Cheese Samosa is a delightful snack characterized by its crispy, golden-brown exterior, and triangular shape, filled with a savory cheese mixture. Known as paneer samosa in India, this popular treat is also referred to as Sambousek in the Middle East, showcasing its widespread appeal across different cultures.
Cheese samosas offer a delightful variation on the classic samosa, making them an ideal choice for cheese enthusiasts. For those who have a passion for snacks, consider incorporating these delightful options into your next party: Potato Cutlet, Keema Samosa, Potato Finger Samosa, Fried Sandwiches, Potato Pancakes, and Chicken Pakora. These recipes are sure to enhance your snack experience, allowing you to savor quality moments with family and friends.
Jump to:
What is Samosa?
Samosas are a beloved snack throughout South Asia and rank among the most popular street foods in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In the Middle East and parts of Africa, they are called Sambousek.
These delightful pastries can be filled with various ingredients, but potato samosas are particularly renowned. The crispy exterior, achieved through frying, creates an irresistible flavor that melts in your mouth.
Recently, there has been a trend of experimenting with different fillings by incorporating various spices and herbs.
Previously, I shared a recipe for lamb keema samosa and potato samosa that received a fantastic response from my online community. Today, I am excited to present another variation that features cottage cheese (paneer), which will surely inspire you to create your delicious cheese samosas.
What's Special in Cheese Samosa?
Sautéed cheese infused with spices creates an ideal filling for triangular samosas. This mini version offers a delightful bite-sized option that showcases the irresistible combination of cheese and the crispy outer layer of the samosa. The moment you take a bite; you'll find it hard to stop indulging in more. The frying process results in a perfect crunch that pairs beautifully with chutney or sauce, making it an excellent choice for a snack or appetizer alongside your main dish.
In this recipe, I used shredded cottage cheese for the filling, but feel free to experiment with other varieties like cheddar, mozzarella, feta, or even parmesan for a unique flavor profile. Each type of cheese brings its distinct taste, allowing you to customize the filling to suit your preferences.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Samosa, Sambousek, sambusa, or sambousak—whatever you call it, these delightful cheese-stuffed golden fried pastries are a beloved treat for everyone.
My fondness for them stems from several reasons:
- This snack is incredibly light, boasting a delightful crispiness and crunch that simply dissolves in your mouth.
- You can prepare it in advance, and I often make a large batch to freeze for later use.
- The filling options are versatile, allowing for customization to suit your taste; my personal favorite is the delicious blend of cheese and jalapeño.
- It’s super easy to make and wrap in samosa sheet (patti).
- Easy to store in freezer for 01 month.
I have a personal passion for making and storing samosas, as they provide a convenient option for preparing something tasty to enjoy with tea or as a snack. My unique finger-style Indian samosas have become my signature dish, and I take great pleasure in making them repeatedly to share with my family and friends.
Ingredients
Cheese For Stuffing: Shredded cottage cheese was my choice because it delivers a wonderfully mild and creamy flavor once fried. If you're looking for alternatives, you could try mozzarella, cheddar, feta, halloumi, ricotta, or any other cheese that aligns with your taste.
Samosa Sheets For Wrapping: Freshly prepared, high-quality samosa Patti serves as the essential component for crafting perfectly wrapped samosas. Its delightful flavor and ability to achieve a satisfying crispness when fried make it an ideal choice. If samosa Patti is not available, you can also opt for roll sheets or phyllo sheets as alternatives for making samosas. While samosa Patti is readily accessible in India and Pakistan, those residing outside these regions may want to look for Sambosa leaves as a substitute.
Flour Paste: Wheat flour combined with water creates an ideal adhesive for wrapping samosas.
Spices & Herbs: For this recipe, a minimal number of spices is required to create the stuffing. Simply sautéing onions and green chilies will provide a delightful flavor when combined with cheese, enhanced by a touch of salt, red chili powder, and black pepper.
