Easy Mexican Chicken Samosas

Total Time1 30

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian, Mexican

Keyword: chicken

Servings: 30 samosas

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Samosas

1 medium potato peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces ground chicken
2 garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon coriander
1 canned chipotle in adobo sauce chopped
10 ounces canned diced tomatoes with green chilies
½ cup corn kernels
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons water
30 sheet egg roll wrappers
oil for frying

Scallion lime sauce

½ cup plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup chopped scallion
1 garlic clove
juice of ½ lime
salt and pepper

Instructions

Make the samosa filling. Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash.
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add mashed potatoes, minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, canned chipotle, canned diced tomatoes, and corn. Season with salt and pepper and saute for 4-5 minutes or until meat is well seasoned. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the scallion lime sauce. Blend Greek yogurt with scallions, garlic, and lime juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Combine 2 teaspoons flour with 1 ½ tablespoons water in a small bowl. Set aside.
Starting with one sheet of egg roll wrapper, scoop 1 ½ tablespoons of filling toward the bottom left corner. Fold the corner over the filling to create a triangle. Fold the sheet in half, then lift the bottom right flap over the filling. Fold the wrap so that you have one remaining corner. Use your fingers to brush the flour and water paste along the edge and fold the remaining flaps over the filling. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
Heat frying oil to 350 degrees F.
Carefully drop samosas in frying oil and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and drain the excess oil on paper towels. Repeat with remaining samosas. Serve immediately with scallion lime sauce.

Notes

You can shape the samosas and store them in the refrigerator until ready to fry. You can also make the scallion sauce the day before.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Prepare filling

If you're a fan of chicken tacos and chicken samosas, then this recipe is made for you. These Mexican chicken samosas combine the best of both, stuffing crispy samosas with savory Mexican-spiced chicken.

To make the appetizer, let's start with the filling. Heat oil in a large saute pan and brown ground chicken. You can also use ground pork, ground beef, or even turkey.

Once browned, add mashed potato, corn, spices, canned diced tomatoes with green chilies, and chipotle. Since corn wasn't in season, I used frozen corn.

Feel free to omit the chipotle and reduce the amount of chili powder for less heat.

Taste the filling and season with salt and pepper. Let the filling cool completely. You can also prepare the filling the day before.

Step 2: Make scallion sauce

While the filling is cooling, make the scallion sauce. I used Greek yogurt as the base because of its tangy flavor and thick consistency. However, you can also use Mexican crema. If you prefer a sauce similar to aioli, use mayonnaise.

Blend the ingredients until smooth and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Since it's a small batch, I like to use an immersion blender, but you can also use a blender.

Set the sauce aside while you assemble the samosas.

Step 3: Assemble

Now it's time to make the samosas. First, combine a small amount of flour with water to create a paste. This mixture acts as a "glue", helping seal the egg roll wrapper.

Working with one egg roll wrapper at a time, place 1 ½ tablespoons of filling in the bottom left corner. You don't want too much filling or the samosa can explode.

Fold up the edge over the filling; you're going to fold the wrapper in half, so only fold over one corner.

Then, fold the wrapper in half as shown above. Grab the bottom right corner and fold it up over the filling. Now, fold the triangle up so that you're left with only one exposed corner.

Use your fingers to rub the paste on the edge of the exposed corner and fold it over. To make sure the edge is sealed, I like to rub paste on both individual layers.

Set the samosa aside and repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.

At this point, you can place the samosas on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze until ready to cook. Otherwise, let's get right to cooking these babies.

Step 4: Fry

Heat enough frying oil in a large saute pan to come up about 1 inch. Carefully lay the samosas in the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides. Try to maintain the temperature at 350 degrees, which I found was the perfect temperature to get the wrappers golden brown and evenly cooked.

Remove the samosas and drain the excess oil on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining portions.

Like all fried foods, these Mexican chicken samosas are best enjoyed fresh. Serve them with scallion lime sauce and get ready for seconds and thirds!

Although this version doesn't follow the traditional method, using egg roll wrappers helped cut the preparation time tremendously. You still end up with that amazing crispy shell, in fact, I think it's crispier than traditional samosas!

With that savory Mexican-spiced chicken filling and creamy sauce, this dish is a sure winner.

Make-ahead and storage

Make-ahead:
You can make the filling and sauce the day before and assemble the samosas the following day. Alternatively, you can assemble the samosas and store them in the refrigerator until ready to fry.
Store: Although best fresh, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.