Bengali singara recipe | Bengali samosa recipe | Homemade singara recipe

Bengali singara recipe is a crispy and spicy delight and is an inimitable part of Bengali street food. In Bengali family, it is like a trend to serve hot Bengali samosa and sweets with tea whenever any guest comes to visit their place at evening. A pair of Bengali singara with a bowl of puffed rice or Muri is one of the most favourite snack recipes of a Bong which they devour as comfort food.

Difference between Bengali samosa and Punjabi samosa

Bengali singara recipe aka Bengali samosa is quite different in taste, texture, flavour and size as compared to Punjabi samosa. In Bengali samosa, the aloo filling is flavoured with bhaja masala (Roasted ground spice mix) and it is a without onion and garlic recipe. On the other hand, the flavour of the filling of Punjabi samosa is completely different from it.

The size of bengali samosa is smaller as compared to Punjabi samosa.

The shape of both the samosas are different from each other because of the different folding technique during the time of shaping the samosas.

Even the thickness of the crust of Bengali samosa is thinner as compared to Punjabi samosa.

Bengali singara recipe is my dad’s most favourite vegan snacks recipe. He used to bring it at least twice in a week during my school days. Even now, he becomes a child and is always willing to buy them whenever he sees samosas are frying somewhere. I have grown up eating this tasty divine and have countless good memories with it.

After coming to the UK, I got many options to devour Punjabi samosa but didn’t get any option to have Bengali singara. One day, I told my husband that during winter my mom used to prepare samosa at home with cauliflower and peas. Then he said, “Why you don’t try simple bengali singara recipe with potato like street food of Kolkata. I am craving for it”.

Then I have decided to prepare bengali samosa recipe at home. On my first attempt, I lacked the perfect shape of the Bengali singara but the taste was accurate. But on my second attempt, it came up with perfection. It all about practice to shape a samosa perfectly. My husband just loves them and now at least once in a month homemade singara recipe accompany us with tea.

Bengali singara recipe aka Bengali samosa is simple recipe and it requires moderate cooking skill to be prepared. It needs very basic ingredients which are easily available in any Bengali kitchen pantry to get prepared. It could be a perfect snack recipe for family get together and small parties.

Bengali singara recipe with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instruction’ section of the recipe. If you follow each step of my recipe precisely then it will remind you the taste of street food of Kolkata. I have shared all the basic tips and tricks to prepare perfectly crispy Bengali samosa.

How to make bengali samosa?

To prepare the bengali samosa, first prepare Bhaja masala for the potato filling. Dry roast the whole spices cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, pepper corns, cinnamon stick, clove and cardamom and let them cool down before grinding. Pulse them to a smooth dust and keep it aside.

For the potato filling, first heat oil in a pan and fry peanuts and keep them aside. Then add panch phoran spice mix and dry red chillies for the tempering of the filling and then add finely chopped ginger and green chillies into the pan and cook them until the raw smell disappears Then add potatoes, turmeric powder, salt and cook them with lid over medium low flame for some time. Add splash of water and cook the potatoes with cover till tender but not mushy. Add blanched peas, fried peanuts, bhaja masala, sugar one by one into the filling and cook it in low flame for a minute. Switch off the flame and allow the filling to cool down completely before shaping the Bengali samosas.

On the other hand, prepare a stiff dough with all-purpose flour. I have added sugar, salt, nigella seeds and oil as well other than normal water. Don’t over knead the dough or else it will release gluten and you won’t get the perfect texture of samosa. Cover the dough completely with either wet cloth or cling film and allow it to rest for an hour.

Then after an hour, uncover the dough and knead it once again slightly and divide them in equal portions to prepare flat dough balls. Cover rest of the dough balls while working on one. Place the dough ball on a rolling board and roll it with a rolling pin to an oval shape. The thickness of the flat bread should be between 1.5mm-2mm thick. Then cut the rolled dough from the middle and apply water on the cut portion. Make a cone by joining both the sides gently by pressing.

After this, add the filling into the cone but you need to be careful. Don’t under fill or else you will not get the perfect shape and taste as well. Don’t over fill then problems will arise during the time of tucking it.

Then apply water on the edges and seal them tightly. Please refer the pictures carefully for perfect shaping. Repeat the whole process and shape the samosas with rest of the dough balls.