Oil For Deep Frying: High-quality oil is essential for achieving delicious and crispy samosas. I prefer using vegetable, canola, or sunflower oil, as these options provide excellent frying results while also being a healthier choice.
These delightful cheese samosas feature a crunchy exterior that gives way to a gooey, cheesy filling with a hint of spice, making them an enjoyable and creative option for enhancing your snack time experience.
How to Make Cheese Samosa
Step 1 - Prepare Cheese Stuffing:
To prepare a cheese samosa filling, begin by heating oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and green chilies, allowing them to sizzle for a few seconds.
Next, incorporate finely chopped onions and sauté until they begin to turn golden.
Season the mixture with salt, red chili powder, black pepper, and roasted gram flour (besan), ensuring everything is well combined. Afterward, add shredded cottage cheese and continue to sauté for a few minutes.
Finally, mix in freshly chopped cilantro, allowing the flavors to meld. Let the filling cool, and it will be ready for stuffing.
Step 2 - Prepare Flour Paste
n a bowl, mix wheat flour and water to make a thick paste. It will use to seal the edges of the samosa.
Samosa Folding
Step 3: How to Fold Samosa Step by Step with Pictures
Here is a step-by-step samosa folding. It would be great if you checked the steps in the video to get quick directions.
There is a simple rule of samosa folding that I follow. Place the stuffing in the top center of the samosa sheet and then roll the sheet in a zigzag direction.
Apply the flour paste at the last edge of wrapping and it's done.
Make sure all the edges of the triangular samosa are closed. If there is any opening, then use the flour paste to fix it.
Step 4: Deep Frying
Let's deep fry the cheese samosa in preheated canola oil at medium temperature until it forms a golden brown color. Properly drain the oil while taking it out and keep it on wire or absorbent paper. Never cover right after frying.
If you are frying as a beginner then check out the tips of deep-frying.
Don't forget to check out the detailed Recipe card available at the end of this post or watch the video!
Easy Tips
- To make super crispy and lightweight samosa, use thin samosa sheet (patti) as it makes perfect crisp after frying.
- Sautéed cheese with herbs and spices makes a good taste of filling.
- Use fresh samosa patti, if it’s torn or brittle then don’t use it.
- It’s fine to use store bought sheet (patti).
- If you are using homemade samosa patti then make sure to make it thin.
- Fry samosa in vegetable, canola and sunflower oil.
- Never fry samosa on ultra-high temperature. It will turn dark and get soggy after few minutes.
- Carefully monitor the temperature before frying samosa.
- Avoid overcrowding samosa while frying.
- To enhance the flavor of cheese samosa filling add jalapeno, veggies or herbs.
SEE ALSO: Easy Tips To Deep Fry
Air Fryer Cheese Samosa
Preheat the air fryer at 200°C or 392°F for 5 to 10 minutes. Spray oil on samosa and air fryer basket. Arrange the keema samosa in airfryer. Make sure to don’t overcrowd. Place samosas according to air fryer size. Close the basket and cook for about 10 minutes. Flip the samosa and then cook for 10 minutes until it gets golden brown color.
Serving Idea
Samosa platter is enough to serve with a different flavor of chutney. People from South Asia love to have it with green chutney. You can also try with restaurant style secret house sauce that makes a perfect flavor with cottage cheese. If you like you can sprinkle chaat masala over samosa as it will enhance the flavor.
Serve with karak chai and coffee.
How To Store & Freeze Cheese Samosa
Storing and freezing samosas for later is such a joy! I like to make a big batch and keep them on hand for tea time. They’re a favorite snack in every household, so having some homemade samosas stashed in the freezer is perfect for when guests drop by or for family snack sessions.
When you need, take it out from the freezer, defrost, and deep fry.
Here are some preferred methods to store samosas.
Method 1: If you want to store a bunch of samosas, just arrange them on a tray or baking sheet. Pop that sheet in the freezer for about an hour. Once they're frozen, transfer the samosas into a ziplock bag or a container that seals tightly. This way, they won’t stick together, and you can grab as many as you need whenever you're ready to fry them up.
