PASTRY:
2 c Whole wheat flour
3 tb Vegetable oil
1/2 ts Salt
FILLING:
7 md Potatoes; boiled
10 tb Vegetable oil
1/8 ts Hing
1 ts Whole fennel seeds
1 ts Whole cumin seeds
1 ts Whole black mustard seeds
12 Whole fenugreek seeds
3 Whole dried red chilies
1/2 ts Turmeric
1 1/2 ts Salt
1 tb Lemon juice
TO DEEP FRY:
Vegetable oil
PASTRY: Combine the flour with the oil. Add salt & mix. Add about
one cup water a little at a time until you have a firm dough.
Knead the dough well for 10 minutes or until the dough is elastic
& smooth. Form into a ball, brush with a little oil, cover with a
damp towel and set aside.
FILLING: Boil the potatoes & let them cool. Peel them if you like.
Dice them into bite-sized pieces.
In a very large skillet heat oil over medium heat. When very hot,
drop in the hing. 5 seconds later, add the fennel & cumin seeds.
A few seconds later add, in rapid succession, the mustard seeds &
fenugreek. As they begin to change colour & pop, add the chilies.
As soon as the chilies swell & darken, add the potatoes, turmeric
& salt. Fry gently, carefully turning the potatoes so as not to
break them. Fry for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are
unevenly browned. Add lemon juice & mix well. Check the salt.
Remove potatoes from the pan, place in a serving dish & crush
coarsely with the back of a slotted spoon.
Divide the dough into 28 to 30 equal balls. Flatten each ball &
roll it out on a floured surface until it is approximately 4
inches in diameter. Cut each round in half.
Taking one semicircle at a time, moisten half the length of the
cut edge with a finger dipped in water. Form a wide cone with the
semi-circle, using the moist section to overlap 1/4 inch and hold
it closed. Fill samosa 3/4 full with stuffing. Moisten the inside
edges of the opening and press it shut. Seal this end by pressing
down on it with a fork as you would a pie crust. Do all the
samosas this way, keeping them moist in a plastic wrap or under a
damp towel until you are ready to fry or fry them as you go.
Heat the oil for deep frying in a large pot or a wok. When the
oil is hot, slide in 3 or 4 samosas, be careful not to overcrowd.
Fry until the samosas are brown on all sides, about 2 or 3
minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon & drain on paper towels.
Repeat until you have 60 samosas. The oil should be hot, but do
not use a high heat otherwise they will burn.
Serve samosas hot with a sweet chutney or tamarind paste. They
can be frozen & re-heated in a 300 F oven.
An Invitation to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey,
