This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy
Watch the recipe
Samosas are seriously the best snacks ever. Yeah, I can eat a couple of cookies or a bag of chips — yeah chips are a treacherous food for sure, I really can’t have a bag in the house or else it’ll be gone in a day! (who’s with me?) — in between meals, but nothing beats the satisfaction of samosas for me.
What is a Samosa?▼
Maybe I’ve gotten a little ahead of myself. Let’s get into what is a samosa. Samosas are a South Asian snack or appetizer filled with potatoes, meat, or veggies. The dough for samosas are shaped into cones, and the fillings are added in. Samosas are typically deep-fried, but you can also bake or air fry them. You can eat samosas on their own, dipping them in chutney, or topping them with yogurt and chutney in the form of samosa chaat!
Samosas are just such that super food that is so versatile and can pretty much be enjoyed for any meal! You can have samosas served as a side dish or appetizer, a snack, or breakfast! For me, I have one or two for a snack, two or three for a side or appetizer, and three or more for a meal! How about you?
I can never turn down samosas if they’re on the menu. I just have to have them! If you’ve never had a samosa before (I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have, but you never know!), then you’d see what I mean the second you give one a try! My favourite samosas are the North Indian Potato Samosas, made with a delicious potato and pea filling! Yum!
Me being me, however, (and perhaps you being you!) I like to switch things up. While I love my classic favourite, I did want to try something different when thinking of a vegetarian filling for samosas.
What’s Paneer?▼
The answer is to my question is paneer! If you’ve been following the blog for awhile, then I may sound like a broken record when I say that paneer is my favourite vegetarian protein source (well, apart from eggs, as you may see from all the egg recipes I have on the blog!). It just has to be said because I love paneer so much, and the new readers must be convinced that paneer rocks! Paneer can be compared to tofu, but I honestly never cook with tofu. When I see a tofu dish, I think to myself “That would be so good with paneer!”
Paneer is the ultimate blank canvas. You can literally do anything with it and it’s delicious! Paneer has a nice little mild flavour of its own, but really soaks up flavours from marinades, gravies, and spices! You can add it in curries, fry it up, stuff it in sandwiches and wraps, and put it on pizza! I always say that if you’re looking to transition to a vegetarian diet, then eating Indian food is such a great way to adhere because when I have a paneer option, I don’t really miss chicken at all, and I loooove chicken!
If you don’t know what paneer is, it roughly translates to “Indian cottage cheese” in English. I’m not sure why it’s given this name, but it could be because the method of making the two cheeses is quite similar in the sense that they’re both made out of the milk solids, which is why paneer is an excellent source of protein.
However, if you can’t find paneer at your grocery store or at a South Asian or Indian grocery store, then please don’t make the mistake of substituting paneer with regular cottage cheese! I did that when I first came to Canada and I instantly regretted it! Your dish will definitely be ruined by using cottage cheese! With that being said, if you don’t have access to store-bought paneer, you can certainly make it yourself! While it’s a bit tedious and takes awhile, trust me it will be worth it! I have to admit that homemade paneer really is much more flavourful and softer than the store-bought paneer, so if you have to make it or have the inclination to do so, then I recommend it! In India, we don’t really have to make our own paneer since you will get paneer freshly made from markets.
Why Make Baked Samosas?
I guarantee you’re going to love these samosas! These won’t be any ordinary paneer samosas, but to make our paneer filling, we’re actually going to make it a paneer jalfrezi! Paneer jalfrezi is paneer with peppers and veggies. You’ll love that tangy and spicy filling! I’ll also show you how to make the dough and how to stuff your paneer jalfrezi into the samosas, making the most perfect shape.
An added bonus with this recipe is that we’ll actually be baking our samosas in the oven! Samosas are traditionally deep fried, but we’ll save some calories and clean-up by baking the samosas. Don’t worry, they’ll still be extremely delicious and super crispy on the outside!
These samosas will be so much fun to make and are the perfect party snack that you can prepare for any occasion! At the time of writing this recipe, Diwali, the festival of lights, will be taking place in a little under a month. If you want to get these ready for your Diwali festivities, that would be an excellent option! Let’s get to the recipe!
Tips & Tricks for Addictive Samosas with Paneer
- Let the dough rest for as long as you can be patient. This is usually the hardest part for me, after all, I want to eat and who wants to wait to eat these treats. Trust me, wait at at least 15 minutes and you will be glad. This will allow the dough to rest and be easy to shape into samosas.
- Roll the dough thin and even. The thinner the dough, the quicker it will cook, however be careful not to roll it too thin - or you will run a risk of it tearing during the stuffing step.
- Let the stuffing completely cool down to room temperature. If it’s any warmer, you will risk tearing the dough while stuffing.
- Use water to seal the seams. Steam may want to escape during cooking and if any open gaps are present in the seam, you risk the samosa coming apart.
Ingredients for Baked Paneer Jalfrezi Samosas
Let’s review what we’ll need for our Baked Samosas. I’ll explain what ingredients are needed for the samosa dough and for the paneer jalfrezi stuffing.
