Ravi bhai & The Samosa.

Finally I spotted him. The cart board read in bold font, “Samosa veg and non veg”.

You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to try these samosas. Ravi, he called himself. Just Ravi. A 20 year old lad who left his impecunious family, dropped out of college and started selling – the most divine samosas in Pune. He was making quite the buck out of it too and I’m not surprised. He sold only two kinds of samosas – potato and pea filling which was fairly large for 4 rupees a piece and the mutton minced filling which was smaller and more crisp.

The samosas had a very unforgettable scent. Pungent, salty, peppery with a dash of local herbs and spices. All you could think about was biting into one irrespective of the oil, heat and FAT. I was much envious of the people living just across his little cart. It was a hop-skip and jump and done- you’ve received you hot mid-day snack.

So back to my first EVER, bite of the Samosa. Me being a hardcore meat lover went for the mutton one. He picks up the fair filled triangle and quickly places it in the cooking vessel filled with oil. Aah, the crackling symphony begins as the samosa starts to cook and attract a beautiful brown coating. In a matter of seconds, Ravi flips the samosa to get the next side crackling away to perfection. The samosa is finally done. He then places the samosa on a foiled plate with tomato sauce and chutney. My mouth is watering, thinking about the all the flavors and emotions (yes, emotions) that I’m about to face. I mean I’m not ready for such commitment!

I bite into the super hot samosa. The pastry is thin and crisp and has a buttery, peppery flavor. The meat is dark red and filled with bits of garlic, chill, peas, onion and spices. The tomato and mint chutney sauce marries fabulously with the firey heat which tickles my taste buds. I devour the samosa within two bites. Delicious.

I ordered five more samosas that day, just to give me company on the journey back home.