Allahabadi Samosa

It’s funny where a dream can take you—and that’s exactly what happened today. I woke up with the vivid image of a halwai shop from my hometown. In my mind, I know I’ll be able to visit there sometime in 2023, but today, it was the shop and its delicacies that kept playing in my mind. Thanks to that dream, samosas had to be cooked at home. If it had been any other snack, I could have easily ordered it from somewhere. But the filling—that’s what mattered most. The familiar taste of my hometown samosa is something I know I can only recreate at home or experience when I visit. And for now, a visit seems impossible. So, it was decided—I’m going to make samosas from scratch. As soon as the words left my mouth, someone was thrilled, knowing these wouldn’t be the ready-to-eat ones from the store. Making samosas from scratch is a big deal in our house, and I have to admit, I was a little nervous. But in a way, it became a family activity as someone quietly joined in to help me prepare the filling and fold the dough. The crust could have been a little crispier, but the sight of those golden, stuffed pockets paired with tamarind chutney and a steaming cup of adrak chai was pure therapy for our souls. And for me, this was Allahabadi Samosa—a taste of home, a slice of my childhood. Although the name of my hometown has changed, for me, it will always be Allahabad.