Samosa Diplomacy Comes To The Fore As Aussie PM Pays Tribute to the Fried Wonder

Samosa Diplomacy Comes To The Fore As Aussie PM Pays Tribute to the Fried Wonder

Ahead of his video meet with Narendra Modi on June 4, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday shared pictures of samosas, saying he would have liked to share the popular snack with the Indian leader.

Says the Australian Premier: "Sunday ScoMosas with mango chutney, all made from scratch -- including the chutney! A pity my meeting with @narendramodi this week is by videolink. They're vegetarian, I would have liked to share them with him.”

Prime Minster Modi replied that the two countries are "Connected by the Indian Ocean, united by the Indian Samosa!" He added that it looked delicious and once the battle against Covid-19 ends, they would enjoy the samosas together.

This famous Indian Street food is clearly not just every Indian’s favourite. A report by Uber Eats, says that in a 6 month survey, they found that an astounding number of Australians ordered samosas, with Melbourne alone ordering for over 1,07,475 pieces.

While the Samosa is not native to India, it was brought here by travellers from Central Asia. The samosa’s crunchy fried exterior holds within its triangular folds a variety of ingredients including vegetables, onions, lentils and spices and in new variant even meat. A popular dish among all communities, it has both historical and contemporary gastronomical roots.

Accompanied by a variety of chutneys – mint, tamarind and coriander, there are few who can resist it when the humble aloo (potato) is paired with tangy chutneys and served with piping hot chai.

Even while people are becoming more health conscious and shunning deep fried snacks, Uber Eats says in its India forecast report that the Samosa has emerged as the top-ranking food with the national capital of India, Delhi consuming the maximum, followed by Bengaluru and then Mumbai. “The humble but lip smacking snack found across India, Samosas are predicted to top the food charts in the country given its variety and exciting fillings including chicken, mushrooms or even noodles,” says Uber Eats.

Outside India, the samosa is very popular in the UK, and a year or so ago, six cities in the U.K. celebrated National Samosa Week! The National Samosa Week proved to be a time for endless 'samosa loving' for fans of the snack. The National Samosa Week was conceptualised by Romail Gulzar - a Leicester-based media personality and was held in Birmingham, Manchester, Coventry, Nottinghamshire and Radlett, and had pop-ups of popular samosa shops, samosa eating contests, best samosa awards, etc.

Taste Atlas, which documents traditional cuisines has drawn up a list of some of the most popular samosas in the world not to be missed. The rankings are in the order given below:

United Coffee House (Delhi): "Everything was just perfect in this! Be it the potato filling in the samosa or the chana and all-that topped the mashed samosas… everything was delicious and so amazingly flavoured," says one reviewer, Karan Gauba.

Soul Food Mahanakorn, Bangkong Thailand: Marie Cassandra writes about the Thai Samosa which is a jumble of chicken and cumin. "Southern Thai Samosas. I mean, just look at them. And yes, they tasted as good (if not better) than they look!" Hungry in Bangkok writes: "The samosas were deep fried to a dark gold brown, they were perfectly crispy on the outside with a tender and flavourful filling. Nicely done."

Narinder Sweet House, Kasauli: Described by late Indian author Kushwant Singh as the best in the world, the gulab jamuns (Sweet) and "bun samosa” are part of Kasauli folklore.


Zazá Bistrô Tropical: Otavio Furtado says of the Brazilian samosa: "Delicious eggplant Samosas with a chestnut from Pará, apricot, grated Sicilian lemon and mint."

Spice Market, Doha, Quatar: Kathryn Edwards says the “Samosas were quite spicy and well balanced with a coriander yoghurt."

Shahi Samosa, Jodhpur India: Jasraj Sangani, a samosa lover says this about Shahi Samosas: "Trust me once you eat samosa from this place you WILL forget the other ones. As I mentioned earlier that Samosa are my favourite. I could not stop from grabbing a couple of them."

Sharma Tea Stall, Lucknow: A very small space which churns out samosas by the hundreds. Says Arpit Mishra: "Very Lightly and delicately spiced, the Samosas filling also has peas and Paneer into it."

Swadesh, Los Angeles: Anthony Bourdain says of the Swadesh Samosa: "Here at Swadesh, step right in for samosas. Just such aromatic, delicious food." Adds Steve Ury: "The samosas and other fried and baked goodies make a great snack on the go."

Opium KL, Kuala Lumpur: Christine Leng: "Crispy popiah skin enwrapping 3 types of cheese & raisins. Apricot chutney served as dipping sauce. Good stuff." Ker Yi Lau says the combination of Parmesan, Cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese wrapped in a popiah skin create an absolute cheese fever! "Why settle for 2 types of cheese when u can have 3 types."

Malaysian Flavours says "Samosa is not something unusual to locals. Here at Opium KL, the chef levels up the taste by stuffing 3 cheese, raisins, apricot chutney into popiah skin, deep fried to golden brown."

Balle Balle Indian Restaurant & Bar in Taipei, Taiwan: Says one reviewer about the restaurant. “Great food, great service and not being husteled out of thedoor once you’ve finished eating and the warmth and hospitality of the owner Veerey make you come back again and again. This is a great dining experience and well worth trying if you like great northern Indian food.

Tapri, Jaipur, India: "As the place is famous amongst the youth so you’ll witness people gathering there at any time of the day. Must Have: Have your chai with samosa bun."

 

Namaste Hanoi, Vietnam: Rachel Stevenson says: "We can’t detract from the superb cooking here. Their samosas are properly generous and headily spiced." Namaste Hanoi is a slice of India in the heart of Vietnam. Located in the city center of Hanoi, its proprietors say “Namaste Hanoi is eager to offer the most authentic and diverse Indian dishes for the people of this beautiful city of one millennium. Our elegant decor based on the rich cultural aspects of India offers a cosy yet stirring dining atmosphere for our patrons.”

“The Sanskrit phrase “Atithi Devo Bhav” which literally translates in English to “The guest is God” resounds and reverberates here at Namaste Hanoi. If not in the literal sense of the phrase, staying true to the traditions of Indian hospitality, we here at Namaste Hanoi believe that our guests deserve the best possible treatment from us. It is often said that the art of cuisine is a skill that can never be perfected. Well, in that case, Namaste Hanoi is very proud to inch closer to the art of perfecting the Indian cuisine. We strive to offer one of the most delightful dining experiences of your life. We hope you shall join and support us to hear louder Namaste’s in the streets of Hanoi.”

For sure, everyone has their own favourite Samosa story to tell from fried chillies and samosa in hot Nagpur, to garam garam samosas in the cold in Chandigarh, to Bhagatram samosas and jilebes on Commercial Street in Bengaluru....we would like to know more about your story.