The Political Economy of the Samosa

Abstract

The humble samosa has been much consumed but rarely, outside of the world of advertising, been brought into representation. This article is inspired by a short film, made by Nilesh Patel, which in loving detail portrays the production of a samosa by the film-maker’s mother. From this start, the multiple production and consumption cycles of the samosa are viewed through its circulation in South Asian and diasporic contexts as commodity/convenience food. A brief tour of this circulation serves to indicate the extent to which the samosa has been able to adapt and change to various circumstances. The article seeks to promote discussion of ‘ethnic’ food within the context of multiculturalism and argues that, in the British context, the high visibility of the samosa as a symbol of multiculturalism can be questioned in the light of its invisible production at the hands of South Asian female labour.