Samosas at this Decatur grocery will take you to cloud nine

The samosa pav from Cherians International Grocery. CONTRIBUTED BY HENRI HOLLIS

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

The samosa pav from Cherians International Grocery. CONTRIBUTED BY HENRI HOLLIS

Dish of the Week: Samosas at Cherians International Groceries

I had my first-ever samosa at Your DeKalb Farmers Market when I was a kid, grocery shopping with my mom. It was one of those seminal food moments that I still remember — a real awakening, an introduction to the pleasures of international cuisine.

Against all odds, and despite that tidal wave of warm and fuzzy memories, I found an even better samosa at Cherians International Groceries. In the Cherians version, the crispy fried dough is wrapped around a spicy, fluffy filling of mashed potatoes and peas. Your DeKalb Farmers Market might beat Cherians in terms of samosa variety, but Cherians wins outright with perfect execution. As Bruce Lee famously said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

Somehow, the Cherians samosa is astonishingly light. How is it possible for a packet of fried dough filled with mashed potatoes to seem airy and cloud-like? Even the fried samosa shell is crisp and delicate; it hardly holds any grease.

Even better: An order of two plump little samosas is only $2.99. Or, for a couple bucks more, you can get the samosa pav, which is a little sandwich made with extra chutney, toppings and a sweet-ish roll. This version is fun, but unnecessary; the samosa itself is the real treat, and there’s no point in putting anything else between you and these spicy little dumplings.

Cherians International Groceries. 751 DeKalb Industrial Way, Building #4, Decatur. 404-299-0842, cherians.com.

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