the pepper cook

Simple yet delicious Indian potato and pea samosas!  Samosas might be time-consuming to make, but the end product is always worth the effort. They really aren’t that difficult to make, and they freeze really well, so try them out!  The trick is in making a fragrant, spicy filling and a stiff pastry dough. The process is simple and not easy to learn.  So if you’ve never tried making samosas yourself, try these! Perfect with chai on a rainy afternoon!

Ingredients:

For Samosa Stuffing:

• 6 medium-sized potatoes (about 500g), boiled, peeled, and cut into 1/2” cubes
• 150g green peas, about 1 cup, boiled or steamed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin, ground
• 1 teaspoon coriander, ground  Click Here to Buy
• 1 teaspoon dry mango, ground  Click Here to Buy
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1-2 green chilies, pounded
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin Click Here to Buy
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander Click Here to Buy
• 1” ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons oil

Samosa Pastry:

• 2 cups flour (about 300g)
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon carom seeds
• 4 tablespoons oil or ghee
• ½ cup of water
• 1½ cup oil for frying

 

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A post shared by Anuja Kohli Mariwala (@thepeppercook) on Oct 30, 2018 at 2:46am PDT

Instructions:

For dough:

Add salt, carom seeds, and ghee to the flour and mix well in a mixing bowl. Add just enough water to make a fairly stiff dough. Knead well to make a firm dough. Cover the dough with a moistened cloth for about 1/2 hour.

For stuffing:

1. Combine chopped potatoes with salt, grounded cumin, grounded coriander, grounded dry mango, garam masala, pounded green chilies, and fresh coriander.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or frying pan on medium heat.
3. Add whole cumin, coriander, ginger, and stir for ½ minute until brown. Add peas and fry for 1-2 minutes until they soften. Add potatoes turn off the heat and mix well.

Samosa Making:  

1. Divide the doughs into equal portions and make balls of about 1.5″. Roll out thinly into a circle about 5” in diameter.
2. Cut through the center of the pastry, make a samosa cone sealed with a touch of water, and fill with the potato-pea stuffing. Seal the top of the filled cone with a touch of water.
3. Heat oil for deep frying in a frying pan or wok on medium heat. Gently slide the samosas in oil, just enough to fill the pan in a single layer, and reduce the heat to low.
4. Turn samosas over and fry until light brown, about 3-4 minutes each.
5. Serve hot with tea.

Critical ingredients:

People use a variety of fillings for samosas, so I can’t even say the potatoes are critical! Whole cumin and coriander really are needed for flavor.  You can use red chilies if green is not available.  Amchur adds sourness, but a squeeze of lime should do as well. I make mine with cheddar and parmesan cheeses mixed with oregano!