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Kenyan Samosas

A fried pastry filled with boiled potatoes, peas, onions, ginger, chili, coriander, and spices.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Coriander and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Kenyan Samosas

Time3–4 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Peel the potatoes and dice them into quarter-inch cubes.

  2. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and add the onions.

  3. Fry the onions until they begin to turn brown at the edges.

  4. Add the peas, ginger, green chili pepper, fresh coriander, and water.

  5. Cover the pan, lower the heat to simmering, and simmer until the peas are cooked, stirring occasionally; add water if needed to keep the mixture from drying out.

Season and cook the filling

  1. Add the diced potatoes, salt, ground coriander, garam masala, cumin, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice; mix.

  2. Cook the mixture on low heat for 3–4 minutes.

  3. Let the mixture cool slightly so it can be handled.

Fill and fry

  1. Stuff the egg roll wrappers with the filling and deep-fry until golden brown.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

502Calories
18 gProtein
20 gFat
67 gCarbs

Counts 13 of 15 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg Roll1 large egg (50g)78
Pea1/2 cup (72g)62
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Coriander + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,498 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Ginger + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  4. Ginger + cumintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,733 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Potatoes
Form the bulk of the filling, giving a soft, starchy body that holds the spices.
Peas
Add sweetness and soft texture to the filling.
Onion
Builds a savory base and browns at the edges for depth of flavor.
Egg roll wrappers
Form a thin, crisp shell that turns golden when deep-fried.
Vegetable oil
Carries the spices and onion flavor and conducts heat for frying.

The step that matters

Keep the filling moist while the peas simmer. If the mixture dries out, the peas and potatoes toughen and the spices taste harsh. Adding a little water keeps the filling tender and evenly cooked.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, onion, ginger, pepper, coriander, cumin, lemon):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Lentilsfits better
  3. Beansfits better
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against potato, onion, ginger, pepper, coriander, cumin, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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