappers Combine a cup of Maida, salt and the teaspoon of oil. Add water little by little and mix to form a dough. The consistency of the dough should be stiff and that of a chapati dough. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. Rest the dough ball for 10 minutes. Make 6 balls out of the dough. Set aside. Take a dough ball and generously dust it with flour. Roll the dough into a 4 inch round on a flat smooth surface using a rolling pin. Brush oil on top of the rolled dough. Sprinkle flour on it. Place another rolled sheet on top of this and roll again. It will expand. The thinner the sheet, the better. Dont press too hard. Be gentle while rolling. The oil and the sprinkled flour in between the sheets will help to remove the sheets later on. Place the combined sheets on a hot griddle and cook for a few seconds on each side. No need to brown the sheets. Cooking for a few seconds till the moisture in the dough dries up is all we are looking for. We still need the sheets to be pliable. So do not cook for long. Remove the sheets from the pan and gently separate the sheets. Repeat the same with the remaining sheets. Cook all the sheets. Set aside.

Now using a knife, cut the sheets into four triangles. Cover them with a cloth so it does not dry up a lot. The triangle sheets are ready. Each triangle will make one samosa. In a small cup dilute two tablespoons of maida with two tablespoons of water. This is our maida gum. Set aside. Take a triangle sheet. Apply Maida gum on the edges like the picture shown below. Fold on one side like below. Gather the other side and make a cone. Press well so the maida gum adheres. Fill the cone with the onion filling we made before. Apply the maida gum on the remaining sheet and fold to make a triangular samosa. Pinch the edges so there is no holes. Repeat with the rest of the sheets. Set aside.

Double Frying the samosas.
Heat oil in a pan until hot. Add in the samosas and fry for a minute till half cooked. Remove and set aside. Let it cool off a bit. Fry all the samosas till half done. We will fry all the samosas till half done and then fry again. Double frying gives these samosas the crunchiest texture. Now fry the samosas again till golden. Double frying gives the crunchiest samosas. That “krrk” sound when you bite into the samosa is all forms of divinity.

• Author: Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 30m
• Cook Time: 15m
• Diet: Vegan