[upbeat music] If I get this dead on, can I have all the samosas?

[laughing] -All yours.

-Okay.

(host) Samsa, sambousek, sambusa, bourekas, fatayer.

These are all the names found around the world for a variation of this-- this ghee-laden, flaky, crispy, golden triangle stuffed with a blend of delights is also known as the samosa.

More than just an Indian street food, this delicious explosion of savory goodness is a global sensation that takes us on a culinary journey beyond the Indian subcontinent.

Let's go.

Today, I'm really excited because we get to meet "Master Chef" contestant and author of "Milk & Cardamom," Hetal Vasavada, to teach us what she knows about samosas as we learn the history around this supposedly simple snack.

[singer singing in Indian language] I heard that you're one of the people that I should definitely talk to about samosas.

I grew up making these at family parties with all my aunties.

There were about eight to 15 people in my house, -and meals were a production.

-[Cecilia laughing] And it meant all hands on deck.

So we're making Gujarati-style samosas.

(Cecilia) Gujarat is a region found on the west coast of India known for the spice root that cut through the area.

So we had a lot of trade between Ethiopia and India.

We have Farsi Gujaratis, Zoroastrian Iranians that came over.

So it's really been a melting pot of food.

And that melting pot of cultures and cuisines that started over 800 years ago began collecting the ingredients for the samosa that we enjoy today.

[upbeat music] (speaker) Samosas' journey to India can be traced back to the 13th century.

With the spread of Islam, people started migrating to different parts of the world.

Loads of them came to North India.

(Cecilia) The moment the samosa burst into the scene, it was such a crowd pleaser.

So one of the things we found when researching this episode was basically an ancient medieval text of hot takes, if you will, known as "The Book of Delights," written for the ruler, Ghiyas Shah, sharing his favorite recipes of food, medicine and perfumes.

This text actually starts with samosa recipes.

And it also talks about the emperor's favorite kind of samosa.

And it not only has savory samosas, it also has sweet samosas.

North India, in some sense, became the safe house of Muslims because there persecutions happening in different parts of the world.

So a lot of people were coming in, and every time people travel, they bring their food with them.

That is how Samosa came to North India.

But it didn't stop there.

So for example, when this buttery, flaky, globetrotter landed in Uzbekistan, they filled it with finely minced lamb meat and baked it.

When it hopped over to Egypt, they thought, "Beef, cheese and even eggplant, why not?"

While the countries in the Horn of Africa, like Ethiopia and Somalia, thought it would be delicious with meat and green lentils or even sometimes garbanzo beans.

But let's get back to these Gujarati-style samosas, shall we?

What makes those different than any other type of samosa?

So Gujarati-style samosas are usually filled with potatoes and peas.

But it has not always been a thing which was stuffed with potatoes because there were no potatoes in India 'til the 18th century.

So before the 1800s, the samosa in India was basically a festival meat, if you will.

Deer, chicken, lamb-- you name it, it was in it.

So then how did the potato sneak its way in there?

(Neha) Potatoes came from the Americas to Europe, and through European trading companies, came to Southeast Asia, and then British started promoting cultivation of potatoes in India.

Once it became a staple, why would you not stuff it in everything?

Forget samosa, everything that you can think of in India.

Now, of course, we can't talk about samosas without talking about spices.

(Hetal) Masala is literally just any mixture of spices.

It's gonna be different from region to region, family to family, household to household.

Indian cooking is all about knowing when to add what spices.

I'm gonna heat up our pan.

You want to add in the cumin?

Then here's some hing.

(Cecilia) Let's talk about hing, also known as asafoetida.

Made of resin from wild fennel, this special spice is used by some sects of Hinduism who don't eat onion or garlic.

So used as a substitute, hing can offer that yummy, garlicy, onion flavor.

I grew up in a family that didn't eat onion and garlic, and we used a lot of hing.

So a lot of the spices that we use, it's not just for flavor, there's a reason why it's in there.

You'll see a bit of asafoetida in the beginning of the recipe, which is supposed to help you digest things a little bit better.

(Cecilia) After getting some schooling on Ayurvedic practice, this is what I learned from the team.

Ayurveda focuses on balance and wellbeing through yoga, meditation, and food.

And it's been flexing its holistic muscle for more than 5,000 years.

And it's native to the Indian subcontinent.

But get out of balance and you could have some problems.

To give you a sense of how spices were understood that they can change you, they can alter-- that's not good.

So there is a very clear sense of how spices are going to be used.

