Since I don’t plan on traveling to India anytime soon I thought I would bring India to me. I would love to travel to India one day but I get so discouraged when everyone comes back with horror stories of getting sick, food poisoning, and getting IVs jabbed into them. It’s not what I call a vacation. Anyways, I decided to make some samosas to support my Indian/fried food craving. I nabbed a recipe off FoodTv and found the recipe to be really easy but very time consuming. VERY time consuming.
These are great little finger food when served hot and with a side of chutney. Unfortunately I didn't have any chutney but the samosas by itself were still delicious and packed with flavor. I mean, how many Chinese households have a jar of chutney tucked away in the pantry?! The recipe makes a yogurt dipping sauce to go with the somosas but I decided not to. I also experimented by using egg roll wrappers instead of the dough (for the lazy) and it came out well but I still prefer the dough that was made from the recipe. The dough from the recipe came out crispier and didn't suck up as much of the oil as the egg roll wrappers. With my recipe I included some carrots to gives it a nice extra burst of color.
Potato and Pea Samosas (and CARROTS!)
Makes 20 Samosas
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 clarified butter or oil
Cold water as needed, usually about 10 tbs
3 medium baking potatoes, boiled until tender, drained and cooled
1 cup minced onions
1 tbs minced fresh ginger
1 hot green chile, such as serrano, finely minced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (I used canned. Thank you Mr. Green Giant)
3 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and then rubbing 1/4 cup of the clarified butter into the flour until well combined and mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water, a tablespoon at a time, until the pastry comes together to form a ball, about 10 tablespoons. Knead the dough lightly and then form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to rest for at least 1 hour.
While the dough is resting, make the filling. Peel the potatoes and cut into small dice and place in a bowl. Heat the remaining 1/4 cup of ghee in a medium skillet and add the onion. Cook until the onion is lightly caramelized, about 6 minutes. Add the ginger, chile, coriander, garam masala, and cumin seeds and cook until the spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, 1 teaspoon of the remaining salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper and cook, stirring, until well combined, about 6 minutes. Add the peas and 3 tablespoons of the cilantro and set aside to cool completely.
Divide the samosa dough into 10 portions and roll each piece of dough into a circle about 5 inches in diameter. Cut each circle in half. Lightly moisten the straight edge of each half circle with water, and press together to seal; you should now have a cone-shaped portion of dough. Carefully spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling into the dough cone, then moisten the remaining edges with a bit of water and press together to seal. Repeat with the remaining portions of dough and filling.
When you are ready to fry the samosas, heat a large saucepan filled with at least 2 inches of oil to about 340 degrees F. Fry the samosas, a few at a time, and stirring to promote even cooking, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. (Note: these will float to the surface of the oil long before they are ready to be removed; make certain to cook them until the pastry is crispy and golden brown.) Remove using a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain. Repeat until all samosas have been fried. Serve with chutney, if desired.
