Best Budget Bites: $1 Veggie Samosas From Pooja Grocers

The cost of things these days? Far too expensive! Tariffs, labor, giddy price gouging from proprietors large and small—the boring factors are too numerous to count. To protect our readers, Racket recently launched the Best Budget Bites series, where we’ll showcase a toothsome, wallet-friendly food item that’ll actually fill you up. Have a nomination? Hit us up: tips@racketmn.com.

What: Veggie Samosas
Where: Pooja Grocers, 4864 Central Ave. NE, Hilltop
Availability: Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Pooja Grocers has called the Central Avenue corridor home for almost three decades. Originally located in the same strip mall that now houses Dong Yang, Supermercado Loma Bonita, and Peace Market, the Indian grocer eventually outgrew that footprint and relocated to 4864 Central Ave. NE in Hilltop, not far from the iconic Flameburger diner.

Entering Pooja Grocers, you’re met with an array of lentils as far as the eye can see. Tall white shelves line the aisles, and they’re packed with enough imported snacks and pantry staples to cause sensory overload—but we’ll get to all that in a minute. Before you grab one of the bright green carts and start haphazardly filling it, look closer to the registers. That’s where a brightly lit oven beckons shoppers to take in its delicious savory offering: $1 veggie samosas.

Filled with potatoes, peas, and spices that give a little jolt to the senses, each veggie samosa is approximately 3 to 4 inches tall, about the size of a baseball or one of the hearty dumplings you’ll encounter at dim sum spots around the Twin Cities. The samosas are seasoned with a tantalizing combination of turmeric, garam masala, cumin, and coriander, and while some may use premade phyllo dough or samosa pastry sheets to encase the filling, Pooja makes theirs from scratch, which explains the heftier size.  

Now, the threshold for Best Budget Bites eligibility is $10. And, sure, you could take home 10 of Pooja’s samosas and have lunch for a few days (or one extremely ambitious day). But if you’re feeling bold, it’s much more fun to wander Pooja’s aisles and choose your own lunchtime adventure. 

Elsewhere in the grocery store there’s fresh produce, ripe for purchase, and desserts like milk cakes, laddu, and gulab jamun (the latter of which is also made in-house) can provide a sweet reprieve to balance with the savory samosas. Wander down the tea aisle, and you’ll find packages of crispy and slightly sweet Parle-G biscuits to balance out the meal; venture on over to Pooja’s snack aisle, and you’ll find a wide array of banana and plantain chips, tapioca chips, and murukku, India’s super crunchy rice flour snack, with differing spice levels. There’s kappalandi masala—batter-fried peanuts flavored with spices, garlic, and curry leaves—if you’d like an added savory accompaniment. 

And it’s not just the samosas: Pooja is largely vegetarian friendly, whether you’re looking for frozen foods or chutneys or ready made mixes or simmer sauces. There’s tons more to try if you want something different for dinner or to meal prep ahead of the next day’s work lunch. Consider the veggie samosas a warm and curried gateway to a more exciting pantry.

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• $1 Veggie Samosas From Pooja Grocers