It's an important distinction to make: these are spicy pumpkin samosas, not pumpkin spice samosas. Pumpkin spice samosas would be weird and maybe even a little gross. Hopefully even you pumpkin haters can set aside your disdain for the fall gourd and consider giving these a try...that is, if you like Indian food.
Because the spice blend here isn't ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and clove. It's cilantro, garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Yes, I'm aware ginger is on both lists, but the order in which it falls within the list is significant. It's a background flavor here, not the main attraction. These samosas are a little sweet, too, but they're not "pumpkin pie" sweet, if you know what I mean.
In addition to real pumpkin, Trader Joe's Mini Spicy Pumpkin Samosas have paneer cheese and sweet potato within them, too. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if that combo was going to work, but it definitely did. Both Sonia and I were fans from our first bites.
We've always loved Indian food. After Mexican, Indian is probably our favorite type of international cuisine. There's a sweet, spicy, savory curry essence to these appetizers that works oh-so-well and is oh-so-unique. It's a harvesty kinda flavor, but it's also unmistakably East Indian-inspired. The heat level is mild to medium—enough to enhance the flavor but not enough to cause any discomfort to someone who enjoys spicy foods.
Like other Trader Joe's samosas we've tried, the breading here is crispy, flaky, buttery, and delectable. It might be a little on the oily side, but it adds to the richness of the flavor. The only complaint I can think of is that I wouldn't have minded some kind of chutney in a little packet on the side for dipping. I know, I know, I always make that same complaint, but a bit of chutney as uncommon as these little apps might have made them even more delicious.
$3.99 for 12 mini samosas. Four and a half stars from Sonia. Four from me.
Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.
Trader Joe's sells a delightful Mango Ginger Chutney in small jars. Sweet, very mild spice, tangy. I bet it would go well with this. If you haven't tried it yet, go out and get some!
ReplyDeleteGood idea!
DeleteI paired these w/ the Spinach & Kale Greek Yogurt Dip which I thought worked very well.
ReplyDeleteSo I got the pumpkin empanadas and the pumpkin spicy samosas. I tried the empanadas this weekend and it was very much pumpkin spice flavored and I was not about it. I wished it had more flavor like anything besides straight up pumpkin. This review for the spicy empanadas makes me eager to try them next weekend because while I love all things pumpkin flavored omg I need something more included lol. Thank you for such a review and I'm real excited for next week!
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