Samosas are the Indian version of a fried pastry with a savory filling. You can make these with a made-from-scratch dough, or use a Filo dough to save time. A traditional Samosa is deep fried, but you can use less oil and pan fry, or even less and bake it in an oven. Any method creates a tasty appetizer or side dish. Serve warm with your choice of Indian chutney or dipping sauce.
PASTRY
- 1cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-or-
- 1 thawed package of pre-made Filo dough or Puff Pastry sheets
Filling
- 2 large potatoes, cubed and boiled until fork tender
- 1 med onion, chopped
- 2 green chilies, very finely chopped (can use canned green chilies)
- 1/2 cup peas (optional)
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic, crushed or minced
- coriander seed
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped (can use dried cilantro)
- 1/2 lemon, juice of
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (optional, use less for less spicy)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
-OR-
Defrost Filo Dough or puff pastry sheets and open out onto floured surface. Cut into 5″ squares and then in half to make triangles.
FILLING
Recipe for Indian Green Chutney
- 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves (leaves and tender stems)
- 3 green chilies.
- ½ teaspoon black salt.
- Juice of 2 limes.
- ½ inch peeled fresh ginger.
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.
- ½ coriander seeds.
- Place about ⅓ of the cilantro and mint in the blender with the lime juice and process to a puree.
- Add the chilies, ginger, cumin and coriander and process into a smooth paste. This will take about 3 minutes and will need a combination of pulsing and blending actions to make sure that the spices are ground until smooth.
- Add in the remaining herbs in batches and continue grinding until smooth. The key is to try to get a relatively thick and pasty chutney and this cannot be accomplished by adding all the ingredients together at the same time.