Samosas...indian Savoury Pies

Honeybeee's Note:

Posted in answer to a request. It seems a little cumbersome, but believe me its worth all the effort! The filling in this recipe is the most basic, and the commonest one of them all, but you can use your imagination and make your own spiced up fillings....minced chicken, mutton, lamb, peas, mushrooms....whatever :)

• Total Time: 1 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 30 samosas

The Dough

• 250 g all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons oil

The Paste

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon water

Filling

• 4 potatoes , boil, peel and coarsely break into smallish bits
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 inch ginger , finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves , finely chopped
• 1 -2 green chilies , finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons chat masala
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• salt

Directions:

1. ---The Dough---.
2. Mix and rub oil into the flour till you can make firm balls with your hands.
3. Add a bit more oil, if necessary.
4. Add water, a little at a time, to make a very stiff dough.
5. It should be so stiff that you should not require any extra flour for dusting while rolling.
6. Knead for 5-7 minutes, roll into a large ball.
7. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside while you make your filling.
8. ---The Filling---.
9. Heat oil.
10. Add cumin seeds, ginger and green chilies.
11. Give it 4-5 twirls, add potatoes and everything else.
12. Sauté for two minutes.
13. Remove.
14. ---The Paste---.
15. In a cup, make a thick paste with 1 tblsp of flour and 1 tblsp of water.
16. This is the 'glue' with which you will seal the samosas.
17. When all the above is organized, make walnut-size balls with the dough and roll each out to make circles of about 6" in diameter.
18. With a sharp knife, halve each circle to make 'D' shapes.
19. Put a little paste on half the length of the cut side and overlap it with the other half to form a cone.
20. Lightly press the glued edges to seal.
21. Fill the cone 2/3rds with the mixture.
22. Again, apply paste on the insides of the open edges at the top.
23. Press to seal the glued edges.
24. Voila!
25. Your triangular shaped samosa is ready to be fried!
26. Make all the samosas--remember to cover them with a well-squeezed damp cloth.
27. When all are done, heat oil, 3 inches deep, in a wok/fry pan.
28. Slide each samosa in--do it in batches of 6 or 8.
29. Once you have a batch in the oil, reduce heat and fry on medium-low till they are golden brown and nice and crisp.
30. Serve hot with ketchup or coriander/mint chutney.

Reviews

[Charishma_Ramchandani]

For a person who is a beginner in making samosas, or is trying them out for the first time, this is a wonderful recipe! I made this for the Pick Your Chef contest(July 25-27'03)! These are not spicy even after having 3 green chillies in them due to which, even 10-12 year old's can enjoy them! I served these with Sweet(Metha) chutney! This made 18 samosas that were gone in less than 8 minutes! The staff at my dad's office said I made their day(they love to eat!). Next time I'll be using some lemon juice, greenpeas, mushrooms, more green chillies, more chat masala and more garam masala. I used 2 tsps. powdered cumin this time and loved it. I'm also considering using some dried kasoori methi for this(crumbled between my palms). I did use 1 1/4 tsps. salt this time, but will use a little(about 1/2 tsp.) more next time. I did fall short on the amount of paste used to seal the samosas. I had to make exactly the same amt. more of what is stated here. Thank You for the recipe!