How to Cook Samosas

Makes: 10-12

Ingredients needed to make Samosas:

For the samosa dough:

• 3 cups all –purpose flour
• ¾ cup cold water
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp salt

For the filling:

• 2 large potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Half of medium-sized onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp garlic-ginger paste
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 green chillies
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cooking instructions for samosas:

• Pour melted butter into a bowl with flour and sprinkle salt over it; combine them together until properly blended.
• Pour water at intervals, about ½ of it at a time and knead the mixture for about 10 minutes into a soft, pliable dough.
• Place it in a pre-greased bowl, cover and set aside while you make the samosa filling.
• To make the filling, heat oil in a pan over moderate heat and throw in the whole seeds.
• Roast them briefly until they start popping and stir in the ginger-garlic paste.
• Saute the mixture for half a minute before stirring in the onions and continue to cook for about 3 minutes or until they soften.
• Stir in the potatoes along with the chilies, spice powders, salt as well as pepper and saute the mixture for 5-6 minutes or until the spice coats the potatoes evenly.
• Add a splash of lemon juice and continue to cook until any of the cooking liquid dries up.
• Stir in the chopped cilantro and turn off the heat.
• Mash the mixture with back of a spoon or potato masher and allow it to cool before stuffing it inside the samosa.
• To make the samosa, divide the dough into small golf-sized balls and roll them into a flat circle.
• Slice each circle into halves and shape each half into a cone.
• Hold the cone with one hand and fill it with spoonfuls of the mashed filling with another.
• Brush water along the open edges and fold them over one another, pressing the edges to seal them together; make rest of samosas in similar fashion.
• Pour oil into a deep-bottomed pan until it rises few inches above it and heat it over high heat.
• Lower the heat to medium and gently lower the samosa into the oil.
• Fry the samosas in batches until golden brown and soak away the extra oil with paper towel.
• Serve hot with Indian chutney or dipping sauce.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Last Updated on December 13, 2012 by