Making Chicken Samosa from Cheesecake Factory Like a Pro
A chicken samosa from Cheesecake Factory is one of my guilty pleasures! And the copycat recipe I have developed today may even be better!
I will show you how to make a deliciously juicy and tender chicken filling while still getting an uber-crisp golden brown fried pastry. It’s extremely easy and the perfect make-ahead snack. Before I forget, we will also recite their signature cilantro dipping sauce!
If you like copycat recipes, you will love my Wingstop Cajun Fried Corn or homemade Disney Ratatouille Recipe.
Cheesecake Factory Chicken Samosas – What Are They?
The samosas from Cheesecake Factory are one of my favorite snacks from a chain restaurant. It’s even one of their most popular starter items too! And naturally, this makes it very difficult to find in stock.
Not only that, but many people aren’t located near a Cheesecake Factory branch, so they cannot share in the enjoyment of these flavor-packed crispy snacks.
So as always, I’ve developed the ultimate copycat Cheesecake Factory chicken samosas recipe.
Now, nobody knows exactly what goes into these chicken samosas. And unless someone breaks the silence, it will remain one of their best-kept secrets.
However, if you are somewhat familiar with Indian cuisine, you can make your chicken samosa recipe that is just as good as theirs.
The way I developed this recipe is through numerous tests. I tried one recipe and adjusted it a little. I tried it again, then made some more adjustments. It took quite a while to perfect, but we finally got there!
So, without further ado, consider what you need to make Cheesecake Factory samosas at home.
Chicken Samosa Cheesecake Factory Recipe
I tried making this recipe as easy as I possibly could! We won’t make a samosa dough from scratch because it’s simply too much work and unnecessary.
The samosa dough sheets they sell in the stores are fine and much easier to use. Remember, today’s chicken samosa from Cheesecake Factory recipe is quick and easy!
If you want to try making this dough at home, you can check out some of these recipes.
Ingredients You Need
- Samosa Wrappers: The primary envelope for our delicious fillings. They provide a crispy, golden exterior to our samosas and can be found in most grocery stores in the frozen food section. Remember to store any leftovers properly to maintain freshness.
- Onions, Garlic, Ginger, and Tomato Paste: These are our essential aromatics, bringing a rich, deep base flavor to our pulled chicken filling. They infuse our samosas with traditional, earthy notes that create a full-bodied taste.
- Yellow Curry Powder, Cinnamon, and Turmeric: This combination of spices infuses our chicken samosas with a warm, inviting flavor profile. Yellow curry powder provides a complex blend of spices, while cinnamon adds a hint of sweetness and turmeric lends its vibrant color and unique taste.
- Chicken Stock: Used for cooking chicken breasts, it ensures the meat remains moist and absorbs additional flavor. Quality chicken stock can add a layer of savory depth to your filling, transforming it from good to great.
- Chicken Breasts: The star of our samosas. Chicken breasts are lean, versatile, and when cooked in our flavorful stock, they become tender and juicy. The perfect protein choice for our samosas.
- Cilantro Dipping Sauce: The final touch to my Chicken Samosa experience. This bright and tangy sauce provides a fresh contrast to the warm, spiced filling, tying together all the flavors beautifully.
How to Make Chicken Samosa
Begin by warming the olive oil in a pan and sautéing the onion for about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, and ginger, then sprinkle in the spices and toast them gently.
Add chicken strips, browning them briefly but not fully cooking them. Pour in the chicken stock, adding more hot water if necessary to nearly cover the chicken. Simmer with a lid for 30 minutes.
Check the chicken’s tenderness, continuing to cook uncovered if necessary to thicken the sauce. Once tender, season, remove from heat, and shred while hot. Mix it back into the sauce and let it cool.
To assemble the samosas, spoon a bit of the chicken mixture onto each samosa wrapper and fold into triangles.
Seal the edges with a touch of water.
Heat oil to 360⁰F (180⁰C) and fry the samosas until golden brown, roughly 6-8 minutes. Let them dry out on a paper towel.
For the dipping sauce, blend all ingredients but the oil. Then, add oil to achieve desired consistency.
Tips And Tricks For My Samosa Recipe
- You must check the liquid content while your chicken strips are simmering in a pot. If it reduces too much, the other ingredients will start to burn. So, add more hot water if you need to.
- If your pulled chicken saucy mixture is too runny, place it back over medium-low heat and allow the excess sauce to reduce.
- You can also make these cheesecake factory samosas in an air-fryer. Preheat the frying to 360⁰F (180⁰C). Brush the samosa dough with some oil, milk, or butter. If you don’t, they will still be crispy but not brown. Leave them to air fry for 6-8 minutes.
Check More Delicious Recipes:
Chicken Samosa From Cheesecake Factory – Homemade Recipe
Ingredients
For the chicken samosas
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and diced
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 1/2 tbsp yellow curry powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp chili flakes, optional
- 1/2 pound chicken breast, sliced into strips
- 1 cup chicken stock
- Hot water, as needed
- Sea salt flakes, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 8-10 Samosa wrappers
For the fresh cilantro dipping sauce
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, rinsed
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 spring onions, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Sea salt flakes, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil (as needed)
Instructions
Make the pulled chicken filling
- To start, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute it for 5 minutes.
- Once translucent, add the tomato paste, garlic, and ginger. Fry the ingredients for a minute.
- Next, add all of the spices. Mix them in well while they gently toast in the pan.
- Once you have a uniform base, add the chicken strips. Leave them to brown for a couple of minutes. They don't have to be cooked all the way through.
- After about 5 minutes, add the chicken stock and mix well to create a seasoned liquid. The meat should be almost completely covered. If it's not (this will mainly depend on the size of your pot), you can add a little more hot water.
- Add the lid over the pot and leave the chicken to simmer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and test the doneness of the chicken. It should be soft and tender. You will need to make pulled chicken, so keep that in mind.
- If the meat isn't soft enough yet, leave it to cook some more, this time without a lid. This will help the liquid evaporate to create a thick, flavorful sauce that coats the chicken.
- When the chicken is tender, you can remove it from the heat and set it aside. Remember to season the mixture with some salt and pepper.
- While it's still hot, start pulling the meat apart. You can place it back in the sauce. Mix the pulled meat well and set it aside to cool.
Make the samosas
- Once the meat mixture has cooled sufficiently, add a couple of tablespoons to the bottom of the samosa wrapper.
- Then, fold over the dough to form a triangle. Keep folding the triangular pocket over itself so you form a samosa.
- To seal the end, use a little bit of water to wet the dough. It will make it sticky and easy to seal.
- Heat some frying oil until it has reached 360⁰F (180⁰C).
- Add the samosas and allow them to fry until they become golden brown and crispy. This will take roughly 6-8 minutes depending on the size you are making.
- When they are fried to golden perfection, drain them on pieces of paper towel. You don't want them to be very oily.
Make the dipping sauce
- Simply blend together all of the ingredients, except for the olive oil.
- Once you have a blended mixture, you can add as much (or little) oil as you'd like. This will make the consistency of the dipping sauce runnier.
