Indian Samosa

 The Cook Log

Recipe 6: Indian Samosa

A Short History Lesson....

This is the recipe for the iconic Indian Samosa. It is however interesting t9 know that Indian’s cannot be credited for its invention. One may search for “samosa” in a search engine and find that it originated somewhere in the Middle East as a filo pastry containing meat which was a convenient and filling delicacy. As the recipe began to travel it soon took various forms and can be found in unique forms in many parts of the country today. In India alone almost each state has its own variant of the samosa containing different fillings or different folds.

Now to create the samosa....

Recipe Name: Samosa

Time Taken: 2.5 Hours

Cuisine: Indian (This particular recipe is for one common form of samosa found in India.)

Ingredients

1. 6 Potatoes
2. 400 g maida
3. 2 tsp Ajwain
4. Salt
5. 0.5 cup ghee

Recipe

1. Boil potatoes.
2. Begin to make the dough:-
1. Take the maida in a kneading bowl.
2. Add to it the ajwain, and salt.
3. Pour the ghee. Mix the ingredients in the bowl with a spoon.
4. As the dough begins to form crumbs, start kneading the dough by adding a little water at a time.
5. Make sure that too much water is not put in the dough as a watery dough may taste alright but will not give a great texture in the final samosa.
6. Stop kneading when the dough bounces back as you press it and it is a bit flakey.
7. Once done, cover the dough with a damp cloth for a minimum of 15-20 minutes to allow the gluten to develop in the dough. The more resting time the better.
3. Now to make the filling:-

1. Peel the potatoes which were boiling. They need to be of a mashed potatoes like consistency. The potatoes can be peeled by a peeler or by hand which ever may be convenient.
2. The filling of the samosa, other than potatoes can consist of many other things ranging from peas to raisins. However, an important criteria for selecting the filling is that it should not be sharp. This is to avoid the bursting of the filled samosa during the frying process.
3. After peeling, the potatoes should be chopped. The sizes can be of your choice, but we chose a medium size (close to the first bone of an adult thumb, of course this is not an accurate measure)
4. After chopping, the potatoes are to be cooked like any sabji. We put masalas like garam masala, powdered coriander, aam chur(dried mango powder), salt, etc. but by past experience we have not found turmeric in samosas we eat.
5. Add about 20ml of any oil(we used olive oil), fennel seeds about 1 tbsp, then add the cut potatoes. Quickly stir the mixture to avoid burning, then lower the flame.
6. Now add the following: 1 tspn salt(according to taste), coriander powder, garam masala(1 tspn, less in case you add chillies), aam chur(1 tbsp, gives a nice tangy sour taste). Stir the mixture. Add a little water(not too much to avoid slimy potatoes).

After the potatoes are cooked do not immediately start filling them in the samosa as it will burst will frying and will cause an unnecessary burning sensation on the hand. Once cool, fill the samosas and fry.

Your samosas are now ready!

Hope you enjoy ☺