Samosas: Stuffed with Potatoes and Peas

These are crazy times,  with lock down on entire planet and slow work hours at everyone's job,  lot of people are working from home, or not working at all due to COVID-19.  Mother Earth is resting and smiling, and may be this was hers and God's way to tell us to slow down , spend  time with family, reflect  back on times passed and appreciate what we have.  Lot of people are cooking a lot, exercising a lot.  Of course, so have I, specially on this Mother's Day, missing my mom and trying different recipes to post on my blog in her memory.  Earlier I posted recipe for Jodhapuri Kachora, so what is the best recipe to follow... but of course Samosa.  As you know I grew up in Agra and Samosa was our very favorite and popular snack with afternoon tea.  This time I perfected the recipe just like we used to have in Agra.  I will share with you, but first I will tell you little about history of Samosa which I found on Wikipedia.
A samosa is a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, cheese, beef and other meats, or lentils. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region. The Indian style, often accompanied by a chutney is probably the most widely known of a broad family of recipes from Africa to China, which have origins in medieval times or earlier. Samosas are a popular entrée, appetizer, or snack in the local cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, Western Asia, Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean, and Africa. Due to emigration and cultural diffusion from these areas, samosas today are often prepared in other regions.  Today, samosa is a popular snack in many parts of the world. Perhaps its biggest secret to popularity and survival over the centuries is its different varieties of fillings catering to carious tastes across the globe. You can find this snack in lot of western countries grocery stores.

 The word samosa can be traced to the Persian word sanbosag . The pastry's name in other countries can also derive from this root, such as the crescent-shaped sanbusak or sanbusaj in the Arab Worl, sambosa in Afghanistan, shingara in Bengal, samosa  in India and  Pakistan samosa  samboosa in Tajikstan, sambosa or samosa in Medagascar, samsa by Turkic-speaking nations, sambusa  by the Amharas of Ethopia, sambuus by Somali of Somalia   and North Eastern Province of Kenya, and chamuça in Goa India, Mozambique and Portugal   While they are currently referred to as sambusak in the Arabic-speaking world, Medieval Arabic recipe books sometimes spell it sambusaj.  The word samoosa is used in South Africa.
Medieval Indian manuscript Nimmathama-i-Nasiruddin Shah (circa 16th century) showing samosas being served. (picture on left Courtesy of Wikipedia: see credit below)

The samosa is made with all purpose flour locally known as maida  shell stuffed with some filling, generally a mixture of mashed boiled potato, onions, green peas, lentils, spices and green chili, or fruits. The entire pastry is then deep-fried in vegetable oil or rarely Ghee  to a golden brown color. It is served hot and is often eaten with fresh green chutney, such as mint, coriander, or tamarind. It can also be prepared as a sweet form, rather than as a savory one. Samosas are often served in chaat, along with the traditional accompaniments of either chick pea or white pea preparation, garnished with yogurt, tamarind and green chutney, chopped onions, coriander, and chaat masala
In Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttra Pradesh, Biha and Uttarkhand  , a bigger version of the samosa with a spicy filling of masala potatoes, peas, crushed green chillies, cheese, and even dried fruits, as well as other variations, is quite popular. This samosa is bigger compared to other Indian and foreign variants.
In Odisha, West Bengal, andJharkhand,  shingadas (the East Indian version of samosas) are popular snacks. They are found almost everywhere. They are a bit smaller compared to those in other parts of India, and the filling mainly consists of boiled and diced potato, along with of other ingredients. They are wrapped in a thin sheet of dough (made of all purpose flour) and fried. Good shingaras are distinguished by flaky textures, almost as if they are made with a savoury pie crust.

Usually, Samosas are deep-fried to a golden brown colour in vegetable oil. They are served hot and consumed with ketchup or chutney, such as mint, coriander, or tamarind, or are served in chaat, along with the traditional accompaniments of yogurt, chutney, chopped onions, coriander, and chaat masala. Usually, shingaras are eaten at tea time as a snack. They can also be prepared in a sweet form, rather than as a savoury one. Bengali shingaras tend to be triangular, filled with potato, peas, onions, diced almonds, or other vegetables, and are more heavily fried and crunchier than either shingara or their Indian samosa cousins. Fulkopir shingara (shingara filled with cauliflower mixture) is another very popular variation. In Bengal, there are non-vegetarian varieties of shingara called mangsher shingara (mutton shingara) and macher shingara (fish shingara). There are also sweeter versions, such as narkel er shingara (coconut shingara), as well as others filled with Khoya and dipped in sugar syrup.

