It has always been my dream to make my own Samosa. My love for this pastry started when I spent my childhood growing up in Uttar Pradesh. Being young, I was not as much of a foodie, but always enjoyed samosas for snacks. When we returned back to Chennai, we had a samosa wala who had a cart just outside our apartment and he made hot samosas and jalebi every evening. On my way home, I would stand in front of his cart for a few minutes adoring his flawless skill of making the samosa and shaping the Jalebi. At least 2 or 3 times a week, I would bring a home a couple of Samosas and jalebi to enjoy with mom. Back in the US, all the Indian stores carry fresh samosa, but they just are not the same as the ones that I ate from the samosa wala back in Chennai. I guess making it in front of our eyes is magic. When I was thinking of street foods for this month’s BM, I right away marked Samosa for the alphabet S. My mother would have been very proud of the Samosas I made. They came out so well for the first time and it definitely built my confidence to make it often. The flavor of homemade samosas is amazing and definitely much better than the store-bought ones. It is not as hard as I anticipated. Just a little planning and a little time to shape . Also, the frying has to be done in medium flame and not rushed for that perfect, flaky texture of the Samosa. I made the traditional filling with potatoes and peas. Once comfortable, the shaping becomes much easier and faster. I served the samosa with some green chutney and sweet tamarind chutney. Also, my son recorded a video of my Samosa shaping and edited it for ease. Pass on your comments on the video and whether it was useful to help shape the samosas. Preparation time - 15 minutes plus 30 minutes resting timeCooking time - 60 minutesDifficulty level - Intermediate B for Baghrir with Orange Butter Sauce C for Chickpeas Shawarma D for Double Ka Meetha E for Esquites F for Farro Salad G for Gur Papdi H for Hayagreeva Maddi I for Idli J for Jau Ki Papdi K for Karthigai Pori L for Lemon Chia Seeds Muffin M for Mysore Pak N for Narali Bhath O for Oatmeal Payasam P for Pav Bhaji Q for Quinoa Brown Rice Adai R for Rajgira Aloo Poori
Ingredients to make Samosa - Makes around 20 medium ones
To make the Outer crust/dough -
Maida / All Purpose flour - 2 cups Ghee / clarified butter (melted) - 4 tablespoon (oil can be substituted to make vegan samosa) Carom seeds / Ajwain - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Water - as needed to make the dough
To Make the Potato and Peas filling -
Potato - 3 (boiled, peeled, and mashed) Green peas - ½ cup (cooked or frozen) Coriander seeds - 1 tsp Fennel seeds - ½ tsp Ginger paste - 1 tsp Green chilies - 2 Red chili powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - ½ tsp Garam masala - ½ tsp Amchur powder - 2 tsp Chaat Masala - 1 tsp Asafetida - ¼ tsp Salt - to taste Oil - 2 tbsp
Procedure to make Samosa -
To make the Outer crust/dough -
In a wide bowl, add the flour, salt, ajwain, and melted ghee. Using your hands, rub the ghee and the flour together for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Make sure that you take time to mix the ghee into the flour well. This ensures that the samosa cover is flaky and crispy.
Once the ghee and the flour are mixed well, you can form a ball when pressed together and that will crumble upon breaking (refer to the picture).
Now slowly add water and form a soft dough. Knead the dough for 4 to 5 minutes and cover it with a cloth and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
To Make the Potato and Peas filling -
Dry roast the coriander seeds and the fennel seeds for about 30 seconds and let it cool down. Coarsely grind it and keep it aside. You could also use a mortar and pestle to coarsely powder the seeds.
Cook the potatoes and peel them. Mash the potatoes leaving a few chunks in them. I like a little bite when I eat the samosas and hence do not completely mash the potatoes.
In a pan, heat the oil and add the grated ginger and green chilies. You could make a paste with chilies and ginger, but I just used finely chopped green chilies.
Next, add the green peas and let them soften a bit. I used frozen peas and let them cook for 5 minutes.
Now add the crushed coriander and fennel seeds and fry for a minute.
Add the rest of the dry spices; red chili powder, coriander powder, amchur powder, chaat masala, and garam masala along with salt. Mix well and let it fry for a minute.
Add the mashed potato and mix well. Let the potatoes cook along with the spices for 5 minutes on low heat.
The stuffing is ready now. Let it cool down to room temperature before shaping the samosas.
To Shape and Fry the Samosa -
Once the dough has rested, divide it into 10 pieces and make a smooth ball.
Rub oil liberally on the rolling pin and on the surface and roll the dough ball into a roughly 8-inch oval.
Cut the oval into two halves using a sharp knife.
Make a cone with one half, sealing the edges with water. Refer to the video and picture for shaping.
Fill the cone with a tablespoon of filling and seal the top as well with water.
Shape all the samosas and also heat oil for deep frying.
Once the oil heats up, reduce the heat to medium and gently slide two shaped samosas into the hot oil. Constantly rotate the samosa and let it evenly brown on all sides. Make sure that you fry the samosa on low to medium heat. In high heat, the crust will not evenly cook and also will not be flaky.
Drain the samosas on a paper towel-lined tray and serve hot with green chutney and sweet tamarind chutney.
More Street Foods
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