Samosas
South Asian inspired street food recipe that will have your taste buds singing! Salty, sweet, tart and sour, this dish is a flavour sensation. Packed with a range of colourful vegetables, fruit and herbs, this dish is not only tasty, but creates a nutritionally balanced meal. The peas in the samosa and the chickpeas in the chaat salad provide a healthy dose of plant protein, fibre, zinc and iron.
Ingredients
Serves: 3-4 (makes 8 samosas)
Samosa Dough Ingredients:
● 75g white flour
● 75g whole- wheat flour
● ¼ teaspoon of salt
● 3 tablespoons of oil
● cold water for kneading (approx 5 tablespoons)
Samosa Filling Ingredients:
● 2 tablespoons of olive oil
● 1- 2 white or sweet potatoes (approx 300g)
● 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
● 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or cumin powder
● 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
● 1 small carrot or half a large carrot, chopped
● 1 teaspoon garam masala
● ¼ cup of frozen green peas
● a small handful of fresh coriander (chopped)
● ½ teaspoon of salt
● 1 green chilli or 1 teaspoon of chilli powder (optional)
Green tamarind chutney Ingredients:
● 1 handful of coriander, mint or both
● 4 dates
● 100g of tamarind paste
● 1 small piece of ginger
● 1 clove of garlic
● 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
● ½ a teaspoon of sea salt and black pepper
● ½ a fresh chilli (optional)
Method
Method- Making the dough:
- Start by making the dough, mix the flours, salt and oil into a bowl. Incorporate the oil by rubbing the oil and flour together until the mixture begins to look like breadcrumbs- do not skip this step!
- Press the flour into your hand and see if it keeps its shape and not crumble- then the mix is ready! Slowly add the water until you can form a stiff dough. Knead the dough until it forms a ball.
- Coat the dough lightly with a tablespoon of oil and let it rest in a bowl covered with a tea towel for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Making the filling::
- Peel and cut up the potatoes into cubes and boil in a pan on medium heat with a pinch of salt. Boil until tender but keep an eye to make sure they are not too soft by checking with a fork, approx 5 minutes
- In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil before adding the cumin seeds and fennel seeds. After toasting the seeds for 1-2 minutes add the carrot, ginger and chilli if using.
- Once boiled, drain and mash the potatoes a bit with a fork, but do not mash into a smooth paste.
- Add the potatoes and peas to the pan. Add the garam masala, salt, pepper and mix well.
- After a few minutes or once the peas have defrosted, remove from heat and stir through the chopped coriander. Let the filling cool down completely before using.
Shaping and fry the Samosa:
- Once it has rested, preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Give the dough a quick knead before rolling into a ball. Flatten the ball with the back of your hand before cutting into 4 equal parts by drawing a cross using a sharp knife.
- Roll one ball into a circle-oval shape, approx 15 cm long or about the length of a pen. Cut in half.
- Keep a cup with a bit of water nearby to help you with this next step; dip your finger in the water and run it along the straight edge/side.
- Now bring the two ends of the straight edge together and pinch them to form a cone. 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) Then pinch the edges and seal the samosa.
- Your samosa is now ready. Repeat the same process with remaining dough.
- Brush the samosas with oil with your fingers or a pastry brush and place on an oven tray lined with baking paper before putting into the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the samosas over when they are halfway done.
- Remove samosas from the oven and let them cool down before tucking in!
Green tamarind chutney:
- Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend to a smooth paste.
- Move the chutney into a bowl and enjoy on samosas!
