Seattle Samosa brings Indian street food to Sammamish
There’s a new snack in town. It has a crisp crust paired with a richly seasoned filling.
Family-owned local business Seattle Samosa has joined this year’s Sammamish Farmers Market to bring specialty samosas to the community.
Samosas are a South Asian or Indian street food, with a history dating back almost a millenia. The small pastries come in different shapes and sizes, are stuffed with savory fillings, and are either baked or fried.
Vikas Tomar, 49, and his wife, Leena Tomar, founded Seattle Samosa in the summer of 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We wanted to do our bit to make people happy in some way and we thought good food was the universal way [to do that],” said Vikas Tomar.
“Our mission is to bring the smiles and spread happiness one samosa at a time,” added Leena Tomar.
The couple began making samosas in a garage kitchen for their friends and neighbors. Heaps of positive feedback gave them the confidence to expand to a commercial kitchen in Tukwila.
Since then, Seattle Samosa’s daily production has increased from 100 samosas per day to thousands. Distribution channels have expanded as well, from only online orders initially, to wholesale and farmers markets today.
Despite its growth, Seattle Samosa has kept its original values.
“We take pride in making everything from scratch,” said Vikas Tomar. “And we preserve the taste of the products to be as authentic as possible by using fresh and local ingredients.”
Seattle Samosa’s menu currently offers 12 traditional and unique flavors. Options include the authentic Punjabi samosa, with a spicy potato and pea filling, and the more experimental butter chicken samosa.
“Each type takes lots of experiments and time,” said Leena Tomar. “It took us five attempts to perfect the lamb samosa.”
The business went through some growing pains early on. As first-time business owners, Vikas and Leena Tomar found the operations to be a challenge at first.
“Running a business is only a quarter of the equation,” said Vikas Tomar. “[It] takes a lot. You need to have the passion to run it. Be prepared for long and hard and tiring work.”
But despite any hurdles, the couple achieved a personal goal—bringing the business to their hometown of Sammamish. Although Seattle Samosa had participated in neighboring farmers markets before, this is its first year at the Sammamish market. Its new booth sits near the back, close to the YMCA.
“I want everyone to think of samosas when they think of snacks, or food,” said Leena Tomar when asked about her hopes for the future. “When they think about to-go food, instead of burgers and hotdogs, [I hope] they think of samosas.”
Seattle Samosa products can be found at many farmers markets in the Greater Seattle Area, and at businesses like PCC, Lassi and Spice, and Red’s Catering. Online orders can be made on their website, https://www.seattlesamosa.com. The Sammamish Farmers Market will be at the Sammamish Commons, 801 228th Ave SE, every Wednesday through mid-September.
