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Agence France-Presse

The world record for the largest samosa was smashed in London on Tuesday by a whopping version of the popular Asian snack weighing in at 153.1kg.
A dozen volunteers from the Muslim Aid UK charity built the giant samosa then deep-fried it in a custom-built vat at an East London Mosque.
Adjudicators from Guinness World Records were on hand to oversee the process and certify that the mega-samosa passed the required tests.
The previous record of 110.8kg was set by Bradford College in northern England in June 2012.
The samosa was built on a giant wire mesh, then winched into a vat of cooking oil before being hauled out to be weighed.
“My heart was beating really fast,” said Farid Islam, 26, the project organiser.
“It was very tense. It looked like it was going to slide off. A crack appeared and I feared the worst,” he said.
“It’s got to be triangular; contain flour, potatoes, onions and peas; be fried, and retain the shape when cooked,” he told AFP.
“It’s got to look and feel like a samosa; it’s got to be edible by humans.
“The critical record is the net weight. Plus it all has to be eaten. No wastage!”
After the team carefully made the triangle-shaped super-snack, it was hauled up to the industrial winch by the biggest men available and slowly plunged into the vat.
Once it was winched out, and after the nervy weigh-in, the independent food safety officer, who had overseen proceedings, gave it the taste test. A simple thumbs-up triggered cheers around the hall.
It was then down to the Guinness representative to tie up all the certification and deliver the verdict: 153.1kg.
“It’s an absolutely great achievement,” he declared.
Organiser Islam said it was a tough challenge.
“Initially I thought it would be a piece of cake: stuff it together, tie up the end and fry it,” he said.
“When I realised there was not a single pot in the country that could hold that weight, we had to get something tailor made.”
The samosa took around 15 hours of work and was dished up into hundreds of portions distributed to the local homeless via the Salvation Army.


Creating a 153kg samosa? It’s no piece of cake

Muslim Aid staff and volunteers winch the world’s largest samosa out of the fryer at the East London Mosque in Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Muslim Aid staff and volunteers work as they attempt to construct and cook the world's largest samosa at the East London Mosque in London on August 22, 2017. The record breaking samosa was prepared, cooked and served up by the international relief and development agency Muslim Aid at the East London Mosque. The samosa will go to feed the homeless in the neighbourhood as part of the traditional good deeds associated with the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. The samosa weighed 153 kilos and was certificated as an official Guinness World Record. / AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALL

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