I’m a sucker for a delicious samoosa and living in Cape Town I’m really spoiled for choice when it comes to finding this delicacy. In my opinion a good samoosa is one that is not greasy and stodgy, has a generous amount of filling, is crispy to the bite, tasty but not too strong. I love cheese and corn samoosas but it’s harder to find at fast-food outlets, street food vendors or markets. So with that in mind, I tried my hand at making my own.
I was apprehensive as it looked complicated to make but was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make. The process of filling and folding takes a bit of time. I discovered this when making my own and gain a newfound respect for those making it on a daily basis. Now bear in mind that I did not make the pastry from scratch and opted for store-bought samoosa sheets.
Folding the samoosa into a triangle can be a bit tricky. I personally think this is the only “complicated” part of the entire process. I watched a couple of YouTube videos on how to fold these delicious golden triangles but found Cook with Aqib’s technique easier to grasp. To make the process go slightly quicker, I stuffed and my daughter did the folding. For the full visual method of how I made the cheese and corn samoosas, you can watch by linking into my TikTok feed – Millingcoconuts.
All I can say is practice makes perfect and although it is time consumer – it is well worth it. Once you make and fry your first batch of deliciousness, I doubt you want to buy samoosas again.
Tips for making Cheese and Corn Samoosas
- I use frozen corn kernels – I found these to work better than creamy sweetcorn.
- Thaw frozen shop-bought samoosa sheets in the refrigerator.
- Make sure that your filling is moist but not wet. A wet filling will compromise the pastry from crisping when frying it.
- Don’t overstuff the samoosa as this can make it difficult to fold.
- Seal your samoosa properly with glue paste (made up of flour and water), if not oil will go into the inner layer and the filling will ooze out when frying.
- Never cook your samoosas in extremely hot oil. When frying in oil make sure you fry on a low to medium heat setting as this will prevent blisters from forming on the outer layers and the inner layers being undercooked. It will take a bit longer to fry but you want the best results.
- Don’t overcrowd the pot or pan when frying the samoosas.
- You can also cook it in an airfryer – I would recommend doing this with frozen samoosas. Gently brush each samoosa with extra virgin olive oil and cook at 180˚C for 5 minutes.
Cheese and Corn Samoosas
Ingredients
Cheese and Corn Filling
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp fennel seeds
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 4 medium bird's eye chillies (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- 4 cups frozen corn kernels
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- ½ cup fresh corriander (finely chopped)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated)
- 2 cups mature cheddar cheese (grated)
Paste
- 2 tbsp cake flour
- 3 tbsp water
Samoosa Pastry
- 45 shop-bought samoosa sheets
Frying
- 2 cups vegetable oil
Instructions
Cheese and Corn Filling
- Add the vegetable oil to a large pot and place over medium heat.
- Add the fennel seeds and cook.
- Add the onion and chillies and sautee slightly then add garlic and continue to sautee until soft and the onion is translucent.
- Add the cumin and paprika.
- Then add the frozen corn kernels and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook until the corn colour intensifies and the corn plumps up and that the mixture is dry. There must be no water in the pot. Turn down the heat and allow to cool.
- Once completely cooled, transfer to a mixing bowl and add coriander and cheese. Give it a good stir.
Paste for sealing
- Add flour and water to a small bowl and stir until a paste forms.
Filling and Frying
- Fold the samoosa sheet to form a pocket and fill with 2 teaspoons of mixture. Continue to fold shaping it into a triangle, sealing the edges with paste.
- Heat the oil in a pot over low to medium heat.
- Don't overcrowd your pot or pan, fry about 4 – 5 samoosas at a time. Flip the samoosas all the time to ensure that it is golden on each side. This process can take up to 10 minutes.
- Remove the samoosas with a skimmer spoon and drain on a paper kitchen towel.