Method 2: One way to store samosas is by using all-purpose flour (maida) in an airtight container. Start by adding a layer of flour at the bottom, then place your first layer of samosas on top. Sprinkle some more flour over them before adding a second layer of samosas. If you have more, keep repeating this process of layering. Once you’ve stacked them up, pop the container in the freezer for about an hour to firm them up. After that, take them out and give the frozen samosas a little shake. This method helps prevent them from sticking together or getting all jumbled up.
Homemade Frozen Samosa Life: 1 Month (without preservatives)
You can also store the fried samosa in the refrigerator for 5 days. You can refry for 30 seconds at medium temperature to make it crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a bite-size samosa prepared with slim, skinny, and long size samosa patti. It’s half in width as compared to regular samosa patti. People feel difficult to wrap samosa in slim sheet but it’s too easy and simple. Once you try you will easily manage to make a bulk of mini samosa.
Samosas are well-known in Arab countries under names like sambosa, samboosak, or sambousek. While the basic recipe remains similar, the fillings are often infused with a variety of Arabic spices and herbs. The pastry used for these treats is referred to as Samboose leaves. You can get creative with samosa by using different kinds of cheese to suit your preferences.
If it's frozen then defrost first otherwise you can directly spray the oil on samosa and baking dish. Preheat oven to 200°C. Bake for 20 minutes.
Cheese samosa contains 125 calories with 1 teaspoon of stuffing after frying.
Watch Video
More Snack Ideas
If you're excited to give this Cheese Samosa recipe a go or explore something new, please remember to rate the recipe by clicking on the stars, and feel free to drop any questions in the comments. I'm here to help and would love to assist you in making your cooking experience a success. It would also be wonderful if you could share your recipe photos with me; I’d be thrilled to feature them in my Instagram stories!
Cheese Samosa (Sambousek)
Ingredients
- 15 Samosa Sheet Sambosa leaves, Philo sheets
- 1 cup Cottage cheese
- 3 teaspoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon Onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon Green chilies sliced
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- Oil - For deep frying
Instructions
Prepare Cheese Stuffing
- In a pan, pour oil and heat it up.
- Add cumin seed and sliced green chilies. Let it pop for few seconds.
- Now add freshly chopped onions and saute for few minutes until it starts to change color.
- Season with salt, red chili powder and black peppers.
- Add roasted gram flour (besan).
- Give a good mix to all the ingredients.
- Add shredded cottage cheese.
- Mix well.
- Add freshly chopped green coriander and give it good mix.
- Cool it down as it’s ready for stuffing.
Prepare Flour Paste:
- In a bowl, add wheat flour and water. Mix it well to make a thick paste.
- Use this paste to seal the edges of the samosa.
Samosa Folding
- Take samosa sheet and fold the samosa in zigzag direction. Note the steps in post or in video.
- Apply flour paste at the end of samosa wrap to seal the edges.
- Prepare all samosas.
Deep Frying
- Deep fry the cheese samosa in preheated canola oil at medium temperature until it forms a golden brown color. Properly drain the oil while taking it out and keep it on wire or absorbent paper. Never cover right after frying.
Video
Notes
- For super crispy and light samosas, opt for thin samosa sheets, as they fry up perfectly crunchy.
- A filling made of sautéed cheese mixed with herbs and spices adds a delicious flavor.
- Always use fresh samosa sheets; if they’re torn or too brittle, it’s best to avoid them.
- Store-bought sheets work fine, but if you’re making your own, ensure they’re rolled out thin.
- When frying, any vegetable oil like canola or sunflower will do the trick. Just remember not to crank the heat too high, or your samosas will darken and become soggy quickly.
- Keep an eye on the oil temperature while frying, and make sure not to overcrowd the pan to achieve that perfect crispiness.
Hinz
The crispiest cheese samosa recipe prepared with minimal spices is best to serve at lunch or dinner as a snack or an appetizer. Give it a try!