The Only Keema Samosa Recipe You Need
Sakina Taizoon Limbdiwala spends years trying to get the recipe for keema samosa from her generous but secretive neighbour, Shirin Taiyebi. When it finally comes to her, its secret is an unexpected revelation.
We met Shirin Taiyebi when we moved to our new home ten years ago. Unable to leave her house because of physical ailments, she made a world for herself within her home. She adopted everyone she liked, and made sure they were well-fed on her delicious keema samosas. Every evening, there was always a congregation at her house, snacking on samosas, steaming cups of chai, and lots of neighbourhood gossip.
Her other culinary creations were neighbourhood legends too: half-moon gujiyas, moong dal bhajiyas. But her samosas were the most coveted.
Picture a crisp, golden-brown pastry, its surface glistening under a light sheen of oil, the promise of crunch with every bite. The flaky pastry cracks gently; a steaming, fragrant filling of tender kheema spiced with cumin, coriander, and turmeric within. Each mouthful is a primordial symphony of textures and tastes.
Every Ramazan, my Ammi and I would ask her for the recipe, and every year, we would receive a packet of her kheema samosas frozen in a bag. I’d wait for her iftar snacks to arrive, and she sends them over, every single day. We call her mami, but she isn’t quite the stererotype of a sweet old lady. Mami is hot-tempered and feisty, an old woman with colourful language, even in the presence of minors. It’s what I received when I tried to snoop around her kitchen on the pretext of helping.
Mami’s kitchen is where neighbours would congregate for chai, gossip and keema samosas.
Every time I asked, “Why won’t you give us the recipe, mami?” I was chased out laughing. Her booming voice would follow me. “Mere zinda hote hue recipe ki kya zaroorat?” Why do you need the recipe when you have me?
Once we tried to bribe her husband with jalebis, to secretly acquire the recipe. The plan fell apart quickly, because mami is an all-knowing clairvoyant with spies everywhere.
Feeding us is her love language, but collecting recipes from people is mine. I collect recipes like souvenirs — Ammi’s dal recipe, the chhole bhature recipe that my brother learned from his roommate, my childhood friend’s malai toast recipe that she made for us at a slumber party, a colleague’s dhokla recipe that she packed when she knew I hadn’t brought lunch.
Last year, when I got married, Mami couldn’t attend the wedding. Before I left, she called to see me in my wedding dress. She told me to take care of my new family and feed them lots of good food. Two days later she sent me a 20-minute voice message: her keema samosa recipe.
“The recipe was only a secret as long as it brought you to my door,” she said.
I now have the recipe, but, this is that one dish I never make myself. Whenever I am home, I knock on her door and sit in her small kitchen, asking for her keema samosas.
RECIPE FOR SHIRIN’S KEEMA SAMOSA
Ingredients
500 g minced mutton
5-6 pods garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ inch ginger, finely chopped
1 large onion
3-4 spring onions
1 stick cinnamon
3-4 (whole) black pepper
1-2 cardamom
2-3 bay leaf
1-2 finely chopped green chillies
Chopped coriander and mint leaves
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
3 tbsp refined oil
Salt, to taste
20 samosa patti (puff pastry sheets), 10” x 3” size
Flour paste (2 tbsp flour + 3 tbsp water)
Method
It's very important to buy the right cuts of meat for your keema. Always go for shoulder or leg. Wash & drain the minced mutton and then marinate in lemon or vinegar to ensure it remains tender. Thaw the samosa patti for an hour before wrapping the samosas. Make the flour paste used for sealing, just before making the samosas.
To make the filling: add finely chopped onions, green chillies, chopped ginger, garlic, coriander and pudina leaves to the minced mutton and mix everything by hand.
In an iron pan, add a teaspoon of oil, then garam masala — elaichi, cinnamon stick, black pepper and bay leaf.
Add the mutton keema and start browning it until it is completely cooked and dry. Make sure to not overcook your meat. Add your spices: chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely and remember to remove all the garam masala before stuffing your samosas. (You really don't want to use garam masala powder, believe Mami, the extra effort is worth it)
Fold the samosa patti into a cone, like a paper aeroplane. Fill it with 1.5 tbsp of the filling, and seal with flour paste. Repeat for all samosas and set aside on a plate for 10 minutes before frying.
Heat oil in a pan/kadai. Fry samosas in batches on medium heat for 7-8 mins till golden brown. Remove from the pan and place a tissue under the samosas to absorb the excess oil. Serve hot and enjoy with green chutney or tomato sauce!
Sakina Taizoon Limbdiwala is a sub-editor and a fair-weather writer and artist, who loves devouring fan-fiction, true crime podcasts and newsletters in her free time.
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