These crispy, golden Sweet Potato Samosas are packed with warm spices and creamy sweet potatoes that get wrapped in a perfectly flaky deep-fried crust. Whether you're serving them as an appetizer, snack, or party dish, these samosas will keep the party going!
This post is sponsored by our friends at Bako Sweet®, who provided us with the incredible California sweet potatoes. All opinions are our own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that make Masala and Chai possible.
Samosas have been a beloved snack in South Asian cuisine for a while. Traditionally filled with spiced potatoes and peas, these deep-fried pastries have been adapted over time to include a variety of fillings.
Sweet Potato Samosas using Bako Sweet® sweet potatoes offer a slightly sweeter, richer alternative to the classic version while still keeping the bold, aromatic spices that make samosas so irresistible.
Samosas are deep-fried crispy, golden brown perfection and a true labor of love to make them at home. When they're fresh off the fryer with a hot steamy potato filling... uff, it's unimaginable. Serve them with a cilantro-mint chutney and tamarind-date chutney to balance off the savory snack.
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Why You'll love this Recipe
- Crispy and golden - The flaky pastry perfectly complements the soft, spiced filling. While I love a deep fry on samosas, I offer alternative methods for baking and pastry dough to suit your preferences.
- Sweet and savory balance - The natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes pairs beautifully with warm spices.
- Perfect for any occasion - Serve them as an appetizer, tea-time snack with a cup of masala chai, or party treat.
- Make ahead - They're great for freezing so they can be fried fresh for a snack or prepped ahead for a large party.
What is a Samosa?
If you've ever had the pleasure of going to a South Asian wedding, Indian restaurant, or really any event with your desi friends, you've most likely tried a samosa.
A samosa is a deep-fried South Asian snack and appetizer that's traditionally filled with spiced potatoes and peas, and sometimes paneer. Other variations include pumpkin or meat fillings like chicken keema.
It's typically folded into a triangular cone which is then deep-fried, giving it a crispy flaky outer shell with a savory filling. It's served with a cilantro-mint chutney and tamarind chutney when starting a meal along with other snacks and chaats.
Another delicious way to eat samosas is to smash them and eat them in sandwiches with cheese and chutney, or as Samosa Chaat with chutneys, dahi, and sev.
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
- Flour - Use plain, unbleached all-purpose flour
- Ajwain - Or carom seeds, add a bit of an extra savory flavor to the flaky samosa crust. Feel free to substitute it with cumin seeds or omit it entirely.
- Ghee - This is a traditional cooking fat in lieu to oils in Indian cooking. The milk solids and impurities are removed from regular butter to make clarified butter. Melted ghee hydrates the dough to give it an intense buttery flavor. Substitute ghee with vegetable oil.
Instead of making your own dough, you can also grab spring roll wrappers or pastry dough from the freezer section of grocery stores. After they're filled, fold them into triangles for frying. It cuts down on preparation time.
Note: My mother and I decisively use ghee in the samosa dough instead of oil. Ghee results in a softer, flaky samosa crust. In contrast, using vegetable oil in samosa dough results in a hard crust, just like the ones you typically get at restaurants.
Personally, we prefer our samosa crust to be crispy, flaky, and tasty from the richness of ghee. However, the tradeoff is that they're better served on the day of frying or kept un-fried in the freezer until you're ready to fry and enjoy.
- Sweet Potatoes - Bako Sweet® Orange Sweet Potatoes are truly the sweetest and highest quality sweet potatoes grown in nutrient-dense soil out of Bakersfield, California using sustainable methods. They're available year round, too! Use two small to medium potatoes - about 8 ounces total.
- Peas - If you don't like peas, the frozen peas can be omitted! However, they add a bit of mild delicious flavor to the filling and they're common to samosas.
- Ginger Garlic Paste - Or as I call it, gigi paste! This is simply a 50/50 mix of ginger and garlic that's blended into a paste. You can easily make ginger garlic paste at home in a mortar and pestle or blender, or purchase it readymade.
- Spices - We are using ground coriander, kashmiri chili powder, cinnamon, chaat masala, cumin seeds, ground turmeric, and garam masala. Kashmiri chili powder is really mild, so you can also use a pinch of cayenne and paprika. Asafoetida adds the flavors of onions and garlic. Substitute with a pinch of onion powder and ginger powder.
How to make Sweet Potato Samosas
1. Make the Dough and Filling
- Whisk together the flour, ajwain, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the melted ghee. Rub the ghee into the flour with your hands until you get coarse crumbs. The texture will be sandy and clump in your hand when you squeeze your fist.
- Slowly pour in the warm water while kneading the dough. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it just starts to come together. The dough may be a bit lumpy. Cover and rest it for at least a minimum of 20 minutes.
- Boil and peel the sweet potatoes.
- Mash the sweet potatoes.
- Toast 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds until they begin to pop in the oil. Sauté the ginger garlic paste, then stir in the mashed sweet potatoes and frozen peas and cook for 2-3 minutes. Mix in the spices. Let the filling cool completely before assembling the samosas.
2. Fold and Assemble
- Separate the dough into 8 equal pieces, and work with one piece at a time while keeping the others covered to prevent drying.
- Roll the 8 pieces into a ball between your hands.
- With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into an oval. You'll want it to be as thin as possible without it becoming translucent. Also, make sure the edges are even thickness.
