Best of Both Worlds

Food is more than nourishment—it’s a bridge to the past, a connection to heritage, and a keeper of memories. It is the ultimate happy place we didn't know we needed. Growing up in Kenya, I was exposed to a variety of tasty treats. I can almost taste each one. My most favorable treat to-date is Samosa. A crunchy yet savory meat pastry/snack. This treat was not your ordinary treat that we got to eat daily. It was only bought on special occasions and the beauty of this snack left a lifetime impression in our lives.

Is it a meal, a treat, or a snack? I will let you be the judge of that.  One thing for sure, it is very filling. The savory yet crunchy pastry butter melts in your mouth. Each pocket is individually wrapped with flavor basking within your sensory glands. From the first bite to the last bite, you are sure to lick your fingers. We grew up cherishing this treat and looking forward to many family occasions. Every occasion we got to eat Samosas, felt like Heaven on Earth.

This treat was not casually made in our household, so convincing my parents to buy it was non-existent. Not only was this not a necessity, buying Samosa occasionally was very expensive.  Those who Excelled in making it charged excessive prices for it. And you had to travel long distance, certain demographics to taste this treat. Not many people knew how to make it either. Or maybe they said that to avoid being tasked with making it. Either way, eating a Samosa would surely cost you a great fortune.

Upon relocating here, I tasked myself to learn the best techniques in making samosa. Many people would oppose making samosa stating it is time consuming and very tedious. I wanted to create a different narrative in making Samosa. While creating my own unique touch concept of making them. I adore colorful objects and knew right away to incorporate color in my cooking. I decided to add a hue of different bell peppers, ultimately creating this vibrant concept of flavor for my samosa. You can almost taste the crunch through the lens of these photos. Most people pre-Sautee the ingredients before adding them to the pre-boiled ground beef. I discovered a better way to retain the crunch of my samosas from inside out. By mixing the raw produce ingredients to my ground beef, it helps alienate them from being overcooked and soggy. During the frying process, these mixtures of ingredients retain their crunchyness, while giving my samosas an extra kick. The secret recipe for my fabulous creation.

I started making small samosa portions and timing myself into the cooking process. The worst part in the beginning was standing for a long period of time. I had to find a way to consolidate each process and make this a fun moment. The first thing I did was sit while pre-chopping my ingredients. This allowed my feet to rest and helped alienate the agony of making samosa.  As time progressed, i incorporated new techniques into making Samosas. The next process was to improvise family time by assigning each person with a task. This created a great bonding time as well as a cooking lesson for all. Each person felt good about cooking and learning my new techniques. By having each person help pre-chop the ingredients and stuff the pouches, I was able to accomplish making Samosas in less time. This enabled me also to incorporate my helpers' techniques/skills of pre-chopping ingredients.

Overall, my samosa timeslot reduced significantly.  Within months, I was able to cook them within an hour or less. Compared to my beginning stages, I went from taking 3-4hrs making samosa, to completing them in 1hr. I can now single handedly make samosa by myself within an hour. Learning different techniques has not only created a fun cooking experience, but also birthed a specialty within me. I am now known as the Samosa guru, and my creativity is definitely contagious.  I hope you try my skills of making samosa and enjoy Effortlessly doing so. Samosa can be served as the main course meal, snack, pastry, or etc. What are you waiting for? Give your loved ones a chance to boost about your cooking techniques.  Try my recipe at your next gathering,  company event, potluck and etc. But better yet, gift them my cookbook for all things food.

https://createmycookbook.com/store/show/215841_233058_1538861266

*Samosa Recipe*

Ingredients

1. Ground Beef

2. Onions

3. Bell peppers

4. Cilantro

5. Eggroll wraps

6. Salt

7. One Egg

8. Habanero

9. Oil for Frying

How To Prep

(1.) Pre-wash or rinse your ground beef, then bring to a boil.

( 2.) Boil the ground beef till well done. And strain any water or oil.

(3.) Set aside to cool down.

(4. ) Pre- chop 2 red onions and set aside. (You can use your preferred onions)

5. Pre-chop a variety of bell peppers preferably 3-4, and set aside.

6. Pre-chop 2 bunches of Cilantro along with 3-4 Habanero peppers and set aside.

7. Make Spicy according to your liking.

Wrap Preparation

1. Cut the egg roll wraps diagonally to for a triangular shape ️

2. Beat one egg in a bowl and smear a small egg paste along the eggroll wraps.

3. Fold the opposite side of egg roll wrap as if forming a pouch and set aside.

4. Repeat step 3 until you complete all wraps.

5. Mix All Pre-chop items above with the ground beef.

6. Add teaspoon of salt, then mix well

7. Stuff each pouch with the ground beef mixture.

8. Add/smear a small egg paste to seal the wraps.

9. You should have a triangular stuffed pouch. See photos below.

10. Repeat this process until every pouch is filled and sealed.

11. Pre-heat oil in a pan until hot.

12. Fry each stuffed pouch until golden brown.

13. Flip each side and cook accordingly then set aside.

14. Repeat frying process until done.

15. Serve hot with preferred drink.

*5lb ground beef will yield a serving of 20-30 samosas*