New Delhi4 minutes agoAuthor: Aishwarya Sharma
- copy link
‘Today the gathering is decorated like this, you arrange for tea, we bring samosas.’
Samosa is the life of every big or small gathering. If guests come to the house, samosas are first ordered from the market by running. In the evening, remembering the samosas wrapped in green and red chutney with a sip of tea, the mouth starts watering.
In the Bollywood film ‘Mr and Mrs Khiladi’, Akshay Kumar even told Juhi Chawal, ‘Jab tak rahega samosa mein aloo, tak tak rohanga main tera shalu’.
Recently, there has been a mention of samosas again.
These days Rahul Gandhi is out on ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’. Under this 150-day long journey, Rahul Gandhi went to every corner of Kerala for 19 days. Now he has reached Karnataka. But the video of his ‘samosa wali gossip’ with party leaders in Kerala is viral.
In this video, Rahul Gandhi is narrating an anecdote about ‘Half Veg and Half Non Veg Samosa’. Rahul said that he heard the mention of ‘half veg and half non-veg’ food item for the first time. But samosa is actually a food item of ‘non-veg fraternity’ who came to India from Iran and after reaching here, he made some kind of juggling with the confectioners that the samosa became veg.
For the first time the mention of samosa was found in a Persian poem.
The origin of samosa is believed to be in Central Asia. It was first mentioned in the 9th century poem by the Persian poet and composer Ishaq al-Mawsili. He had praised Samosa i.e. ‘Sanbusaj’.
According to the poem, it was eaten with fervor in the Turkish Ghaznavi dynasty kingdom settled in Iran. The recipe for making it was found in a cookery book written in Arabic in the 10th-13th centuries.
For samosas, the words sanbusak, sanbusaq, and sanbusaj were used, which were derived from the Persian word sanbosag.
By the 16th century, samosa became increasingly popular in Iran, but its fame was limited to some of its provinces. This was mentioned by the Iranian historian Abolfazl Beyhaqi (995–1077) in his book Tarikh-e Beyhaghi.
Before proceeding, let us tell you that the survey report of the famous food delivery company ‘Swiggy’. This report is of only one company but imagine how many samosas would be eaten daily across the country:
Samosa was never vegetarian
So there are many arguments behind how the samosa reached India. It is said that in the 13th or 14th century, the cooks of Central Asia and the Middle East who worked in the royal kitchens of the Delhi Sultanate reached India through ‘Samsa’. In the Delhi Sultanate, the royal poet Amir Khusro wrote around 1300 that ‘The emperor used to eat meat, ghee, onion samosas with great passion.’
At the same time, according to the famous traveler Ibn Battuta of the 14th century, Mohammed bin Tughlaq liked to eat samosas filled with meat, almonds, pistachios, walnuts and spices before dinner (pulao).
The recipe for making Iranian samosas is mentioned in the book ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ by Abul Fazl in the 16th century. It was written that the people of India called it ‘Sanbushah’ (sanbúsah). According to historians, Akbar was also its admirer.
Some historians also believe that 2 thousand years ago the Aryans brought it to India via Afghanistan. At the same time, some believe that samosa was made for the first time in Egypt.
Before proceeding, let us tell you in the graphics in which state what samosas are called:
Why are samosas triangular?
It is believed that in the early days samosas were given the shape of a pyramid. In Persian, samosas are called sambusa which means triangle.
But this was not the first dish in India which had a triangular shape.
Triangle shaped dishes are already being made in festivals
Amarjeev Lochan, Professor of Ancient Indian History at the University of Delhi, explains that even though samosas are said to have come from abroad, but if you look at Indian cuisine, you will find that triangle-shaped dishes are being prepared long before Teej festivals. Were.
There is no proof of who gave the triangular shape to the samosa, but it has a scientific basis. When you fry any food item by giving it a triangular shape, it does not burn. The triangular shaped object is easy to hold.
Potato from Portugal became friend of samosas
Potatoes stuffed in samosas are found only in India. Which people of every state eat with great passion. In Bihar and West Bengal, samosa is called ‘Singhara’ because it is shaped like the fruit of water chestnut. But potatoes did not grow in India. It was cultivated only in South America. Potato arrived in India through the Portuguese, when they captured Goa. In Portugal, samosas are called chamuças.
But the potatoes in the samosa were filled by Indians only.
The whole world is crazy about samosas. Perhaps this is the reason why ‘World Samosa Day’ is being celebrated every year now:
Indians stuffed potatoes in samosas
Professor Amarjeev Lochan says that the experiment of making samosas filled with potatoes was done in India itself. Even today potatoes will not be found inside samosas in any country of the world, but wherever Indians reached, potatoes started appearing in samosas. In countries like Mauritius, Fiji, Singapore and Malaysia, you will find potato stuffed samosas.
In Mauritius you will get ‘samosa’ instead of samosa. The reason for this is that people from Purvanchal had gone there in search of employment. They brought the taste of samosas there and potatoes and peas were filled in it. For the people who reached there, it became a support to fill their stomach. For them ‘samosa’ was the whole food.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was crazy about samosas
Who does not know that the former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee was very fond of food. Be it parathas or jalebis from Chandni Chowk, they were recognized by taste. He was from Agra. Whenever he goes to Pratappura, he does not return from there without eating samosas.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee used to believe in feeding along with food. Discussions of his hospitality were far and wide. Whenever I went to the All India Congress Committee Headquarters, I would definitely order samosas and jalebi from Chandni Chowk.
