Samosa Recipe Punjabi Samosa Aloo Samosa

SAMOSA RECIPE | PUNJABI SAMOSA | ALOO SAMOSA

Steps:

• Take the flour, carom seeds, salt in a bowl. Mix well and add ghee.
• With your fingertips rub the ghee or oil in the flour to get a breadcrumb like consistency.
• The whole mixture should clump together when joined and not fall apart.
• Add water in parts and knead to a firm dough.
• If the dough looks dry or floury, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons more water and knead.
• Cover the dough with a moistened napkin and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Steam or boil the potatoes and peas till are cooked completely. Drain them of any extra water in a colander or sieve.
• Peel the boiled potatoes and chop them into small cubes
• Dry roast all the whole spices mentioned in the above list until fragrant taking care not to burn them.
• When the spices are warm or cool at room temperature, grind them in a dry grinder or coffee grinder to a semi-fine or fine powder.
• Heat oil in a pan. add the cumin seeds and crackle them.
• Add the ginger and green chillies. Sauté for a few seconds until the raw aroma of ginger goes away.
• Add the steamed green peas, red chili powder, the freshly ground spice powder, dry mango powder and asafoetida.
• Stir and sauté on a low heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the potato cubes. Mix very well and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes on low heat with frequent stirring.
• Set aside the potato filling aside to cool at room temperature.
• After resting the dough for 30 minutes, divide the dough in 6 equal pieces.
• Take each piece and roll in your palms first to make a smooth ball.
• Then roll it with a rolling pin keeping the thickness to 1 mm throughout.
• Cut with a knife or a pastry cutter through the center of the rolled samosa pastry.
• With a brush or with your finger tips, spread some water all over the edges.
• Join the two straight ends forming a cone shape.
• Press the edges so that they get sealed well.
• Stuff the prepared samosa cone with the prepared potato-peas stuffing.
• Pinch a part on the edge (check the video & photos). This helps the samosa to stand once it is shaped.
• Press both the edges. Be sure there are no cracks.
• Prepare all the samosa this way and keep covered with a moist kitchen napkin.
• Now heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. Once the oil becomes hot (test by adding a small piece of dough - it should come up quickly once added to the hot oil). Gently slide the prepared stuffed samosa & quickly reduce the flame to low.
• Turn over in between and fry until golden. Drain the fried samosa on paper towels to remove excess oil.
• Fry them in batches. For frying the second batch, again increase the temperature of the oil to medium-heat. Do not overcrowd the pan while frying.
• Add the samosa and then lower the flame, thereby decreasing the temperature of oil.
• This way fry all the samosa in batches.
• Serve samosa hot or warm with coriander chutney, tamarind chutney or tomato ketchup.
• They can also be served with a yogurt dip or plain raita. Another way is to serve it with chana masala (chickpea curry).
• We usually pair samosa with masala chai or ginger chai.
• Even bread or pav (Indian bread rolls) can be served with it.
• Whatever you serve samosa with, remember to have hot masala chai with it.

ALOO SAMOSAS (POTATO SAMOSAS)

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover by a few inches. Salt the water, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until a knife slides in with little to no resistance, about 20 minutes. Drain, then set aside. When cool enough to handle, peel and use a fork to smush them into a coarse mash.
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick pan over medium for a minute. Add the cumin and coriander seeds, and stir until the seeds are fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the ground chile and turmeric, and the coriander and cumin powders, if using. Continue cooking, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the potatoes, peas, garam masala and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring to evenly mix the ingredients, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh chiles and cilantro. Let stand until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, prepare to assemble the samosas: Line a sheet pan with wax paper or plastic wrap. Stack the spring roll wrappers and cut evenly in thirds to create 42 rectangles, 8 inches long by 2 2/3-inches wide. If your wrappers are not 8 inches square, aim to cut 42 rectangular shapes in a 3-to-1 ratio. Place a damp clean cloth over your pastry sheets to prevent them from drying out. Place the flour in a small bowl and add enough water (about 3 tablespoons) to make a smooth paste the consistency of craft glue.
• Take a pastry rectangle and place it with the long side facing you on a flat work surface. Replace the damp cloth over the remaining pastry sheets to keep them from drying out. Take the bottom-right corner of the rectangle and fold it over the top, with the short side extending 1 to 2 inches past the top. The overlapping pastry at the bottom right of the sheet will form an equilateral triangle with sides that are about 3 inches long. This triangle will be the final shape and size of the samosa. Fold the triangle so its right outer edge is aligned with the horizontal bottom edge of the sheet. There should now be a triangular pocket with two flaps sticking out to the left. Pick up the pocket so it is open and upright like a cone. Fill the cone with 2 teaspoons of the filling. Using the back of a small spoon, spread the flour paste in a thin layer over the remaining strip of pastry. Fold it over the stuffed triangle to seal the samosa. If the corners of the samosa have any gaps, fill them with the flour paste and pinch them to seal. Repeat with the remaining filling and rectangles (you may have leftover wrappers) and lay on the lined sheet pan, spacing apart. They can be fried or baked right away, or frozen on the pan until firm, then sealed in an airtight container or freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 2 months before frying and go straight into the hot oil from the freezer.
• To fry the samosas, fill a frying pan with oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat the oil over medium-high until it ripples. Add enough samosas to fit without overlapping and shallow-fry until golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes per side (longer, if frying directly from the freezer). Transfer to a cooling rack or plate lined with a paper towel to prevent them from getting soggy. Repeat with the remaining samosas, replenishing and reheating the oil between batches.
• To bake the samosas, heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 1-inch-deep sheet pan with foil and add a thin layer of oil to the pan (about 1/4 inch). Coat the samosas with the oil in the sheet pan and arrange them on the pan in a single layer in rows. Bake, turning once halfway through, until evenly golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a cooling rack or plate lined with a paper towel to prevent them from getting soggy.
• Serve hot or warm with the mint chutney for dipping.