Samosa Recipe
Samosa is a fried pastry snack, usually with a filling of spiced potatoes. They are very popular in India, Middle East & Asian countries. They Originated from the Middle East and were brought to India by the Merchants. Today Samosa is one of the most eaten snack in the South Asian countries.
A Perfect Samosa should be crispy & flaky with almost no bubbles or blisters on them.
How to make Samosa
Preparation
1. Peel, halve, and boil 500 grams (3 to 4 medium) potatoes in a pot of water until fork tender. Or pressure cook unpeeled and halved potatoes for 2 to 3 whistles on a medium flame or in the instant pot for 5 minutes, placed over a trivet with 1 cup water. Peel them after cooling. Tip: You can also pressure cook them whole following these timings: small potatoes: 5 minutes, medium size: 7 minutes, and large: 10 minutes.
2. Cool the potatoes and crumble them. Set aside.
Make Dough
- To a mixing bowl, add
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon ajwain
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup oil or ghee
- Mix everything very well. Rub the flour in between your palms to incorporate the oil well for 3 to 4 minutes. After this step, the flour should resemble breadcrumbs. Press down a handful of this flour in your palm; it should form or hold the shape.It should not crumble, meaning oil is well incorporated.
- Add 4 tablespoons of water and begin to form a doughball, adding more water as needed. I added about 4+2 tablespoons of water in total.
- Dough has to be firm, stiff, and not sticky. Cover and rest for 25 to 30 minutes.
Make Potato Stuffing
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil or ghee in a pan. Next, add 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds.
- When the seeds begin to splutter, add 1 tablespoon minced ginger and 1 to 2 chopped green chilies. Saute for 30 to 60 seconds. Then add a pinch of hing. Optional: You can also add some chopped cashews and roast until golden.
- Add the spice powders –
- 3/4 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 3/4 to 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon amchur powder (dried mango powder) or chaat masala (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel powder (optional, saunf powder)
Saute for 30 seconds and then add green peas. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add potaotes.
- Saute the entire potato masala for 2 to 3 minutes until potatoes blend well with spice powders. Add 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves. Taste test this and adjust salt if needed.
Make Samosa
- After 25 to 30 minutes, knead the dough for another 3 to 4 minutes. The dough has to be stiff yet not soft. Divide the dough into 5 equal parts.
- Oil the counter or the rolling board. Place the ball.
- Roll it to an oval-shaped, even layer. Mine was 8.5 inches long and 6.5 inches wide. It has to be slightly thick and not too thin.
- Cut it in the center to make 2 parts.
- The roti shrinks back little due to the nature of all-purpose flour, so I prefer to roll it gently again. If you feel the edges are too thick, then roll a bit.
- Apply water with your finger over the straight edge.
- Join the edges to make a cone shape. Stick the edges well. Stick the edge from inside the cone as well to secure. If you have trouble sticking, make a paste of 2 tablespoons flour and a little water. Smear little paste to stick the edges.
- Fill the cone with potato masala. Press down a bit with a tiny spoon.
- Apply water on the edge.
- Stick the edges to seal well. On one side, make a pleat.
- Bring the pleat to the side and stick it up. Make sure your samosa is sealed well. Pinch and press down on the edges very well to seal them.
- This will give you a perfectly standing samosa. Place them on a tray and cover to prevent drying. Just make 5 to 6 samosas first and then fry them. Make the rest of the samosa while you fry the first batch. This way the samosas will not dry up.
Fry Samosa
- Heat a pan with oil for deep frying. The oil should be moderately hot and not very hot. When it is just getting hot, add a small portion of dough to the oil. It has to rise slowly, & the oil must not be bubbling or sizzling a lot. You should see only tiny bubbles. This is the right temperature. The dough should not come up immediately and turn golden.
- Gently slide as many samosas you can into the oil. Fry them on a low flame, undisturbed, for about 10 to 12 minutes. When the crust becomes firm, increase the flame to medium. Turn them to the other side and fry until crispy and golden.
- Don’t rush. They will take a lot of time to fry golden. Be patient and fry until golden & crisp. When the samosas turn golden, remove them to a steel colander or wire rack. For the next batch, reduce the heat completely to bring down the temperature and add them.
Serve samosa with mint chutney, sweet tamarind chutney, or tomato sauce.