When former Australian PM made samosa for Modi
In the year 2020, when the world was battling the Corona epidemic, Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia, was seen making samosas.
He shared its video on Twitter and tagged Narendra Modi and wrote that ‘It is vegetarian. I would like to share this with you.
Discussions of samosas are not only between you and us, but also between leaders:
When samosas were banned in Somalia
In 2011, an Islamic extremist group in Somalia banned samosas. The group named Al Shabab said that the triangular shape of the samosas is close to the Christian community. At the same time, another reason was also given.
It was claimed that spoiled meat was being used in samosas.
Samosa is healthier than fast food
Today, even though people eat pizza, burgers and momos with great passion, but according to a research, samosas are healthier than burgers. According to the report of ‘Center for Science and Environment’, preservatives, acidity regulator and artificial test are not used in samosas.
Whereas many types of preservatives are put in burgers. Even though samosas are high in calories, they do not harm like burgers.
World’s largest samosa weighing 153 kg
In April 2022, 12 members of the Muslim Ad team in London made the world’s largest samosa. His name was recorded in the Guinness World Records.
The weight of this samosa was 153 kg. It is made from 100 kg potato, 44 kg flour and 25 kg onion. It was fried in 400 liters of oil and it took 15 hours to make it.
One side of this triangular samosa was 1.26 m (4 ft 1 in), the other 1.40 m (4 ft 7 in) and the third side was 1.33 m (4 ft 4 in) high.
Now the filling of potatoes in samosas has become a thing of the past. See the variety of samosas in the graphics:
From pizza samosa to fruit samosa, many people like it
The ‘Samosa Hub’ of Krishna Nagar, Delhi is famous all over the country including the capital of India. Praveen Kumar Gupta, the founder of ‘Samosa Hub’, told that his family has been working in making samosas for 80 years. When he came to Delhi from Badaun in UP in 2013, he thought of doing something different in samosas. He himself is also fond of eating, so he started experimenting with samosas. Today Praveen is making more than 45 varieties of samosas and selling them as ‘hot cakes’.
In Chinese where they make Chowmein, Chilli Potato, Macaroni, Manchurian Samosa. On the other hand, Pizza, Pink Pasta, Red Pasta, Chilli Cheese Garlic and Cheesy Veggie Samosa are made to enjoy the taste of Italian food. Chocolate, Strawberry, Pineapple, Blueberry, Orange, Mango and Mix Fruit Samosas are made in Fruit Samosas.
He says that after frying the samosas, the samosas are dipped in white chocolate syrup which comes in different fruit flavours. This sweet fruit samosa can be easily fed to the guests coming home for 30 days.
According to Praveen Kumar Gupta, Delhiites are very crazy about samosas. Every day more than 300 people come here to eat samosas. The pizza samosa of his shop is the best seller.
Samosas are eaten with great passion all over the world but in every country it is called by different names:
Spicy samosas from Kasauli to Kuala Lumpur
According to the ‘Test Atlas Food Review’ website, United Coffee House in New Delhi is popular for its variety of samosas. People here are crazy about the filling of non-veg and vegetables and samosas with many flavors.
Those going to Kasauli do not forget to eat samosas made in ‘Narender Sweet House’ there. Tourists enjoy the taste of these ‘Bun Samosas’ while strolling on the Mall Road there. In the new road of Jodhpur, the name of a shop is ‘Shahi Samosa’. Just like the name, the bigger the size of the samosas here, the more delicious the taste.
When it comes to food and Lucknow is missed, it cannot happen. The samosas of ‘Sharma Tea Stall’ located in Aminabad are chubby, not triangular.
The flavor of Awadh is mixed in these samosas with potato, pea-paneer filling.
If you are feeling that samosas are popular only among Indians, then let us tell you that there is a restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ‘Zara Bistro Tropical’, which is served with mango chutney. are in between. Similarly, food critics can’t stop praising the chicken samosas and coriander dip at Spice Market in Doha, Qatar.
America’s Los Angeles-based restaurant is also crazy about the samosas of the country. Opisium KL in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The namesake restaurant serves 3 types of cheese, samosas with raisin filling with walnut chutney.
Shanghai’s Lost Heaven restaurant is famous for the dishes of Yunnan of China, but the lamb samosa here is also very much liked by food lovers.
When ‘Samosa Geet’ danced in front of Modi in America
On September 2019, the Howdy Modi program was held in Houston, USA. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had arrived there as the chief guest. A dance took place in front of him on the song of samosas. The lyrics of the song were ‘Kabhi main khaoon samosa… kabhi khaoon burger…’
At the same time, in a famous TV program, Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan told that samosa is his favorite snack.
You have digested the story of samosas beautifully, but also know how many calories are in samosas, which you can burn and stay fit even after eating.
Graphics: Satyam Parida
To increase your knowledge and receive such informative news continuously, select ‘Woman’ in ‘My Favorite Subject’ on DB App or ‘Miss’ in Gender by going to Profile.