Recipe: Burmese Vegetable Samosas

Vegetable samosas are popular as snacks or an appetizers in South Asian, Middle Eastern, and African cuisines. The triangular or cone-shaped pastries are filled with savory ingredients, such as spiced potatoes, peas, lentils, or minced meat like lamb, beef, or chicken. The pastry is typically made from a thin dough that’s deep-fried to a crispy, golden finish.

The Burmese samosas are smaller than the more widely known Indian samosas. They also have fewer ingredients and are less spicy. Furthermore, they are almost always vegetarian, but often feature distinct flavors and ingredients typical of Burmese cuisine.

Burmese samosas are often served with chutney or sauce on the side for dipping. They are a popular street food in Myanmar, where many people eat samosas for breakfast in the morning, along with a cup of coffee or tea.

Recipe by Chef Nge-Nge, Tea Garden Restaurant at Borderline Collective in Mae Sot.

Read more about Borderline Collective

Notes by Chef Nge-Nge

This recipe is made with boiled potatoes, but you can also use raw potatoes. If you’re using raw potatoes, you sauté the diced potatoes, onion and spices in a little oil for a couple of minutes, until they are soft and ready to be used as filling.

Samosas are delicious when served piping hot, but you can use leftover samosas the following day for a delicious samosa salad.

At Tea Garden we sometimes make the samosa wraps ourselves, or we go to the market and buy fresh made samosa wraps from a shop. You can find samosa wraps ready for use in most Asian supermarkets.

Here’s a short recipe video. There’s a longer version further below in this post.

Recipe: Burmese Vegetable Samosa

Recipe by Chef Nge-Nge – Tea Garden in Mae Sot

Course: appetizers, snacksCuisine: Myanmar

Servings

10

samosas

The Burmese samosas are smaller than the more widely known Indian samosas. They also have fewer ingredients and are less spicy. Furthermore, they are almost always vegetarian, but often feature distinct flavors and ingredients typical of Burmese cuisine.

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Ingredients

• 10 pcs 4″ x 2″ samosa wraps

• 3 boiled potatoes (~1 ½ – 2 cups, diced)

• 3 small red onions (~ ½ cup, diced)

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 2 teaspoons Indian masala (Garam masala or whichever masala blend you prefer)

• ½ teaspoon sugar

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons flour

• 1-2 tablespoons water

• Oil for frying

Directions

• Dice the potatoes and the onions.
• Mix with paprika, masala, sugar and salt.
• Prepare the samosa wraps if needed. Cut or fold to get 2″ x 4″ rectangular sheets. (most store-bought wraps already have the right shape and dimensions.
• Make a paste, samosa glue, from flour and water.
• Form a triangle “cup” with the samosa wrap (see video), using the samosa glue to keep it together. Fill with the potatoes and onions, and seal with samosa glue.
• Deep fry in vegetable oil until golden and crispy.
• Serve piping hot with your favorite dipping sauce.

Recipe Video