These vegetarian “beef” samosas are a 100% plant-based take on East African-style samosa; they are crispy and deliciously filled.
Samosas are eaten in various forms across the world. Many may know it also as sambusa, samosa, sambousek, or singara but they are all more or less the same thing. Samosas consist of a non-yeasted flour dough filled with either spiced beef, chicken, or potatoes and peas, shaped into a triangular shape and fried. As a child in Tanzania, I loved eating these after school. Most often, they were filled with beef or potatoes in a thin flaky dough. Now as an adult who is also vegan, I have missed these childhood treats and took on the challenge to veganize the beef version. These samosas bring back the same delicious memories. The plant-based mince is seasoned to perfection and the crust is extra crispy and delicious.
What is a Samosa and where does it come from
When most people hear about Samosa, their minds might drift toward Indian food as it is usually served in Indian restaurants or sold at Indian grocery stores. It is a triangular-shaped snack that is filled with well-seasoned stuffing, using spices that are traditionally used in Indian cooking. But like many dishes found around the Indian Ocean and the Middle East, samosa is just another artifact of trade and migration with roots all over the Middle East and South Asia.
The earliest mention of Samosa was from a Persian historian in the 11th century, describing a snack filled with meat, nuts, and spices and fried till crispy. This snack then made its way to India through trade, war, and migration where it was adapted to local flavors. Trade also brought this flaky dish across the Indian Ocean where cultures in the Horn of Africa and East Africa include it as part of their diets. In Tanzania and other Eastern African countries, the samosa might have been brought along with the millions of indentured Indian workers brought by the British to build the railways or been present because of centuries of Indian and Arab influence on the Swahili coast.
What you will need for this recipe
Filling
- Plant-Based Mince: these plant-based minces add a similar taste and texture to real beef mince and take on the spice flavors very well. For substitutions, please read the substitution list.
- Veggies: Onion, ginger, garlic, green bell pepper, and carrots. These are customizable but the onion, garlic and ginger are very important.
- Spices: Cumin, Garam Masala and salt is all you need.
Wrapper
- If you want to make your own, all you need is flour and water
- You can also purchase frozen spring roll wrappers at any grocery store
How to Make Vegetarian “Beef” Samosa
Filling
- Cook down the plant-based mince till all the water has evaporated and it is crisping up
- Add your spices and veggies and cook till veggies are tender
- Set aside to cool
Wrapper
- Knead the water and flour together till you get a soft ball that is not sticky
- Let it rest for 30 minutes
- Roll into a log and divide into 6 pieces
- Take one piece, roll it into a small circle, and smear with oil, then sprinkle with flour. Set it aside
- Roll the next piece into a small circle, stack it on top of the rolled-out circle with oil and flour, then smear it with oil and sprinkle with flour. Repeat with the next piece of dough.
- Start a separate stack repeating step 5
- Roll out your stacks and fry in a pan till partly cooked
Shape and Fry
- Make a paste/glue with flour and water
Strip Method
Circle Method
FAQ + Substitutions
- I do not have beyond meat, any alternatives you suggest? Any plant-based ground mince works well. You are also free to use cooked lentils for this recipe. One can of brown lentils or roughly 1.5 cups of cooked lentils should work for this recipe. Add the lentils with the spices and veggies together into a pot and let it all cook till the veggies are tender.
- I do not have access to garam masala, any alternatives? Garam masala is now readily available at many major grocery stores. You can use a combination of equal parts cloves, black peppercorn, and cinnamon to try and substitute.
- Do you have any suggestions for a gluten-free wrapper? The wrapper does rely on gluten BUT you are welcome to try this recipe with all-purpose gluten-free flour. My favorite is from Bob’s Red Mill.
Want to try other East African Recipes?
- Mushroom Pilau: Quintessential rice recipe eaten across East Africa with a plant-based twist.
- Mishkaki Style Tofu: Mishkaki is a style of grilled meat eaten in some Eastern African countries. This plant-based alternative used the same flavors and spices to make tofu taste even better.
- Ugandan Rolex: This Ugandan-style street snack cooks an egg with chapati to make an amazing roll.
