samosa

American  

noun

plural

samosas, samosa

1. an Indian fried turnover filled with minced meat or vegetables and spices.

   potato samosas.

---

samosa British  

/ səˈməʊsə /

noun

1. (in Indian cookery) a small triangular pastry case containing spiced vegetables or meat and served fried

---

Etymology

Origin of samosa

First recorded in 1930–35; from Hindi samosā, from Persian

Explanation

A samosa is a tasty Indian dish, a little pocket of fried dough filled with spiced potato and peas. The next time you eat at an Indian restaurant, try some samosas as an appetizer. While samosas are usually associated with India, there are actually few regions of the world that don't have some version of the savory pastry as part of their cuisine. Many of these samosa relatives, from Tajikistan's sambosa to Somalia's sambuus, share an etymological root, the Persian word sanbosag. The earliest known printed reference to the samosa appeared in 11th-century Persian writing. Today samosas are easy to find — just check out the menu at any Indian restaurant!

Example Sentences

The theatre itself has also changed little, its vintage charm intact with counters serving steaming cups of tea and deep-fried samosa snacks.

From Barron's • Oct. 19, 2025

That said, in the spirit of celebrating Jewish food from around the world, he shared the Somali dish sambusa, a flaky deep-fried pastry something like a samosa, that can be filled with meat or vegetables.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2022

While you can make a sweet galette, for this recipe, I made a savory samosa.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2022

“Now I can treat myself with a samosa and get some rest.”

From Slate • Aug. 5, 2022

“Nikhil’s father is upstairs,” his mother says to Maxine, lifting out a samosa with a slotted spatula and putting it on a paper-towel-lined plate.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri