The Samosa

Memory tags: Hot samosas in the rain below Rumtek Monastery, Sikkim; on first part of our ‘The New Excitement in Science’ programme for National Academy of Sciences, India, North East Chapter.

The ubiquitous samosa arrives at all destinations! Homes, roadside stalls, canteens, coffee houses, railway platforms, on the simple and royal menu! It is a true snack for travelers and probably one of the earliest first fast foods. Traders may have introduced it from central Asia to India in the 13th or 14th century. This apparently humble snack finds mention in the writings of Amir Khusro, and in the Ain-i-Akbari. Muhammad bin Tughluq offered the 14th century traveler Ibn Battuta the samushak or sambusa ( Arabic for samosa) stuffed with minced meat, almonds, pistachio, walnuts and spices.   We had a more humble but no less delectable version in Gantok. As we walked down after offering prayers at the Rumtek monastery, the blue skies suddenly became overcast and it began to drizzle, then rain. A wayside tea shop, enlivened with red umbrellas advertising Nescafe, offered shelter and warmth. The seniors in our group, being less inclined to loiter had already ordered for samosas to be freshly made and a fresh, and a long brew of tea. By the time we arrived, they were deep in conversation with the chef cum owner. He had come to   Rumtek almost four decades ago from Benaras and kept shop ever since! Infact he must have come here soon after Rumtek was rebuilt and consecrated in in1966. From his home in that ancient city of learning, to this Dharmachakra Centre, he had evolved the business of samosa making into a fine art!  The samosas arrived, sizzling, hot, filled with a savory potato filling. Smoking hot tea came in glass tumblers to wash this snack down. Young student monks also came running into take shelter, chat, drink tea and bite into a samosa. Their
college, Karma Shri Nalanda Institute for Higher Buddhist Studies  faced the monastery and shared the same campus. By the time the sun came out again, in about half an hour, we had eaten  nearly enough for a meal and our friend  and manager was busy “verifying” the bill! 

The word samosa probably came from the Persian sanbosag. The Hyderabadi square meat filled lukmi is a cousin of the samosa as is the empanada from Portugal. The latter were brought by the Moors who occupied Spain and Portugal for 800 years. The  recipe must have come to the Moors from traditional Middle Eastern and North African cuisine. Its popularity thus extended from south and west Asia to west Africa! And now it  is truely global in its availability. Ready to eat avatars, neatly frozen; just waiting to be deep fried and eaten are available the world over. Has this savory packet traveled as it became our common staple! For that rare species of person uninitiated to a samosa, it is generally triangular shaped fried packet of thin crispy layer of dough, filled with potatoes, beans, peas or other vegetables or ground meat or chicken.   The accompanying mint/ tamarind chutneys or new world ketchup make it more exotic! In Bengal, as the cool winter brings in  the fresh crop of green peas, they  become a delicacy added to the  samosa or singara . Samosa are dished out in newspaper packets , in sal leaf bowls,  in saucers nudging the tea cup or graciously at home!  Whatever the form, time or place, they are easy to reach for satisfaction!

Main resources:

1. Wikipedia
2. Girija Duggal, Lovely Triangles, at the Way Back Machine, Hindustan Times, August 23, 2008