Samosa

Ingredients

• Plain flour300 g
• Ghee for the dough60 g
• Ajwain seeds1 tsp
• Cold water100 ml
• Potatoes — boiled600 g
• Peas150 g
• Cumin seeds1 tsp
• Ground coriander2 tsp
• Amchur or lemon juice1 tsp
• Garam masala1 tsp
• Green chilli2
• Oil for frying700 ml
• Saltto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Rub the ghee into the flour with the ajwain and salt until it looks like damp sand: squeezed in a fist it should hold its shape.

   8 min

2. 2

   Add cold water a little at a time to a firm, tight dough — stiffer than a dumpling dough. Cover it and rest it half an hour.

   35 min

3. 3

   Fry the cumin in a spoon of oil, add the chilli, spices, peas and coarsely crushed potato. Warm it five minutes and cool it.

   12 min

4. 4

   Divide the dough into balls, roll each into an oval and cut it in half. Form a cone from each half, wetting the straight edge.

   20 min

5. 5

   Fill the cone, pinch the top firmly shut and set it seam up. A weak seam opens in the oil.

   15 min

6. 6

   Lower them into oil at 150 °C and fry twelve to fifteen minutes, raising it to 180 °C at the end. The pastry should carry fine blisters rather than large ones.

   30 min

About the dish

The dough is made with ghee rubbed into the flour until it looks like damp sand. That fat in the pastry is what gives the flaky brittleness that makes a samosa shatter rather than stretch.

They are fried on a moderate flame for twelve to fifteen minutes. On a fierce one the pastry blisters instantly and stays raw inside — the commonest mistake.

The filling is crushed coarsely, leaving lumps of potato. Mashed smooth it gives a uniform dull middle; lumps keep the texture.

Worth knowing

• — The dough has to be tight. A soft one blisters and gives a soft samosa rather than a crisp one.
• — Large blisters on the surface mean the oil is too hot. Lower the flame; the ones already fried cannot be fixed.
• — Samosas are best warm. Reheat at 180 °C for ten minutes, never in a microwave, which softens the pastry.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

380 kcal

Protein

8 g

Fat

20 g

Carbs

44 g

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