I think I found a winner here and I followed the recipe to the letter. I've made samosas before, but this time, I'm making my own dough and using spices I didn't have before such as asafetida, amchur, and ajwain.
I had a taste of the filling and I'm not sure I've ever had anything as spot on as this.
It's a weeknight tonight. Have I lost my mind?
Yes I think I have..
and this was a success
a major major success!
Now I feel invincible and absolutely nothing can stop me…
The secret is in the dough. You really can't have an authentic Indian samosa with store bought chinese wrappings or tortillas because of the ingredient that gives the samosas their distinct "I'm from India" taste. Ajwain. Some people say you can sub oregano, and you probably can and come out with pretty decent samosas, but the fact is you'll always be wondering what slight touch is missing to make them just perfect. Ajwain is used frequently in doughs and pakoras. They look like cumin seeds, but have nothing to do with cumin, so please don't sub cumin for ajwain…ok?
Thanks again to ShowMetheCurry.. women who make Indian cooking attainable in the average home… not that my home is average.
Makes 12 samosas
Ingredients
Dough:
1 1/2 cups (230g) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ajwain, ground in a mortar
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup +2 Tbsp warm water
Filling:
1 1/2 lb steamed, peeled, then cubed red potatoes
1tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp amchur (mango powder)
1/2 tsp sugar
10 sprigs chopped cilantro
1tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp minced green chili
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/8 tsp hing (asafoetida)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste
Sunflower oil for frying
Directions
1. Soak the coriander and fennel seeds in some water and set aside while you make the dough.
2. Make the dough by sifting together the flour and salt, then adding the ajwain. Oil your hands and add the oil to the flour mixture, mixing well to avoid lumps.
3. Add the lemon juice and water, a bit at a time, while kneading. At the end you should have a ball of firm elastic dough. Sprinkle a bit more water if needed since flours are all different. I used T65 type. Knead well, wrap in plastic, and set aside at least 30 minutes. I left mine overnight in the fridge. If you do this, make sure you bring it back to room temperature before working it.
4. While you're waiting, make the filling. Drain the soaking seeds and add them to the cubed potatoes along with the garam masala, amchur, sugar, cilantro, ginger, chili, and lemon juice. Mix well.
5. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the cumin seeds until they sizzle, then fizz the hing and add the peas. Cook 1 minute.
6. Add the potato mixture and heat through, making sure to coat well. Taste and add salt if needed, then turn off heat and set aside while you work the dough.
7. Work the dough. Give it a good kneading, then divide it into 6 pieces. They should be the size of golf balls. Mine were about 55g each.
8. Roll each ball out as thin as you can without breaking it. I did it as I would have rolled rotis, but the dough really does not behave like roti dough. It's a lot tougher, probably because of the lemon. You want it in a circular or oval shape.
Isn't my rolling pin lovely?
9. At this point, just watch the video because it's hard to explain with words. I'll give it a shot.
Cut it in half.
Make a cone with one of the half circles of dough using the round part as the tip. Brush some water over one part to seal the edges together.
You should have a nice pocket ready to be filled.
10. Fill the cone with the potato mixture. Try to pack it in well so that there is minimum room for air bubbles.
Pinch the ends and seal the samosa shut using water again.
Repeat this process for all the samosas.
11. In some frying oil heated to medium heat, fry each samosa until lightly golden. If the skin bubbles up right away, the oil is too hot. Remove from oil onto paper towels.
Serve warm with magic green chutney, tamarind chutney, or as I did along with some split dal.
Yes I think I have..
and this was a success
a major major success!
Now I feel invincible and absolutely nothing can stop me…
The secret is in the dough. You really can't have an authentic Indian samosa with store bought chinese wrappings or tortillas because of the ingredient that gives the samosas their distinct "I'm from India" taste. Ajwain. Some people say you can sub oregano, and you probably can and come out with pretty decent samosas, but the fact is you'll always be wondering what slight touch is missing to make them just perfect. Ajwain is used frequently in doughs and pakoras. They look like cumin seeds, but have nothing to do with cumin, so please don't sub cumin for ajwain…ok?
Thanks again to ShowMetheCurry.. women who make Indian cooking attainable in the average home… not that my home is average.
Makes 12 samosas
Ingredients
Dough:
1 1/2 cups (230g) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ajwain, ground in a mortar
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup +2 Tbsp warm water
Filling:
1 1/2 lb steamed, peeled, then cubed red potatoes
1tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp amchur (mango powder)
1/2 tsp sugar
10 sprigs chopped cilantro
1tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp minced green chili
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/8 tsp hing (asafoetida)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste
Sunflower oil for frying
Directions
1. Soak the coriander and fennel seeds in some water and set aside while you make the dough.
2. Make the dough by sifting together the flour and salt, then adding the ajwain. Oil your hands and add the oil to the flour mixture, mixing well to avoid lumps.
3. Add the lemon juice and water, a bit at a time, while kneading. At the end you should have a ball of firm elastic dough. Sprinkle a bit more water if needed since flours are all different. I used T65 type. Knead well, wrap in plastic, and set aside at least 30 minutes. I left mine overnight in the fridge. If you do this, make sure you bring it back to room temperature before working it.
4. While you're waiting, make the filling. Drain the soaking seeds and add them to the cubed potatoes along with the garam masala, amchur, sugar, cilantro, ginger, chili, and lemon juice. Mix well.
5. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the cumin seeds until they sizzle, then fizz the hing and add the peas. Cook 1 minute.
6. Add the potato mixture and heat through, making sure to coat well. Taste and add salt if needed, then turn off heat and set aside while you work the dough.
7. Work the dough. Give it a good kneading, then divide it into 6 pieces. They should be the size of golf balls. Mine were about 55g each.
8. Roll each ball out as thin as you can without breaking it. I did it as I would have rolled rotis, but the dough really does not behave like roti dough. It's a lot tougher, probably because of the lemon. You want it in a circular or oval shape.
9. At this point, just watch the video because it's hard to explain with words. I'll give it a shot.
Cut it in half.
11. In some frying oil heated to medium heat, fry each samosa until lightly golden. If the skin bubbles up right away, the oil is too hot. Remove from oil onto paper towels.
Serve warm with magic green chutney, tamarind chutney, or as I did along with some split dal.
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