Samosa

Samosa is a savoury stuffed pastry which is a hugely popular indian street food.A filling, spicy, deep-fried comfort food which can be eaten as an appetizer or an evening snack. Read more about it here.

It’s hard to find an Indian who doesnt like it.I remember so many ‘samosa’ parties back from my college days.Usually served with tamarind /cilantro chutney,it pairs up the best with a hot cup of chai.Bite into a spicy interior with sips of sweet chai..bliss..I must say!

Samosas were a favourite childhood evening snack.In those times the halwais freshly prepared samosas in the evenings and 90% of the kids of the colony would throng  him to pick up!Priced at 2 rupees per  piece it was light on pocket & heavy on taste.With no worries of putting on weight we would eat at least 2-3 pieces.Now the thoughts of burning the calories precedes the desire of eating it

Such deep-fried stuff is a rare sight in my home now …even thinking about it feels me guilty:)Last week I overcame all the guilt and prepared these after loads of promises to myself that I will consume in moderation

What I needed:

Makes 6 pieces

For the filling

• 1 large boiled potato, peeled and crushed into small chunks
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder [hing]
• 2 chopped green chilies
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp amchoor [dry mango powder]
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas

For the crust

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp sooji (semolina flour)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 tbsp lukewarm water

How I did it:

Filling:

• Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. You can test the oil readiness by adding few cumin seed to the oil; if they crack right away oil is ready.
• Add cumin seeds,green chilies, garam masala powder and stir for few seconds.
• Next add green peas & potato chunks and turn heat to medium and stir till peas are tender.
• Add amchoor powder & salt as per taste.
• Let the filling cool to room temperature.

Dough:

• Mix the flour, sooji, salt, oil and salt together to make a soft dough [add more water if needed]
• Knead the dough for about 1- 2 minutes to make the dough smooth and pliable. Cover with damp cloth & set aside for at least 15 minutes.

Making Samosa:

• Make a paste with  2 tbsp of water &1 tbsp  all-purpose flour to make a paste and keep aside.We will use this paste to seal the edges.
• Knead the dough for a minute.Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and make into balls.
• Roll each ball into 7-inch diameter circles and cut each circle in half.
• Spread the paste in first step along all the edges of one semicircle half.Pick it up with and fold it into a cone shape.Press the sides of this cone so that it is completely sealed.
• Fill the cone with 2 tbsp filling and press this filling down. Now close the top of this cone into a triangle shape, pinching the top edge so that it is completely sealed.
• Prepare all the samosas and let these sit covered with damp cloth.
• Heat about 1.5 cups of canola/vegetable oil on medium heat in a frying pan.To check oil readiness ,tip in a small piece of dough, it should sizzle and come to the surface slowly.
• Fry the samosas in the oil till they turn light golden brown.They will float to top slowly when done.Be careful not to use high heat else samosas will be soft.

Serve with tamarind/cilantro chutney.We had ours with Maggi hot & sweet tomato sauce!

Enjoy!