And the general principle is in moderation.

Kind of like a spice therapy, these practitioners believed that certain spices or foods would impact your body.

We have this mix, which is extremely Gujarati, it's called dhana jiru.

So dhana jiru literally means coriander cumin mixed together, and it's really kind of got that lemony-ness from the coriander, and that nice roasty, toasty, cumin scent.

-Dhana jiru.

-Yeah.

Then we have a touch of turmeric.

And that's really for the color, not so much for flavor.

And also it has a lot of medicinal purposes.

It's an anti-inflammatory.

It's known to be anti-microbial, and a ton of other good things.

(Cecilia) So what type of chili is this?

That is a Guntur Sannam Chili.

It's from Diaspora Co., gets all their spices from India, directly from the farmers, and that is one of 'em.

And that chili, it's really good.

It's got a nice heat; a little bit goes a long way.

And then I have whole coriander seeds as well from my family farm.

My family in India, we had some land for six generations and we grow coriander spices.

Wow, this is really special.

Okay, so this is definitely a taste of home.

[laughing] Yeah, this is probably the only connection I'll have is to the food that they've grown and to the food that they've taught their kids and their kids.

[upbeat music] -Okay.

-Okay, and then add the potatoes in.

(Cecilia) Potato time.

Potato time.

So you want to add your spices into the oil at low heat because it helps temper the spices.

And then while I'm mixing, I'll mash a couple.

-You want to do the mashing?

-Yes.

Okay, so we've got the filling going and it needs to cool.

And so now's a great time to kinda talk about the exterior of the samosa.

Yes.

This pastry is made with all-purpose flour, a little bit of rice flour.

So the rice flour gives it this crispiness.

And then there's some ajwain, or carom seeds.

It has kind of like a mentholy, smoky flavor, but again, it's actually added in for flavor, but also medicinal purposes.

It's really good with helping you digest your food.

And then we're adding ghee.

From what I know of ghee, right, it's basically, it's like butter, but the milk solids have been removed.

(Cecilia) A process dating back 2,000 years came out of a need to help preserve butter.

We discovered that ghee was considered liquid gold among South Asians.

It appears in the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu sacred book.

How's my technique?

(Hetal) Pretty good; you can get more into it if you want.

Don't worry.

Indian food is messy.

You eat messy, you cook messy.

-That's true.

[laughing] -It's just how it is.

I mean, our spices stain everything.

[Cecilia laughing] -So it's okay.

-That's also true.

-I'm doing the right curvature, though, right?

-Yeah.

Okay, I just want to make sure I'm doing everything.

[upbeat music] -The choice tool... -Oh, no!

of Indian aunties and mothers everywhere--the velan.

And the thinner the velan, you're like, "Oh god, no, Mama," but... -So make sure to behave.

-[Hetal laughing] These are actually my mother's that I took from her.

So we will have our dough, we roll it into a ball, and then we're gonna press it down flat.

Now, it doesn't have to be perfect.

(Cecilia) Mm-hmm, when did you start learning how to do this part of it?

My mom actually, and my mom's sisters.

But there were two pair that lived with me while I was in high school, and they really loved cooking a lot.

Every day they tried to hook me into helping them prep whatever they were making that day.

(Cecilia) And so through that, you learned how to do this process.

Yep, exactly.

[upbeat music] [pot sizzling] (Cecilia) Mm, they smell so good.

So this is an apple butter chutney, which is a quintessential Indian-American assimilation dish.

Apple butter chutney does not exist in India, it is not a thing.

But when my mom's generation came to America, we typically do a sweet chutney that's made from tamarind, and sometimes dates too.

But at the time, finding tamarind was really difficult, so my mom found apple butter and she substituted that instead of tamarind.

Did it burn your mouth?

-No.

-No?

Okay.

[laughing] -I'm scared right now.

-And then I'll spoon it on.

Spoon some chutney on.

This is so good.

The crunch.

Chutney definitely sets it off.

Yeah.

I mean, I want to taste it just without any of the chutney 'cause I want to really taste the flavor.

Into the perfect bite that hits every part of your tongue.

[upbeat music] So I know how to make samosas now.

(Hetal) Yes, make them, share them, make them your own, add your own fillings.

That's the whole point, right?

Thank you to you and to your many aunties.

For more fun historical facts on famous handheld treats, check out our episode on pineapple buns.

Spoiler alert, there's no pineapple.

And while you're there, don't forget to like, subscribe, and let us know what dish we should explore next "Beyond the Menu."

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