If you like this recipe, please leave a comment below
Vegetarian “Beef” Samosa
These vegetarian "beef" samosas are a 100% plant-based take on East African-style samosa; they are crispy and deliciously filled.
Servings: 16 samosas
Ingredients
Wrapper
- 230 g flour
- 1/2 cup water (155g)
Filling
- 1 packet of plant-based meat 340g
- 1/2 small onion
- 1/3 green onion
- 1/3 carrot
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
Samosa Wrapper (skip step if using store-bought wrapper)
- In a bowl, measure out the flour and add in the water. Start with 1/2 cup and add more if the dough is too dry. You want it to be soft but not sticky.
- knead for 5 minutes to get a soft ball
- Place in well-oiled bowl and let it rest
Samosa Filling
- While the wrap is resting, finely chop all your ingredients and measure out all your spices
- Place the plant-based meat mice in a pot at medium heat and let it cook till it changes colour. I used the beyond meat pack so I waited for it to release all its juices and start to crisp up.
- Make sure that there are no large clumps of plant-based mince
- Add in the spices and chopped vegetables and leave it all to cook till the vegetables are tender (roughly 10 minutes)
- Place the filling in a bowl and leave it in the fridge to cool
Cooking Samosa Wrapper (skip step if using store-bought wrapper)
- Roll the wrapper into a log and cut into 6 even pieces
- Take one of your cut pieces and roll into a circle about 5-6 inches in diameter.
- Smear a generous amount of vegetable oil on the top and sprinkle some flour and set aside.
- Roll out another cut piece into a circle about the same size and stack it on top of your first rolled out circle with the oil and flour.
- Repeat the above step with another piece of dough. For this final circle, do not put any oil on top. You should have a stack of three small circles. Set this stack aside
- Start another stack repeating steps 2-5
- Roll out each stack into larger circles, 11-12 inches in diameter
- In a large pan at low-medium heat, place the rolled-out wrapper to cook. Let it cook till the top starts to turn translucent. Flip and let it cook on the other side for another minute. Repeat for the next stack.
Stuff samosa (two ways)
- Take it off the heat, and let it cool for about five minutes. How you want to stuff the samosa will dictate how you cut the wraps
Strip Method
- For the strip method, cut the round wraps into three even strips. The edges will be curved because it is a circle, you can cut off the curvy parts to make sure the strip is a rectangle. Save these parts because you can fry them as chips.
- Separate the strips gently
- Please refer to the photos above for a good depiction
- Make a paste with about 2 tbsp of flour and enough water to have a thick gluey consistency
- To assemble the samosa, you will first fold one corner into a triangle, then fold it in half to get an upside-down triangle, apply the glue to the non-folded part then fold the triangle onto the glued portion.
- Pick up the triangle like a cone
- Fill it with the filling
- Add the flour paste on the unfolded side, then fold the stuffed triangle onto the part with the fresh paste
Quarter of a circle method
- For the quarter circle method, cut the circle across the diameter left to right then top to bottom to get four corner pieces.
- Separate the strips gently
- Please refer to the photos above for a good depiction
- Make a paste with about 2 tbsp of flour and enough water to have a think gluey consistency
- Set the sharp corner facing the top and the rounded edge facing downward.
- Fold in the rounded edges to create an upside-down triangle and use your flour paste to glue the sides together
- Gently pick up the triangle and hold like a cone
- Stuff it well then push the shortest edge into the stuffed samosa to help seal it in place
- Add your glue to the flap and fold it in to complete your triangle. Make sure all the corners are well sealed
Frying the Samosa in Oil
- Fill a pot with a neutral oil till about 1/3rd way up
- Heat the oil at medium heat and check if it is hot enough by adding one of your scrap pieces of dough into the oil. If it floats and sizzles then the oil is ready.
- Place your samosas in the oil one at a time till the pot is filled. Fry on each side till golden brown
- Remove and dry on a paper towel
- Best eaten hot and can be enjoyed on it’s own
Air frying the samosa
- Place the samosas in an air fryer and generously spray them with oil
- Airfry at 370°F for 20 minutes flipping halfway or until golden brown.
No Comments