Samoosa

Samosa

Samosas with chutney and green chillies
Alternative names	somas, somosa, somucha, sambosak, sambusa, sambuksa, singada, samuza, sambosa, somasi, somaas
Type	Pastry, Dumpling
Course	Entrée, snack
Region or state	Southeast Asia, Middle East, Horn of Africa, East Africa, North Africa, Indian subcontinent, Portugal
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Maida, potatoes, peas, onions, spices, chili peppers (especially green chili), cheese, paneer, meat (lamb, beef or chicken)
Variations	Chamuça, Shingara

A samosa (/səˈmoʊsə/), sambusa, or samboksa is a fried or baked dish with a savoury filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, or lentils. Its size and consistency may vary, but typically it is distinctly triangular or tetrahedral in shape. Indian samosas are usually vegetarian, and often accompanied by a mint chutney. Samosas are a popular entrée, appetizer or snack in the local cuisines of the Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, the Mediterranean, the Indian subcontinent, the Horn of Africa, East Africa, North Africa and South Africa. Due to cultural diffusion and emigration from these areas, samosas in today's world are also prepared in other regions.

The word "samosa" can be traced to the sanbosag (Persian: سنبوساگ‬‎). The pastry name in other countries can also derive from this root, such as the crescent-shaped sanbusak or sanbusaj in the Arab World, sambosa in Afghanistan, somosa (Bengali: সমোসা) in Bengal, samosa (Urdu: سموسہ‬) in Pakistan, samosa (Hindi:समोसा) in India, (Sindhi: سمبوسو Samboso/sambosa‎), samboosa in Tajikistan, samsa by Turkic-speaking nations, sambusa in the Horn of Africa, and chamuça in Goa, Mozambique and Portugal. While they are currently referred to as sambusak in the Arabic-speaking world, Medieval Arabic recipe books sometimes spell it sambusaj.