| Samosa recipes are rather like spring roll | | | | |
| recipes, they are passed down through | | | | Knead the dough again and divide it into 8, |
| families and no two are alike, so there's a | | | | making balls with your hands. Roll the first |
| wealth of choice of fillings. | | | | ball until it is about 7 inch in diameter |
| | | | then cut it in half. Take one half and make |
| Indians love to eat samosas, usually as a | | | | it into a cone, overlapping the "seam" by |
| snack, often in the street, but they make a | | | | about a ¼ inch and sticking it down with |
| lovely starter to either an Indian or a | | | | water. Fill the cone with your chosen |
| Western meal. | | | | mixture and close the top seam, again by |
| | | | using a little water. Make the remaining 7 |
| You can fill a samosa with anything - ground | | | | samosas in the same way. |
| meat, vegetables, even fish. You can really | | | | |
| use any vegetables you like as long as they | | | | Heat enough oil to deep fry the samosas and |
| don't let out a lot of water, such as | | | | fry as many as will fit the pan at one time, |
| tomatoes, but the following is a fairly | | | | turning frequently until crisp and golden. |
| traditional samosa recipe using peas and | | | | Drain on kitchen paper. |
| potatoes. | | | | |
| | | | The Filling |
| When choosing your samosa recipe, having | | | | |
| decided on meat or veg, there's the pastry to | | | | Boil 725g (1lb 10oz) potatoes in their skins |
| consider. Do you want to make your own | | | | and allow to cool, then peel and cut into |
| pastry, buy shortcrust and roll it very thin | | | | small cubes. |
| or use frozen filo pastry (which is my | | | | |
| favourite for both ease and a nice crunch | | | | Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying |
| when baked in the oven). The other advantage | | | | pan and add a finely chopped medium onion, |
| of the filo pastry option is that it is low | | | | frying until it starts turning brown. Add |
| fat, whereas the others involve frying. | | | | 175g (6 oz) peas (defrosted, if frozen), 1 |
| | | | tbsp freshly grated ginger, 1 finely chopped |
| The Pastry | | | | hot green chilli, 3 tbsp finely chopped fresh |
| | | | coriander and 3 tbsp water. Cover and simmer |
| Put 225g (½ lb) plain flour in the bowl of | | | | until the peas are cooked, stirring |
| a food processor with ½ tsp salt and 4 | | | | occasionally. Add extra water, if the |
| tbsp vegetable oil. Process on a high | | | | mixture gets too dry. |
| setting until the mixture has the appearance | | | | |
| of breadcrumbs. While processing at a medium | | | | Add the potatoes, salt to taste, 1 tsp |
| speed, add 4 tbsp water, very gradually as | | | | coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp |
| you may not need all of it, through the | | | | ground roasted cumin seeds (dry roast in a |
| chimney of the processor. The dough should | | | | non-stick frying pan and grind in a pestle |
| be drawn together in a ball but not sticky. | | | | and mortar or coffee grinder), ¼ tsp |
| Exchange the cutting blade for the dough hook | | | | cayenne pepper and lemon juice to taste |
| and process on medium for 2 - 3 minutes. | | | | (about 2tbsp). Mix and cook for a few |
| | | | minutes, stirring. Check and adjust |
| Of course you can do all the above by hand, | | | | seasoning and allow to cool. |
| if you wish, in which case you'll need to | | | | |
| knead the dough for about 10 minutes. | | | | Look out for my next article on my website |
| | | | which will have a meat filling samosa recipe |
| The dough should end up as a smooth ball, | | | | as well as diagrams to show you how to fold |
| which you should then brush with a little | | | | filo pastry, if you choose to use it, then |
| vegetable oil, wrap in cling film and leave | | | | there will be my favourite spring roll recipe |
| for about half an hour, meanwhile make the | | | | too. |
| filling of your choice. | | | | |