Why Does Samosa Have Bubbles?

Samosa is one of the most popular snacks in India.

And it’s usually made in Indian households as a tea time snack.

Although its recipe is not too complicated, there is one problem that many of us come across while preparing this delicacy.

Well, I am talking about the formation of bubbles on the top of the Samosa cover.

Yes, it ruins all your efforts that go into making this delicious snack.

So, is there any way to fix this issue?

Let’s find out in the following guide.

Why Does Samosa Have Bubbles?

I know they look terrible, especially when you plan to serve them to your guests.

But don’t worry, there is a way to fix this problem.

Before that, let’s try and understand why the bubbles actually form in the first place.

Once you know the reasons, I think it’d be easier to solve the issue once and for all.

So, here’s the list of reasons for the bubbles issue –

1. The samosa dough is dry.

That’s correct!

Your dough needs to have a nice shine and elasticity to it.

If your dough is turning dry, you can fix it with some ghee or oil.

Do not use water again if you have already kneaded the dough well.

Here, you just need to balance the texture by increasing the fatty content in it.

For those who don’t know, it’s also the reason why sometimes you see cracks on your Samosa cover.

If you use a dry-ish dough, you will have to deal with this Samosa cracking issue as well.

So, make sure you get the right balance of ingredients in your dough.

2. There is too much water in the dough.

It’s one of the common reasons for the formation of the bubbles on your Samosa cover.

When you add extra water to the dough, it may not seem too much at the time of kneading process.

But when it comes in contact with the hot oil, it starts spluttering and forms tiny bubbles on the cover.

Hence, if you wish to avoid it, you need to keep an eye on the amount of water that goes into your flour.

Do not make it like a chapati dough.

3. Your kneading technique is not right.

Kneading is an essential step when you’re making Samosa dough at home.

Even if you get all ingredients’ proportion right, you can go wrong with the kneading process.

And if you do, it will affect the outcome.

So, here are my couple of tips that should you help in kneading the dough correctly – 

Firstly, mix the flour with ghee, salt, and carrom seeds.

Once the flour looks crumbly, add water in small quantities and start forming the dough.

Note – Always use plain or cold water in this step.

Also, it’s necessary to add water in small quantities. 

Do not pour it entirely.

Second thing, you should continue to work on the dough till it acquires a dough shape.

It should look like a stiff dough, but it should also have enough elasticity to ease the rolling process.

And that’s all there is to the process of preparing Samosa dough.

4. You haven’t rested the dough.

Done kneading the dough?

Great!

You have won the half battle here!

The next step is the resting period. 

If you don’t rest the dough well, it will again cause issues like bubbles and cracks on your Samosas.

So, you have to ensure that it rests well for some time.

For the resting process, you can place the dough in a bowl and cover it with a muslin cloth.

As for the storage, there is no need to keep it in the fridge if you are going to prepare the Samosas right away.

Once you put the cloth on the dough, allow it to rest for at least 20-30 minutes.

And let the magic happen!

Later, you can remove the dough from the bowl and start kneading it again for a minute or so.

Quick Tip – If the dough looks a bit dry, take some ghee on the palms and apply to it.

Once everything looks alright, you can make the lemon-sized balls and roll them to prepare Samosa sheets.

5. You fry Samosas in hot oil.

Unlike Pakodas and Bhajiyas, Samosas don’t require very hot oil for the frying process.

You need to fry them in medium-hot oil, which helps in getting the quintessential crispy texture.

But if you fry them at significantly high temperatures, you will see bubbles formation on your Samosas.

So, how do you avoid it?

Well, it can be done with a consistent frying technique.

Consistent Frying:

In this method, though, you don’t have to wait for too long.

You can start frying Samoas as soon as the oil warms up.

And more importantly, you can maintain the medium-high flame throughout the frying process.

Due to this, Samosas get fried uniformly, and you get a nice shine and smooth texture on their cover.

Personally, I prefer this frying method, as it helps in eliminating the probability of putting Samosas in extremely hot oil.

Having said that, you can use any frying method as you like.

But as I said, the only thing you need to ensure here is the temperature of the oil.

Well, these are the common reasons why bubbles form on its cover.

How To Stop Bubbles Formation On Samosas?

As I said, if you follow the above suggestions, you will not have to deal with this issue.

But there are times when you do everything right and still don’t see the results you want.

In such cases, you can use the following tips to stop or reduce the bubbles problem.

1. Pat them dry with a kitchen towel.

If you have stored Samosas overnight in the freezer, they may release some moisture after taking out from the refrigerator.

In this case, you should use a kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture that may be present on their cover.

If you’re using readymade Samosa sheets, you can also perform the same step to get rid of unwanted moisture.

Alternatively, if the moisture content is not too much, you may dust them with some All-Purpose flour.

But make sure you’re not using it in limited quantity.

In some cases, the flour may stick to the cover and will not come off smoothly.

Hence, the kitchen towel method is more effective if you want to remove moisture quickly.

Now, you may wonder why I am suggesting this method, right?

Well, the moisture on the Samosa cover can lead to spluttering in the oil.

And it may also cause the formation of bubbles during this process.

So, it becomes imperative to get rid of as much moisture as possible with the kitchen towel.

2. Switch off the flame and wait till the oil cools down.

If you are making Samosas in large batches, the oil might turn hot in a couple of batches.

And it could impact the next batches.

When you see this problem, you can switch off the flame and wait for a few minutes.

This short frying break will allow the oil temperature to come down significantly.

Once it cools down considerably, you may resume the frying process.

Note – You can also reduce the flame to the lowest possible setting. 

If it doesn’t work, it’d be wise to switch off the flame completely and wait for a few moments.

Well, these are the two tips that you should remember while frying Samosas in oil.

If you can follow them religiously, I am sure you will be able to prevent this issue. 

In the next section, I have shared some useful answers to commonly asked questions related to this topic.

So, do check them out.

FAQs

On that note, let’s conclude this guide here.

Over To You

The bubble formation happens due to the excess water content as well as high heat frying.

If you can understand and work on these two issues, you will be able to make picture-perfect Samosas at home.

In case you still have any doubts or questions, do let me know in the comments section below.

I will surely try to resolve them for you as soon as possible.

And if you liked this guide, share it with your friends and family.

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