Mangsher Singara / Mutton Samosa / Samosa with minced Meat

Mangsher Singara or Mutton Samosa is a luxury treat. Unlike the Sinagar that comes with a filling of potatoes or cauliflower, mutton keema samosa is not that available in the local fritter shops...rather you will find them in the menus of the small joints like Anadi Cabin, Golbari, Mitra Cafe, Basanta Cabin in Kolkata. The crust is crisp and the filling is spicy and dubiously tasty. These Keema Samosas are more like minced meat hand pies but more Indian in spices and taste. And even the crust is made with more oil than the regular dough to make them more short and crisp...which we Bengali’s call “khasta”, and the process of crumbling the flour with oil is known as “moyan”. The more “moyan” you give the crunchier and short your dough will become. And it’s mandatory to knead the dough with warm water.

If you are in India then my suggestion would be to get them from those small joints...but if you are banished from India like me...then you can simply follow my instructions to get those small meaty pockets in your home. The process is a little bit lengthy but they are so damn worth it. If you want to go veg then you can follow my sinagara recipe here with a potato and cauliflower filling.Take my advice and make a big batch then start a good movie and enjoy those samosas with a hot cuppa chai!!! For old time’s sake!!!

Heat oil and add the cumin seeds, green cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon stick.

As the whole spices start to sizzle add the chopped onions to them.

When the onions become golden brown add the ginger - garlic paste. Saute them for a minute more.

Add the chopped green chillies.

Add the miced meat. 

Sprinkle some salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder and cook the keema for 4-5 minutes or until they become brown in colour and the oil starts to separate at the edges.

Add the green peas and cook them until they become tender.

Add the garam masala powder, chopped coriander leaves and chopped mint leaves.

Mix them well and switch off the flame.

In a seperate pan heat oil and add the boiled potatoes. Fry them until they form a big lump and add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder.

Add the dry roasted and ground cumin seeds and coriander seeds.

Add the cooked minced meat.

Transfer the entire mixture to a seperate bowl.

In a large bowl take the flour, salt and oil. Gently mix the oil with the flour to create a crumb like texture.

Add warm water in small parts until you have a soft and smooth firm dough. The dough should not be too hard or too soft. make small balls out of this dough and roll them into a medium sized thick puri. Place a little filling in the middle of that and seal the edges. You can give triangular shapes like me or round shapes like gujia or the pocket shape like traditional samosa.

Mangsher Singara / Keema Samosa / Samosa with Minced Mutton

Makes 15- 18 medium sinagara / samosa

Ingredients:

For the Filling:

250gm minced mutton / lamb

1 small onion – finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic – paste

½ inch ginger – paste

1 medium potato – peeled and boiled

3-4 green chillies – finely chopped

A handful of green peas

A handful of fresh coriander leaves – finely chopped

A handful of fresh mint leaves – finely chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp dry roasted and ground cumin powder

1 tsp dry roasted and ground coriander powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

2 green cardamoms

One small cinnamon stick

2-3 cloves

Salt

1 tbsp oil

For the Dough:

2 and ½ cups of all purpose flour

2-3 tbsp oil

A pinch of salt

Warm water to make the dough

Oil to deep fry

Method:

Make the filling:

Heat the oil in a kadai and add the cumin seeds to them.

As they start to sizzle add the chopped onions and sprinkle some salt.

Saute the onions until lightly golden brown and then add the ginger – garlic paste to them.

Saute for another minute or so to cook the ginger and garlic and then add the chopped green chillies and the minced meat.

Sprinkle some more salt and cook the minced meat for 3-4 minutes on medium flame or until they are browned and all the moisture has evaporated.

Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder and mix well.

Add the green peas and cook until they become tender.

Finally when the mixture starts to separate oil add the chopped coriander leaves, mint leaves and garam masala powder.

Mix them well and switch off the flame.

You can stop here. I wanted to filling to be more filling so I added potatoes.

Heat a little oil in another pan and add a little turmeric powder and red chilli powder.

Break the potatoes with the back of the spoon and cook them until the potatoes are no longer sticking to the sides of the pan.

Now add the cooked minced meat to them and mix them well. When they are nicely incorporated add the dry roasted and ground cumin and coriander powder.

Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Switch off the flame and transfer the filling to a separate bowl or container and keep aside until the temperature is cool enough to handle.

Make the Dough:

In a bowl take the flour, salt and oil.

With your finger gently mix the flour with the oil so that you get a crumbled texture. To know that if the flour is ready take a little of the flour in your palm and press it gently by closing them inside your palm. Open your palm and see if the flour has retained the shape from that pressing. If it holds the shape then it’s ready.

Slowly add a little water and start to make the dough. Add water until all the flour has come together.

Knead the dough until you have a smooth ball shaped dough. You will know the dough is perfect if the dough does not stick to your fingers and the bowl itself and there is no flour left sticking inside the bowl.

Make medium sized 15-18 balls and keep them covered with a wet cloth.

Take one ball and roll it into a medium sized thick puri.

Place 1 and ½ tsp of the prepared meat filling and seal the edges. You can give the samosas their traditional shape or you can make them like gujias or you can do like me. I gave them square shaped and sealed the edges. Then I pressed the edges with a fork to give a little design. I have made the veg samosa using the traditional shape. You can see them here.

Follow this process until you are finished with all the balls.

Heat enough oil to deep fry in a kadai to medium temperature and fry the samosas / singaras in small batches. Maintain the medium temperature of the oil by switching off the flame from time to time, otherwise the crust will not cook from inside.

Once done, take the samosas / singaras out of the kadai and place them on a kitchen towel to soak off the excess oil.

Serve hot with your preferred sauce.