- Cut the oval into half.
- Dip your finger into water and spread it on the top right edge of the half oval. Fold the top left corner towards the middle of the semi-circle.
- Now fold the top right side over the left side we just folded over. The wet edge will overlap with the left side. Press the edges together to seal the samosa and form a cone shape.
- Hold the cone in your hand like an ice cream cone. Add about a tablespoon of filling, gently pressing it down into the cone and smooth the top of it. Leave about an inch at the top to seal it.
- Brush the water on the inside edge where the remaining dough is peeking out. Firmly press together the edges to seal the samosa.
Pro Tip: Make sure to pinch together the bottom of the cone as well. When frying, the dough will expand a bit and you want to ensure that none of the oil seeps into the filling.
- Repeat this process with the other balls of dough, for a total of 16 samosas.
3. Fry
Use a kadhai or heavy bottom pot to deep fry, but make sure you use a neutral oil like vegetable or canola oil. Instead of frying, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 25-30 minutes, brushing with oil, until golden brown and crispy.
Use a food temperature thermometer. The oil temperature should be around 320 - 330°F when the oil starts glimmering. If you don't have one, heat the oil on low to medium heat and test a piece of dough to see if it floats and bubbles vigorously. That's when you know it's hot enough.
If the oil is too hot, the samosas will expand and burst. You'll need to remove the samosa, drain the oil, and bake the samosas instead to prevent the filling from soaking up all the oil. If it's not hot enough, the samosa won't begin frying and soak up a ton of oil. You'll have greasy and soggy samosas.
- Fry 4-5 samosas at a time. Carefully drop the samosas into the hot oil, seam side down. There should be enough oil so that the samosas don't hit the bottom of the pot. Give them enough space.
- Flip several times. Flip when the top of the samosa dough whitens. The bottom side should be a pale golden color which seals the seams. After about 30 seconds to a minute bring the heat up to medium, about 360°F.
- Flip the samosas again, and again and again until golden brown.
- Drain. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet instead of using paper towels. This allows the oil to completely drain so the bottom doesn't soak up any of the oil from the paper towel. It maintains the crispy-ness this way.
- Repeat with batches. Drop the temperature back down to a low to medium setting and fry another batch of samosas.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the freshly fried samosas hot with tamarind chutney and cilantro-mint chutney along with a cup of masala chai.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Chill the dough - Resting the dough for at least 30 minutes improves texture.
- Seal properly - Use water on the edges to seal any seams to prevent them from bursting open while frying.
- Control the spice level - Adjust the chili powder to taste for more or less heat.
- Crispier samosas - Fry at medium heat first, then increase to high heat for the last 30 seconds.
Storage Instructions
Refrigeration - Store cooked samosas in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freezing (Uncooked Samosas) - Arrange the assembled and uncooked samosas in a single layer on a tray, freeze until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
Reheating - Reheat in an oven or air fryer at 375°F (190°C) for 10-12 minutes until crispy. If they're not quite soggy yet, you can flash fry them in hot oil until they're hot and crispy again.
More Indian Snacks to try
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Sweet Potato Samosas
Equipment
- Heavy Bottom Pot for frying
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Filling
- 8 ounces sweet potatoes, boiled and peeled (I used Bako Sweet)
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon asafoetida
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ cup frozen peas
- neutral oil, for frying
Instructions
Samosa Dough
- Whisk together the all purpose flour, ajwain, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Create a well in the middle and pour in the ghee. Slowly mix the flour into the ghee, and then use your hands to rub together the ghee with the flour. The texture should be sandy but the flour will clump if you squeeze your fist together.
- Add water while you knead the dough by hand. Continue to knead for 5-7 minutes until the dough comes together. Cover and rest the dough for a minimum of 20 minutes.
Sweet Potato Filling
- Boil the sweet potatoes until tender. Drain the water and allow the potatoes to cool. Once safe to touch, remove and discard the skin, then mash lightly.
- In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of neutral oil on medium heat and toast 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds until they begin to pop in the oil. Then, add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for another minute until aromatic.
- Stir in the mashed sweet potatoes and frozen peas and cook for 2-3 minutes. Mix in the salt, asafoetida, ground coriander, cinnamon, chaat masala, garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, and ground turmeric.
- Let the filling cool completely before assembling the samosas.
Assemble the Samosas
- Roll the samosa dough out into a log and cut it into 8 equal sized pieces. Work with one piece at a time, and keep the other pieces covered in the bowl to prevent the dough from drying out.
- Roll the piece of dough in circular motions in your hand to form a little ball. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into an oval just until translucent.
- Cut the oval in half. Brush water on to half of the length of the straight edge. Fold the edge without the water down towards the middle of the circular edge, and then the moistened edge over it to form a triangular shape. Seal the dough to form a cone. Place the cone in your hand and fill it with 1-2 tablespoons of the sweet potato filling.
- Add more water on to the inner semicircle just above the filling. Press the top edges together tightly to seal. Repeat with all the samosas.
- Heat oil in a deep pan and fry samosas at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown. Once the samosas are golden brown, set them on a cooling rack that's placed over a baking sheet to allow the excess oil to drip off. Baking: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 25-30 minutes, brushing with oil.
- Serve the samosas while hot in a platter with chutneys.
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