Frozen Samosas

The samosa is a fried or baked pastry with a savoury filling, eaten from Delhi street stalls to British tea tables. The Punjabi samosa is the large, cone shaped one with a thick, crumbly crust and a filling of potato, peas, ginger and whole spices. Vegetable samosas mix potato with carrot, peas and sweetcorn, chana dal samosas use split chickpeas, and cocktail samosas are small triangles in thin, crisp pastry, often called patti samosa, sized for parties, Eid and Diwali.

Choose large Punjabi samosas for a snack on their own or crushed into samosa chaat with chole, yoghurt and chutneys. Pick cocktail samosas for a party platter or a lunch box. Serve with tamarind and date chutney, mango chutney or a mint and coriander chutney. For another stuffed pastry, try frozen kachori.

Bake or fry samosas from frozen. In the oven, place them on a lined tray, brush lightly with oil and bake until golden and hot in the middle, turning once. In an air fryer, cook them in a single layer and shake the basket halfway. To deep fry, keep the oil moderate, around 170°C, so the pastry blisters without burning before the centre is hot. Hold the pack at -18°C and never refreeze samosas that have softened. More hot snacks are under frozen snacks and sides.