In Hyderabad, a smaller version of the samosa with a thicker pastry crust and mince-meat filling, referred to as lukhmi, is consumed, as is another variation with an onion filling.
In the states of Andra Pradesh, Karnatak, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, samosas are slightly different, in that they are folded in a different way, much more like Portuguese chamuças, with a different style pastry. The filling also differs, typically featuring mashed potatoes with spices, fried onions, peas, carrots, cabbage, curry leaves, green chillies, etc. It is mostly eaten without chutney. Samosas in South India are made in different sizes, and fillings are greatly influenced by the local food habits. It can include many variety of fillings, such as meats and vegetables.

Alright, alright, enough of this and now to my recipe.  This recipe yields 16 medium size samosas. Takes little long to make due to slow frying time (you can bake them or air fry them too but I haven't tried that yet).  Again just like Kachori you need lot of patience but believe me it is worth it.

Ingredients for filling: 

• 6 medium size potatoes boiled and peeled
• 2 cups of frozen peas thawed and cooked
• 1 Jalapeno pepper or two Serrano pepper chopped
• 5 cloves of Garlic chopped
• 1" piece of ginger root grated (I did not use ginger)
• 1/3 cup of fresh Cilantro chopped

*I will list the spices for tempering the filling separately.

Ingredients for dough:

• 2 cup of all purpose flour (Maida)
• 1/2 cup of Durum chapati flour (wheat flour)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of crushed caraway seeds (Ajwain)
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of water 
• 1 teaspoon of oil to coat the dough 
• Of course you will need vegetable oil of frying

Spices and other Ingredients for filling: 

• 3  tablespoon of oil
• 1 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon of asfoetida (hing)
• 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon powdered cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon of Garam masala (all spice)
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon of coarsely ground black pepper
• 1and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of mango powder (Amchoor)

Method to make dough:

• Mix both the flours (AP and Durum), salt and crushed caraway seeds in bowl.
• Add oil and mix and rub the flour with oil with palms of your hand until oil is well incorporated.
• Gradually add water and kneed the dough.
• Coat it with 1 teaspoon of oil  cover and set aside, while you prepare the filling.

Method to make the filling: 

• Chop the boiled potatoes in small cubes and then crush them with potato masher (not to smooth consistency, leave some chunks)
• Cook the peas as per instruction of frozen pack.
• Heat 3 tablespoon of oil in a wok like frying pan.
• When oil is heated, add cumin seeds, when these crackle, add asfoetida and right away add chopped green chilies, garlic and grated ginger.
• Saute for 1 min and add all the spices excepts salt and mango powder.
• Saute for few seconds and add cooked peas.

• Mix well and smash the peas a little with the spoon, cook for few seconds.
• Add semi mashed potatoes and mix well.
• Add salt and mango powder and mix well.
• Turn the heat off and add chopped fresh cilantro and mix well.
• Let the filling cool and then divide it in to 16 golf ball size ball.

 

• Method how to fill Samosas:

If you wish you can fill all the samosas first and then do the frying or you can heat the oil simultaneously and deep fry the samosa as you make the, but be sure to heat the oil only and between medium to low heat and once heated then only put he prepared samosa in the oil but do not raise the heat, I usually only fry 3-4 samosa at time and each batch takes good 15 min to fry until golden brown. If you are making these for the first time, I would suggest prepare all the filled samosas first and then do the frying.

• Divide the dough into round portions.
• Take each portion and coat it with some flour so that it does not stick to your hands or on the rolling stone and pin.
• On the rolling stone and with rolling pin (chakla and belan) roll it into a not too thin  ~ 8" round.
• With a pizza cutter or knife, make 2 semi circles with the round.
•  Dip your index finger into the cold water and apply it to the straight edge and  semi circle edge.
• Now hold the one semicircle in your hand.
• Fold the straight edge, bringing together the watered edges.
• Seal the watered edges.
• You should now have a small triangular dough pocket cupped by your one hand.
• With other hand stuff it with the potato/peas balls and now water-seal the upper edges.
• If you desire you twist the edges like I did.
• Repeat for the rest of the dough.
• Place the stuffed samosa on parchment paper and cover with slightly wet cloth.

Method to fry samosa: 

• Take oil for frying in a frying pan.
• Heat the oil of stove on setting between medium and low, it might take a  while for oil to heat. 
• DONOT turn the heat up during entire frying process.
• Once oil is heated, gently drop the samosa in heated oil and deep fry on this setting between medium and low.
• Turn the samosa over, until both sides are golden brown.

• Take them out of oil and place them on layers of paper towel for extra oil to be soaked by paper towels. 
• Repeat the process.

• Serve hot with Mint/Cilantro chutney and tamarind chutney.
• You can even eat them plain or with ketchup or any spicy/sweet sauce of your choice.

Source of information on Samosa and picture of Medieval Indian manuscript Nimmathama-i-Nasiruddin Shah (circa 16th century) showing samosas being served.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samosa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License

Recipe and All of the rest of photographs by Surekha.