Serves Makes about 50 mini samosas
Ingredients
This iconic Indian snack is sold at street stalls and fine restaurants all over India. The proper and authentic Indian way calls for making your own pastry dough, with a slightly intricate rolling process. And they really must be fried.
But I wanted us to be able to have samosas, even if we don’t make dough and fry them. So I’ve come up with a couple of hacks to bring easy samosas to the masses. We’ll use ready-made spring roll wrappers, and we’ll bake them. Admittedly, the fried version is better, but the baked version is perfectly acceptable. You can serve them with coriander chutney, which has been previously published on the DFW site.
Ingredients
1 large russet potato (about 14 oz.)
1 cup frozen petit peas
¼ cup oil
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger (about 1 tbsp.), peeled and minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
¼ chopped cilantro
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garam masala
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. flour
1 pkg. 6-inch by 6-inch spring roll wrappers
Cooking oil for frying or baking the samosas
Directions
Filling
Peel and chop the potato into large chunks and boil as you would for mashed potatoes. When done put the potatoes into a large bowl and mash. Add the frozen peas to the potatoes. This will help cool the potatoes down quickly.
Next, heat a medium-size skillet with the oil and add the onion, ginger, and jalapeno pepper. Sauté for about 3 minutes until softened. Add the salt, coriander, cumin, garam masala and cayenne pepper. Stir this for about one minute.
Scrape the onion mixture into the bowl with the mashed potatoes. Add a couple tablespoons of water to the pan to rinse out the remaining residue in the pan and add to the potatoes, add the lemon juice. Mix well and taste to adjust seasoning if necessary. Let cool completely before assembling the samosas.
Mix the flour in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of water to make a thin, smooth paste. This will be the “glue” that will close the samosa triangles.
To assemble the samosas
Have the spring roll wrappers opened up and covered with a dish towel to keep them from drying out.
Remove one at a time and cut into 3 equal strips. The strips should be placed so that the short end is at your waistline. Place a small amount of the filling at the bottom of the strip, about the size of a marble. Fold up the samosa in a triangular fashion, like a flag. Seal the end of the triangle with some of the flour paste and lay the triangle on a parchment lined sheet pan covered with a dish towel.
Click on the word fold for a very short instructional video on how to form samosas. You’ll need to scroll all the way to the bottom of the post in order to view it.
(Do note that the wrappers used in the video are 8-inch wrappers, which I was not able to find at my grocery store. But I believe that the 6-inch wrappers work just as well. If you do come across the 8-inch wrappers, then you will cut them into 4 strips.)
Once you’ve made all the triangles, it’s time to cook them. You can either choose to fry them, which is the best method, and traditional, or you can bake them.
Frying method
Heat a frying pan or wok and add the oil. A wok works best because you can get away with using less oil. You need to add enough oil to allow the samosas to float. Test the oil by dipping a corner of one samosa into the oil, if it starts to sizzle then the oil is ready. Add the samosas, 6 to 8 at a time works well in a wok. They should take about a minute to a minute and a half, then flip them over and fry for one more minute. Remove to paper towels to drain. Arrange on a platter. They can be served hot or at room temperature. Serve with coriander chutney.
Baking method
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the samosas lightly with vegetable oil on both sides and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the bottom side is golden. Turn them over and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until they are golden on both sides. (The samosas in the photo I’ve included are baked, just so you’ll know what they look like when done.)
Arrange on a platter. They can be served hot or at room temperature. Serve with coriander chutney.
Country:
India
Notes and Instructions
Recipe and photo credit: Linda McElroy