Samosa Recipe

Ingredients 

For Samosa Dough

• 250 grams all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon carom seeds/ Ajwain
• 1 teaspoon salt
• oil for frying

For the Filling

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon crushed whole coriander seeds
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped green chili
• 500 grams boiled potatoes (refrigerated for 4-6 hours.)
• ½ cup green peas (softened)
• 2 tablespoons Kasuri methi
• 2 teaspoons dry pomegranate powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
• ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
• 2 teaspoons dry mango powder
• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint

Instructions

Make the filling

• Start by boiling 1 lb (500 grams) potatoes for the filling. You can boil them in a traditional pressure cooker or an instant pot.
• Traditional Pressure Cooker – Wash the potatoes and add them to the cooker. Pour water until the potatoes are just covered. Close the lid of the cooker and pressure cook for one whistle on high heat. Simmer the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and let the pressure release naturally before opening the lid.
• Instant Pot – To boil the potatoes in an instant pot, wash the potatoes. Keep a trivet in the pot and arrange the potatoes on the trivet. Add 1 cup of water to the pot and close the lid. Set the valve to the sealing position. Press PRESSURE COOK and set the timer to 12 minutes on HIGH PRESSURE. Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid.
• Cool the boiled for at least 3-4 hours. Cooling them will make them dry and the resulting samosa will turn out crispy.
• Peel the cooled boiled potatoes and mash them roughly. Keep aside.
• Cook ½ cup green peas until tender. If using frozen peas, just rinse them with water. They are already cooked and tender.
• Heat 2 tablespoon vegetable oil in a pan.
• Once the oil is hot, add ¼ teaspoon asafoetida, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 2 teaspoon fennel seeds, and 1 tablespoon crushed whole coriander seeds and fry them for 3-4 seconds.
• Add 2 teaspoon finely chopped ginger and 2 teaspoon finely chopped green chili to the pan and saute for 20 seconds.
• Add mashed boiled potatoes and softened peas to the pan and mix well.
• Now add 2 tablespoon Kasuri methi, 2 teaspoon pomegranate seeds powder, ½ teaspoon cumin powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper powder, 2 teaspoon dry mango powder, 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, and 1 tablespoon coriander powder, and mix well.
• Using a potato masher mash everything until almost smooth. Do not over-mash. We want a few pieces of potatoes still there. Add salt to taste, 2 tablespoon chopped coriander, and 2 tablespoon chopped mint, and mix well. Remove the pan from heat and let the filling cool completely.

Make the dough

• Add 250 grams all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds), and 4 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large bowl.
• Mix well using your fingers for a minute. The mixture should look like bread crumbs. When you press the mixture in between your palms, it should form a shape and not crumble. If it is crumbling, add some more oil and mix again.
• Add water (4-6 tbsp) little by little and knead to make a very stiff dough.
• Wet a kitchen cloth with water and squeeze it tightly to remove any excess water. Use this damp cloth to cover the dough. Keep the dough aside for 30 minutes.
• Once the dough has rested, knead it once again for 10-12 seconds until it is slightly smooth. Do not overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. You will get 8 large samosas. If you want to make small samosa, divide the dough into 8 equal parts.
• Make them into balls. Cover the balls with the damp cloth and keep them aside for 10 minutes.

Make the Samosa

• Take one ball and roll it to make a 6-inch long oval. The thickness of the rolled dough should be approx 1 mm. Do not use dry flour while rolling. You can use a little oil if the dough is sticking to the surface.
• Cut the oval from the center using a knife or a pizza cutter. Roll and cut all the dough balls in the same manner.
• Note – Keep the dough covered with a damp cloth at all times when not working on it.
• Now take one of the half ovals and roll it a little more.
• Apply little water on straight edge and bring the two ends together to make a cone. Make sure to seal the ends tightly.
• Note – You can also make a mixture of 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoon water to make a glue to seal it instead of just water.
• Fill 2 tablespoon of potato filling in the cone. Press the filling lightly.
• Apply more water on the open sides and make a pleat at the center of the round open edge.
• Seal the edges nicely to make a triangle. Press the entire samosa a little bit so that it does not puff up while frying. Make all of them in a similar manner.
• Note – Keep the prepared samosa covered with the damp cloth until ready to fry.

Frying the Samosas

• Heat oil for frying in a large pan over medium heat.
• Make sure that the oil is not too hot, otherwise, the samosas will have blisters on the surface. To check the oil temperature, drop a small piece of dough into it; it should rise slowly and the oil should not be bubbling or sizzling. If the dough turns golden brown; the oil has become to hot and you should cool it down.
• When the oil is just hot, drop samosas one by one into it. Fry on medium-low flame until they are lightly brown in color. Do not overcrowd the pan while frying and fry them in batches of 3-4. Each batch will take 15-20 minutes.
• Once the samosa are lightly browned, increase the heat to medium-high and fry until they turn golden brown (2-3 minutes). Once they are golden brown, take them out on a plate lined with kitchen tissue. Serve hot.