Repatriate’s reunion with samosa
Through decades of travel and setting up home in different countries, the search for comfort food often ended with savouring a samosa in its numerous forms. Those stepping beyond Indian shores share an emotional bond with this mildly spicy, crisp savoury snack, always immensely pleasurable and satisfying.
I am reminded of one of my many sojourns into the bylanes of Anawartha Road in downtown Yangon (the erstwhile Rangoon, the commercial capital of Myanmar). I had stepped into a small, non-descript restaurant that claimed to be serving authentic Myanmar cuisine. Tempted by the list of vegetarian dishes, the samosa soup in particular piqued my interest. Like most Indians, the crisp flaky, potato-filled golden triangles were a mouth-watering delicacy that conjured up sweet memories of student days when ‘samosa and chai’ were a ritual with friends. That day, the picture that stared back at me had some pointed edges peeping out of a bowl of soup. Obviously, the samosa had travelled a long way.
Most of us believe that samosa is an Indian snack that has evolved over centuries. Not quite, since its origin can be traced to Central Asia and the Middle Eastern countries. The first mention of a snack bearing a striking similarity to our modern-day samosa was found in Arab cookbooks dating back to the 11th century. These mentioned the pastry as ‘sanbusak’ (derived from ‘sanbosag’, a Persian term). The recipe seems to have reached South Asia through the Middle Eastern skilled cooks who sought employment in the kitchens of the Sultan of Delhi.
Mention of the samosa in Amir Khusrau’s writings (poet and scholar of the 13th century) revealed its popularity among the nobility and royal families. By this time, the samosa had been refined to perfection with stuffings of mincemeat, ghee and onions.
Samosa is prepared with a wafer-thin outer pastry that is rolled out and formed into a cone, filled with stuffings ranging from meat and game, to potatoes, cottage cheese and vegetables, before being sealed and deep-fried on a low flame to yield a crisp, golden brown outer crust with a soft filling inside.
The basic recipe remains the same but over time, delectable variations have emerged — lukhmi in Hyderabad, samosa chaat is popular as street food in North India, sambosak in Arab countries, somsa in Turkic-speaking nations of Central Asia, bajiyaa in the Maldives, sambusa in Ethiopia and Somalia, and Indonesia’s own version of samosa is served with sambal.
Samosa wound its way into Myanmar as it did into all South Asian countries. Served as a fried snack in tea shops and as street food, it has also been adapted into a more wholesome dish served in local restaurants, as samosa soup, called samosa thouk. Interestingly, this is a jump from an oil wok, into a bowl of lentil soup.
Samosa soup is a combination of lentil soup, samosa, and salad comprising onions, cabbage, carrots, chillies and coriander leaves. Tamarind or lemon juice can be added to make it a bit sour and tangy. A complete samosa soup combines more than 20 ingredients, and the end result is simply delicious.
On my return to India after 16 years, I have perfected the samosa soup, and love to serve it as a Burmese-Indian entrée!
