The Best Samosas Recipes

SAMOSA RECIPE

Steps:

• Start by making the samosa dough. To a large bowl, add flour, ajwain (carom seeds), salt and mix well.
• Add the oil and then start mixing with your fingers. Rub the flour with the oil until the oil is well incorporated in all of the flour. Do this for 3 to 4 minutes, you don't want to rush this step. Once incorporated, the mixture resembles crumbs.
• Press some flour between your palm- it should form a shape (& not crumble) - means oil is enough and well incorporated.
• Now, start adding water, little by little and mix to form a stiff dough. Don't overwork the dough and don't knead a soft dough. It should just come together and form a stiff dough. I used around 6 tablespoons of water here.
• Cover the dough with a moist cloth and let it rest for 40 minutes. I usually soak a paper towel in water and then squeeze out all the water and then cover my dough with that. While the dough is resting, start working on the filling.
• Boil potatoes until done. 8 to 9 whistles on high heat with natural pressure release if using stove-top pressure cooker or if using Instant Pot, high pressure 12 minutes with natural pressure release on a trivet with 1 cup water in the bottom of the pot.
• Peel the skin and them mash the potatoes. Set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and crushed coriander seeds.Let the seeds sizzle for few seconds and then add the chopped ginger, green chili and hing. Cook for 1 minute.
• Add the boiled & mashed potatoes and green peas to the pan. Mix everything together. I use my potato masher to combine the spices and seasonings well with the potatoes and peas.
• Add the coriander powder, garam masala, amchur, red chili powder and salt. Mix to combine. Once it's all well incorporated, remove pan from heat and let the filling cool down a bit.
• Once the dough has rested, give it a quick knead. Then divide the dough into 7 equal parts of around 58-60 grams each.Start working on a piece of dough, keep the remaining dough balls covered at all times with a moist cloth else the dough will dry out.
• Roll one dough ball into a circle-oval kind of shape, around 6-7 inches in diameter and then cut it into two parts.
• Take one part and apply water on the straight edge/side. I usually mix some flour with water so that it forms a nice glue.Now bring the two ends of the straight edge together and pinch them to form a cone. See step-by-step pictures above for a better idea. Pinch the pointed ends to make it a perfect cone shape.
• Fill the samosa with the potato filling, around 1 to 2 tablespoons. Don't overfill the samosa.
• Now again apply water all around the circumference of the cone as you have to seal it. Pinch the opposite side (side opposite to where you pinched to form the cone) to form a plate (see step-by-step pictures above). Then pinch the edges and seal the samosa.
• Your samosa is now ready. Repeat the same process with remaining dough. Always remember to keep the filled samosa covered with a moist cloth while roll and fill the others. You will get 14 samosas.
• Now heat oil in a kadai on low heat. To check if oil is ready, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. It should take few seconds to come up to the surface. That means the oil is ready.Drop the shaped samosas into the oil.
• Fry on low heat. After around 10-12 minutes, the samosa will become firm and light brown in color. At this point, increase the heat to medium and fry until it gets nicely browned.Don't overcrowd the kadai/wok, fry 4-5 samosas at a time. And each batch will take around 20 minutes since we fry on low heat so be patient.
• Once you finish frying one batch, lower the heat again to low and wait until the temperature of the oil drops and then add the second batch.Enjoy hot samosas with cilantro chutney or sweet tamarind chutney!

THE BEST SAMOSAS

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, ajawain, if using, and the salt. Add the oil and, using your hands, rub it into the flour mixture until fully incorporated. While stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually add the water, until a shaggy dough is formed. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until soft and pliable, about 3 minutes. Rub a little oil, about 1 teaspoon, over the dough, place on a plate and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight.
• For the filling: Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with cold tap water by about 2 inches, and season with salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, transfer to a medium bowl and set aside to cool slightly. Using a fork, slightly smash the potatoes.
• Meanwhile, in a small food processor (mini-chopper), combine the onion, ginger, garlic, chiles, and 1 tablespoon water and puree to a paste.
• Heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion paste, salt, garam masala and turmeric and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring and mashing lightly with a wooden spoon, until hot, about 2 minutes. Stir in the peas. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, chopped cilantro and remaining 2 tablespoons water.
• To form the samosas: Divide the dough into 10 portions. Using your hands, roll each portion into a small ball. On a floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 7-inch wide disc. Cut each disc in half.
• Set a small bowl of water beside you. Working with one dough semi-circle at a time, fold half of the straight edge up to the rounded side and wet its outside edge with a little water. Fold the other half up to form a cone, overlapping it with the other side by 1/4 inch. Press the edges together to form a seal. Hold the cone in one hand and fill it with about 1/4 cup of the potato filling. Slightly wet the inside of the rounded edge and fold it over the filling to enclose it. Press the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling to make 20 samosas.
• In a large, wide heavy-bottomed pot, pour in the oil to a depth of about 2 inches. Place over medium heat, and heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 365 degrees F.
• Working in small batches, fry the samosas until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Serve immediately with tamarind sauce or your favorite chutney.
• For the ghee: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Skim off any of the white foam that comes to the surface with a spoon (being careful not to scoop up any yellow fat from the butter) and discard. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until all of the water has evaporated and the white milk solids have browned in the bottom of the saucepan, about 8 minutes.
• Line a sieve with cheesecloth or a coffee filter and pour the butter through into a container. Discard the browned milk solids in the sieve or reserve for another use. Use now or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Yield: about 2 cups