Put a pan on flame and add enough oil to deep fry the bengali singara recipe. Put the flame in low and wait for the oil to get ready. When the oil comes to 70° C-90° C, drop the samosas into the oil one by one. Always fry the bengali shingara recipe at lowest flame or else it will not get cooked from inside the folds. Don’t overcrowd the pan. You need to be patient during the time of frying samosas because it takes around 20-30 minutes to get done. When the samosas become golden brown in colour, take them out of the oil and drain the excess oil. Transfer them on a tissue lined plate to soak excess oil.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose Flour
• 2 tablespoons Oil
• ½ teaspoon Nigella seeds (Kalonji)
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 50 ml Water, room temperature

• ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon Fennel seeds
• ½ teaspoon Coriander seeds
• 3 Peppercorns
• 1 Clove
• 1 small Cardamom
• ¼ inch Cinnamon stick

• 2 Potatoes, Peeled and diced
• ¼ cup Peas, blanched
• 1-2 green Chillies, thin sliced
• ½ tablespoon Ginger, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Panch phoran
• 2 dry red Chillies
• 2 tablespoons Peanuts
• ¼ cup Water
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons Oil for cooking the filling
• Oil to deep fry the Singara

For the dough
1. Take a mixing bowl and add 1 cup all-purpose flour into it.
2. Add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon nigella seeds into it and mix all the dry ingredients with a spoon.
   

3. Add 2 tablespoons oil into the mixture and mix it evenly until crumbs occur.
   

4. Add room temperature water slowly little at a time and make a stiff dough. For me it took exactly 50 ml water. Don’t over knead the dough. It should be uneven.
   

5. Cover the dough completely with either wet cloth or cling film and allow it to rest for 1 hour.
   

   For the bhaja masala
   

6. Take a pan on flame and let it become completely dry.
7. Add ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon coriander seeds, ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, 3 pepper corns, ¼ inch cinnamon stick, 1 clove and 1 small cardamom into the pan and dry roast them over medium low flame for 1-2 minutes until a nice aroma comes up.
   

8. Transfer the roasted whole spices on a separate plate to cool down.
   

9. Transfer the spices into the jar of a grinder and close the lid of the jar.
   

10. Pulse it to a fine dust. Keep the bhaja masala aside.
    

    For the potato filling
    

11. Take a pan on flame and add 1½ tablespoons of oil into it.
    

12. Once the oil is hot, add 2 tablespoons peanuts and fry them over medium flame for 1-2 minutes and transfer them on a separate plate.
    

13. Add 2 dry red chillies, 1 teaspoon panch phoran into the pan for tempering and let them crackle.
    

14. Add ½ tablespoon grated ginger, thin sliced green chillies into the pan and cook them in low flame for 1-2 minutes until the raw smell disappears.
    

15. Add the diced potatoes into the pan and give a nice stir.
    

16. Cook it in medium flame for 2-3 minutes. Stir in between.
17. Add turmeric powder, salt and mix it nicely.
    

18. Cook it in low flame for another minute then put on the lid of the pan.
    

19. Cook it in low flame for another 2-3 minutes.
20. Add 3-4 tablespoons of water and stir it nicely.
    

21. Again, cover the pan and cook it in low flame until the potatoes become tender but not mushy.
22. Add blanches peas into the potato filling and mix it nicely.
    

23. Add sugar, fried peanuts (Step 12) into the pan and mix it properly.
    

24. At last, add the bhaja masala (Step 10) into the curry and mix it properly.
    

25. Cook it in medium flame for few seconds and switch off the flame.
    

    Note: Allow the filling to come at room temperature before shaping the singara.

    For shaping the Bengali singara
    

26. After one hour uncover the dough and knead it once again for few seconds.
    

27. Divide the dough in 4 equal portions and make flat dough balls with them.
    

    Note: While working with one dough ball, make sure to cover rest of the dough balls before shaping.
    

28. Put a dough ball on a flat surface or on a rolling board. Then roll it to 1.5-2.0 mm thick oval shaped chapati.
    

29. Cut the chapati through the middle horizontally.
30. Apply water into the edge of the cut side of the chapati and make a cone with it. Press the fold gently to tuck it properly.
    

31. Add the filling into the cone with a spoon. You need to be careful during the time of filling the cone. Don’t under fill or else you will not get the perfect shape and taste as well. Due to over filling problems may arise during the time of tucking the singara and filling may come out during the time of frying.
    

32. Apply water to the edges of the cone and tuck it gently by pressing with fingers. Please refer to the pictures for proper folding techniques.
    

33. Repeat the whole process and shape singara with rest of the dough and filling.
    

34. Put a pan on flame and let it become completely dry.
35. Add enough oil to deep fry the samosas properly.
    

36. Put the flame in low and allow the oil to become warm. The ideal temperature for frying samosas is 70° C-90° C. At this stage, you can dip your finger as well to check the temperature of oil.
    

37. Put the samosas one by one into the oil and fry it in low flame. Don’t overcrowd the pan. When the temperature of the oil rises, bubbles would occur.
    

38. Turn the singaras after 10 minutes.
    

39. Fry them evenly till golden brown. Turn in between if required to cook it evenly. One Singara batch takes at least 20-25 minutes to get fried properly.
    

40. Drain the excess oil of the singara and put it on a tissue lined plate. The tissue will absorb the excess oil of it.
    

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