September 20, 2014
Mini Samosa
By Anubhav Sapra
Long back I read an article titled ‘Samosa trail’by Chitra Balasubramaniam, where she tried to cover the journey of Samosa in Delhi and discussed its variants at great length. Starting from the legendary Embassy’s samosa to the Japani Samosa, she had covered it all! Here are a few of them:
Embassy Samosa: Weighing 300-350 grams, this samosa isfilled with cubed potatoes, paneer pieces, matar (peas) and loads of green chillies.
Where: Lutyen’s Connaught Place.
Farukhabadi Samose: It has mashed potatoes, to which salt and red chilli powder are added.
Where: Shanti Mohalla, near Gandhi Nagar market.
Allahabadi Samose: This variant of the samosa is filled with well-fried dal.
Where: Bengali Sweet House at Bengali Market
Japani Samosa: This snack has a total of 60 layers filled with aloo, matar and very little spice which seeps through the incredibly crisp layers. This is served with delicious, piping hot pindichane and an interesting pickle of lauki (bottle gourd) and mango.
Where: Manohar, Chandni Chowk
Recently, I was at Connaught Place, getting my breakfast packed from an eatery famous for Chole Kulche near Scindia House. While crossing the subway from the Hindustan Times office to the other side of Naurang House, I noticed a man sitting on the pavement near Parsvnath complex, swiftly wrapping mashed potatoes with a thin dough and frying it. The size of the samosa took me by surprise! It was so small that it has been rightly named Mini Samosa. The weight of one samosa would besomewhere between 10-15 grams. Inflation, a key poll issue in last general elections, seems to have no effect on the mini samosa. 6 samosas are served with green coriander chutney at a minimal price of Rs.10. It is a treat to your taste buds.
Sri Ram, the owner, and his son Rajesh, who hail from UP, have been selling this delightful, affordable snack to office goers sincethe past 12 years at the same pavement.
The next time you are in Connaught Place, near Barakhamba Road,find your way to the Mini Samosa wale and gobble up the mini treat! I’m just happy to have added another variant to Ms. Balasubramaniam’s list.
