Samosas are a popular Indian snack that is available in almost every city of India, but Goan samosas have a different flavour in them. In Goa, you can find samosas at almost every tea stall or canteen. But what if one wants to try these mouth watering samosas in Lisbon? Thousand miles away from Goa? No worries, “Chamu” have you covered with the best Goan flavoured samosas one can imagine of.
“Chamu”, the new project that delivers homemade samosas to the Greater Lisbon area is a business carried out by a mother and son who joined in the kitchen with family recipes and many flavours from Goa.
“I have Goan roots. Sharing flavours and experiences has always been very important for our family, where we experience incredible moments and where samosas have always played a leading role, standing out even among so many other typical Goan and Portuguese delicacies. So this Chamu project was born in a very organic way, ”explains David Vilamariz, 30.
David has been working in consultancy in an area dedicated to business transformation for three years prior to this food business. Before that, he had gone through a company in the energy sector. David’s mother, who also joined this business, is a teacher of basic education and an artist.
“We felt that our passion for samosas had to be shared, and that the flavours and our Goan and Portuguese traditions could be crossed to be adopted by other people as well. We felt that we could differentiate ourselves, using our unique recipes and also our creative side, which allows us to surprise our customers with new flavours and new concepts” said David’s mother.
The whole process is homemade, from the dough to the fillings, all prepared according to the recipes of an aunt of David’s mother. “ These recipes arose from learning a life that my mother had with her aunt, passing on all the tricks and charms of Goan cuisine, which I am now learning and sharing with all those who are passionate about Goan cuisine, and more concretely for this incredible treasure that are the samosas. ”
The business was started at the end of 2020 and has already had several requests, always with very positive reviews. “It has been incredible to realize that whoever tastes our samosas is surrendered. Countless times, the customers themselves write to us to give feedback and the greatest proof of their satisfaction is the fact that they become regular customers and maintain the incredible enthusiasm when receiving our samosas, as if it were the first time they are being served. To test.”
Sometimes David also joins his mother in the kitchen, although he has less practice. “With my mother’s supervision and support, I cook and learn the samosa recipes on a daily basis. There are always important details that come up, and only experience and magical hands can complement and teach the art of making a perfect samosa. ”
All the production is done in a house in the area of Linda-a-Velha but with the increasing popularity and demand they are planning to pass the confection to another location. On their Instagram and Facebook pages they announce every week, the fresh samosa production dates. As a rule, they are always two days in which they do them.
On Sundays they usually make this announcement so that people can start placing orders. In the samosas they have several options of fillings, but during the past few months of activity they have been able to identify the all time favourites among the customers.
“Undoubtedly, the most sought after are spicy samosas. We currently have the spicy veal and spicy chicken samosas that are clearly preferred, however any of the other options are competing to become the most sought after. ”
You can also order vegan, with an onion, carrot and spices base; that of veal with chilies and spices; that of shredded cod with chillies and spices; or the sweet with a mixture of coconut and spices.
“ We created our first sweet samosa, because we believe that a samosa can be more than an appetizer or a main dish . We combined ingredients that are typically associated with Goan sweets and created something that we are very proud of ”, explains David.
Samosas are sold in packs of six (11 €), 12 (from 20 €) or 18 (from 28 €). In the smallest, only fried samosas are available. In the others, you can also choose the frozen version. They deliver throughout Greater Lisbon, but want to reach more areas of the country soon. Orders are made through Instagram and Facebook. In the future they also intend to have a website to facilitate orders and continue to reach more customers.
“We want to continue to surprise more and more people, sharing a little bit of our traditions every day, so that we can create a new tradition together with all those who delight in our samosas” says David.
