Samosa Recipe – How to Make Perfect Samosa
Get ready for a trip around the world without leaving your own kitchen! Today, we’re making samosas – a traditional Indian snack meant to be eaten on the go. Our Indian friends will be celebrating Diwali on November 4th, which makes this the perfect time to get adventurous in the kitchen and taste the flavors of the holiday!
Discover Diwali Through Food
Our family never gets tired of exploring different cultures…particularly through food! Diwali is India’s biggest holiday, and it’s even celebrated across religions. Hindus, Jains, Sikhs observe the holiday as part of their traditions. Though there are differences in the origin and specifics of how Diwali is observed, it’s a time to celebrate good triumphing over bad. What better time to celebrate such a hopeful message?
What is a Samosa?
The samosa is one of the original fast foods; it’s neatly packaged in its own dough, and contains a savory, spicy filling that will keep anyone fueled up. Many people are quickly discouraged if a recipe includes ingredients that aren’t familiar to them, or that they might not find easily in the local grocery store. Let me encourage you to stay strong!
One of the best ways to appreciate the immigrant experience in our country is to trace the journey to finding authentic ingredients. Find a store that sells Indian ingredients in your area, and make a list of what you’ll need: in this case, it’s carom seeds, asafetida, dry mango powder, spicy green chutney, and sweet tamarind chutney. If you don’t have a store close to you, head to the internet! In the age of Amazon, it’s easier than ever to get world class ingredients delivered right to your door.
Tips for Preparing Samosas
This recipe does include multiple steps, so it does help to plan ahead. After you’ve ensured you have all ingredients, get them ready to go on your counter so everything is within reach. There are three main parts to the recipe: the dough, the filling, and the frying process. The filling needs to cooked, then cooled to room temperature, so you could easily make it in advance. The dough does require about 40 minutes to rest, so make sure you factor this time into your planning.
I hope you’ll try this recipe! Don’t forget to check out the blog post for classic Indian Butter Chicken; make both together for an Indian feast! Make it a themed night and look up some Indian pop music, too. Have fun!
Makes – 12
Ingredients
Samosa Dough
- 2 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Carom Seeds (Ajwain)
- ¼ cup Vegetable or Canola Oil
- 6-8 tablespoons Water
Samosa Filling
- 1 lb. of Russet Potatoes
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable or Canola oil
- ½ teaspoon Asafetida (Hing)
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Seeds
- ½ cup frozen Green Peas, thawed
- ½ teaspoon finely minced fresh Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Cumin Powder
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ½ teaspoon Dry Mango Powder (Aamchur)
- ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped Cashews
- 2 tablespoons chopped Cilantro
Other
- 4 cups of Vegetable or Canola Oil, to deep fry
- Spicy Green Chutney and Sweet Tamarind Chutney, to serve
Instructions
Samosa Dough
- Add the all-purpose flour, salt, carom seeds to a large bowl and mix well.
- Add the oil and then start mixing with your fingers. Rub the flour with the oil until the oil is well incorporated in all of the flour. Once the oil had been incorporated, the flour mixture should resemble bread crumbs. Squeeze some flour between your palm and it should form a shape and retain its shape and not crumble.
- Now slowly start adding water, a tablespoon at a time, and mix to form a stiff dough. Don’t knead and overwork the dough. I used about 7 tablespoons of water.
- Cover the dough with a lid or kitchen towel and let it rest for 40 minutes for the gluten to develop.
Samosa Filling
- In a large saucepan, add the whole potatoes, with skin and enough water to cover the potatoes and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cooked though.
- Drain and let the potatoes cool.
- Peel and lightly crumble the potatoes. You don’t not want to mash them. Keep aside.
- In a large heavy skillet, heat up a tablespoon of oil.
- Add the cumin and coriander seeds along with the asafetida.
- Once the spluttering stops, add the thawed green peas, along with minced ginger. Let it cook for a minute.
- Now add salt and the array of spices – turmeric, red chili powder, cumin and coriander powder, dry mango powder, and black pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes or until the spice are toasted.
- Add the crumbled potatoes and mix well.
- Add the chopped cashews and cilantro and give it a good mix.
- Let the filling cool to room temperature.
Forming the Samosa
- Divide the samosa dough into six equal potions and roll each potion into smooth dough balls.
- Start working on one dough ball and keep the others covered, so that the dough does not dry out.
- Roll one dough ball into an oval kind of shape, around 5 inches in diameter.
- Cut the oval into two.
- Take one part and apply brush water on along the straight edge.
- Fold straight edge to join itself and form a cone. Overlap the edges a little and then press edges to seal.
- Open up the cone with your forefinger and thumb, then hold the cone in an “O” shape.
- Fill the samosa with about 2 tablespoons of potato filling. Do not overfill.
- Brush the open pastry edge with water, then press together so your samosa is fully sealed. Place sealed edge down on work surface and press down to fold. Pinch the top corner to make it pointy.
- Repeat with the remaining dough balls.
Frying the Samosa
- Heat 4 cups of oil in a deep-frying pan to 350 F.
- Fry the samosas, 2 to 3 at a time, until they are golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Make sure the samosas are submerged in the oil and keep moving them around for even browning.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Serve the hot samosa immediately with spicy green chutney and sweet tamarind chutney.
Notes
Carmon Seeds, Asafetida, Dry Mango Powder, Spicy Green Chutney and Sweet Tamarind Chutney are very easily found at your local Indian stores and well as online. If unable to find them, you can omit them, but the samosa won’t taste the same.
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