Vegetable Samosa’s

Spices of Christmas- Recipe 2

Introducing our second delicious dish that works perfectly with a spicy Ahmad tea pairing for our #SpicesofChristmas series – today it’s Vegetable Samosas with Ahmad's Chai Spice tea.

Samosas are wonderfully versatile Indian pastry for any mealtime and this recipe comes from Hari Ghotra' s family tradition. 

Try them yourself with a delightful cup of Indian chai!

"My most significant memory of samosas is from my wedding where they were part of the festivities, right from all my aunties forming a production line in the kitchen gossiping, giggling and producing the amazing triangles parcels through to serving them for breakfast with a cup of hot, sweet chai – a combination that is out of this world" Hari Ghotra

Ingredients
Filling

• 1 tsp of rapeseed oil
• 4 potatoes boiled (skin on)
• 50g frozen peas
• ½ tsp of Spice Kitchen cumin seeds
• 1 tsp of salt
• ½ tsp Spice Kitchen chilli powder
• 2 chillies, finely chopped
• 1-2 tsp of Spice Kitchen garam masala
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp of fresh coriander, chopped

Paste

• 1 tbsp plain flour in a small bowl
• Splash of cold water

Pastry

• 200g plain flour
• 1½ tbsp rapeseed oil
• Pinch of salt
• 100ml water

Method:

1. For the filling, cook the potatoes gently with the skin on (do not boil too vigorously) for about 25 minutes until soft. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Once cooled peel the skin off with your fingers.
2. Cut into small 1cm sized cubes and place in a large bowl.
3. In a small frying pan heat the oil and fry the cumin seeds. When sizzling, carefully add the peas and fry gently for a few minutes to soften. Remove from the heat and leave to cool before adding to the potatoes.
4. Add the grated ginger, salt, chilli, chilli powder, garam masala and fresh coriander to the potatoes and stir - check seasoning and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
5. For the paste, make some flour glue by adding water to the flour and mix into a thick sticky paste.
6. Now onto the pastry, place flour, oil and salt in a bowl and rub the mixture together. Using your hand begin to sprinkle in a little water at a time to bring the dough together. Continue to add the water in this way until the dough comes together. Using wet hands knead the dough until it is soft and no longer sticking to your hands or the bowl.
7. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Heat up a thava or frying pan on the lowest heat setting.
8. Take a small tangerine-sized ball of the dough and roll it between your palms to make a smooth ball.Flatten and roll out with a rolling pin to create a thin round disc the size of a side plate, flouring when necessary. Place the disc on the tava for 4 seconds. Remove and place on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife slice the disc in half so you are left with 2 semi-circles.
9. Now to make the samosa itself, place one semi-circle on your hand with the flat edge at the top and the cooked side facing you. Dip your finger in the paste and spread it across the straight edge. Fold in the two corners so they meet in the middle ensuring one edge overlaps the other and press together to seal all the way down to create a smooth upside down cone.
10. Turn the cone over so the pointed end is at the bottom. Using a spoon fill the cone with the potato filling to 2/3 of the way up. Seal the opening with the paste, creating a triangle pastry. Lie on the tray and pat down to even the filling out. Repeat with the remaining dough until all your samosas are made.
11. To cook the samosa, heat the oil, test it's hot enough by dropping in a little bit of pastry – if it bubbles and floats to the top immediately then the oil is ready. Very carefully slip one samosa into the hot oil being careful that the hot oil doesn't splash out. Leave the samosa to cook for a few seconds. As the pastry begins to bubble turn it over using a slotted spoon.
12. Leave it to cook gently until it turns a beautiful golden brown. Once it's cooked remove from the oil and set on some kitchen paper. As you become more confident, fry 2 or 3 samosas at the same time.
13. Serve hot! My children like samosas with tomato ketchup, but for me you can only have samosas with a tangy imlee chutney made with tamarind.

For more yummy recipes follow the talented @harighotra