For the Dough
- Flour/Maida: I’m using all-purpose flour for these samosas. For best results, this is what I recommend, as you will get different flavors by using whole wheat or any other kind of flour.
- Ajwain: They add a subtle flavor and this helps with digestion.
- Water: As needed.
- Olive oil: You could use ghee if you like.
For the Paneer Jalfrezi
- Ghee: We’ll use a little bit here to cook our ingredients for the paneer jalfrezi mixture. You could substitute with any cooking oil or butter, but I love to use ghee!
- Paneer: The main focus of our stuffing!
- Vegetables: The veggies we’ll be cooking with our paneer will be red pepper, green pepper, onions and tomatoes. We’ll also add in garlic, ginger, and green chilies.
- Spices: For ground spices we’ll use cumin seeds, hing, deggi mirch, ground coriander, garam masala, kasoori methi and ground turmeric. The only whole spice we’ll use are cumin seeds.
- Cilantro: For garnish.
- Salt: To taste.
How to Make Paneer Jalfrezi Samosas
There are three parts to making these samosas:
- Making the Paneer Jalfrezi Mixture
- Making the Dough
- Assembly & Baking
Let’s go over the three parts to make the most delicious Paneer Jalfrezi Samosas!
For the Paneer Jalfrezi
- Heat up the ghee on medium heat and add the cumin and hing. Cook for 45 seconds or until golden brown.
- Add in the onions and the green chiles. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add a pinch of salt to cook down the onions.
- Add the peppers, ginger, and garlic and mix well.
- After 2 minutes, add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Add the ground coriander, deggi mirch, garam masala, turmeric, fenugreek leaves.
- As the tomatoes cook down, keep stirring to avoid any sticking. If the mixture gets dry, add 1-2 tsp of water.
- Continue cooking until the oil is released and in the meanwhile, cut the paneer in 1/4 inch cubes
- Add the paneer and mix well. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes until warmed through and garnish with cilantro
- Transfer mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until completely cooled down. In the meanwhile, prepare the dough and preheat oven.
For the Dough
- Measure flour in a bowl and add ajwain and ghee. Mix the dough well until the texture feels crumbly.
- Then add water as required to knead a dough that is smooth but not too soft. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest at room temperature for at least 30-40 minutes.
To Make the Samosas
- Preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Divide dough into 12 equal parts, rolling out each dough into a 5-inch thin disk
- Using a knife, cut from the center of the dough until the edge, and wet the edges with some water. Pick up one edge and place it 1/4 of the way up the other edge, making a cone. Press to ensure the edges stick.
- Scoop out roughly 2-3 T of Paneer mixture and add to the cone, Fold the edges of the samosa, making sure to overlap the fold down the centre such that once sealed, the samosa can stand. Repeat the same process for the remaining dough and samosa.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and add samosas to the baking sheet.
- Cook in the oven for 35-50 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Make sure to turn the samosas once, halfway along the cooking time. Enjoy hot with your favourite sauce or chutney.
Serving Suggestions for Paneer Samosas
You can serve these Paneer Jalfrezi Samosas in many ways! My favourite way to have them is with Cilantro-Mint Chutney and with some ketchup! I love eating samosas with ketchup, do you?
I would also recommend you pairing with Tamarind Chutney. You can serve samosas as a side or appetizer with quite literally any meal. They’re an awesome party snack and they’ll disappear quickly I’m sure! Samosas also go great with a warm cup of chai or with a cold Mango Lassi.
Can I make These samosas ahead of time?▼
Yes, you sure can if you’re going to make a large batch for a dinner party! What you could do is make your mixture ahead of time and make your dough. You can let your dough rest and let the mixture cool down. When you’re ready to eat, you can then fill your samosas and bake them fresh. Otherwise, you can have them baked and ready to go when you want to serve.
Storing Leftover Samosas
Honestly, I’m not sure why there would be leftovers since these Paneer Jalfrezi Samosas are pretty irresistible! However, as I’ve said, they’d make for some amazing snacks to have on hand. If you have the discipline to make them for snack prep, first of all, props to you! You can store leftovers in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. You could either leave them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap, or store in an airtight container.
How to Reheat Paneer Jalfrezi Samosas▼
To reheat your samosas, you could reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute, depending on how strong your microwave is. Simply reheat until the outside and inside are warm.
To keep the outside of the samosa nice and crispy, the best methods would be to air fry or reheat in the oven! To reheat in the air fryer, heat for about 2-3 minutes at 350 F. To reheat in the oven, also set your oven to 350 F and heat for about 5 to 10 minutes.
In my opinion, the air fryer would definitely be the best method because there’s no preheating, it’s convenient, and your samosas will be crispy outside! Of course, you can make the entire recipe in the air fryer if you have one. I’ll be sharing a recipe for that method soon!
More Indian Appetizers & Snack Recipes!
If you’re a paneer lover, then I know you’re going to love Paneer Puff Patties or Tasty Paneer Parathas!
Here are some other great snack options I’m sure you’ll enjoy!
Comments
No comments yet — be the first to share your thoughts!
Leave a comment