Samosas need no introduction!! Samosas are one of the most popular Indian street food delicacies. These triangular shaped flaky, fried, savory pastries are popular worldwide. They are stuffed with this amazing spiced potato filling that is oh so flavorful thanks to coriander seeds (crushed), anardana powder (dried pomegranate seeds), garam masala (spicepowder) and amchur (dried green mango powder). Serve them with some home made cilantro chutney for dipping.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr10 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: best indian samosa recipe, classic samosa recipe, how to make samosa, Indian recipes, Indian samosa recipe, Indian snacks, Indian street food, punjabi samosa recipe, samosa recipe, samosas, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 16
Calories: 200kcal
Author: Jyoti Sawant
Equipment
Large bowl for making dough
Sauce Pot for Boiling Potatoes
Saute Pan for making stuffing/filling
Cheese cloth or Kitchen Towel
Rolling pin and board to roll discs
Wok for frying
Ingredients
For Dough
2 cupsAll-purpose flour (350 grams approx)
4+1tbspVegetable oil
1tspnCarom seeds (ajwain)
1/2cupWater
For Filling
2tbspoil
1tspncumin seeds (jeera)
1/2tspnfennel seeds (saunf)
1tspncoriander seeds (dhaniye ke beej), crushed
1/4tspnasafetida powder (hing powder)
1mediumgreen chili, finely chopped
3/4cupgreen peas, fresh or frozen
1tspngaram masala
1/2tspnred chili powder/ Cayyanne powder or per taste
5mediumpotatoes, I have used Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes Keep them in water to prevent oxidation
2tbspsalt, or per tatse
1/2tspnpomegranate seeds
1/2tspndry mango powder (amchur)
1tablespooncilantro, finely chopped
For Frying
8cups (approx)Oil for deep frying
Instructions
Make the Dough for Samosa
Step 1: Add dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl add flour, carom seeds (ajwain), salt, and combine well.Step 2: Add oil: Add the 5 tablespoons of oil to flour mixture. Now start mixing it with your hands. Rub the flour with the oil until the oilis well incorporated in all of the flour. Do this for about minutes, you don'twant to rush this step. Once incorporated, the mixture will be crumbly. Press some flour between your palm- it should form a shape which means the oil is well incorporated.Step 3: Add water to form dough: Now, start adding water, little by little, and knead to form a stiff dough. Don't overwork the dough and don't knead into a softdough. It should just come together and form a stiff dough. I used about ½ a cupof water. Step 4: Let the dough rest: Cover the dough with a wet cheese cloth clean or wet kitchen towel and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes. While the dough is resting let us start working on the filling.
Make the Filling for Samosa
Step 1: Boil Potatoes: Boil potatoes until done. In case you are usinga regular pot boil the potatoes for about 20 to 30 minutes until fork tender. Once done, let them cool and then peel the skin. (If using a stovetop pressure cooker about 8 to 9 whistles on medium-high heat until they are soft. If using Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, press Manual/ Pressure Cook button and cook for on high pressure 10 minutes with natural pressure release on a trivet with 1 cup water in the bottom of the pot.) Step 2: Crumble potatoes: To mash the potatoes the best way is to use your hands, just crumble the potatoes using your hands as this gives the potatoes the best texture needed for the filling. If using apotato masher do not mash it up as you would for mashed potatoes, just roughly mash it. Set it aside.Step 3: Heat oil and add whole spices: In a heavy bottom, wok or saute pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil on high medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and crushed coriander seeds. Let the seeds sizzle for a few seconds. Step 4: Add other spices and peas: Now add asafetida powder (hing), garam masala,red chili powder, chopped green chilies, green peas, and salt sauté. Mix to combine. Step 4: Add Boiled Potatoes: Now add the crumbled boiled potatoes to the wok/ pan. Combine everything. Add pomegranate seeds (anardana), mango powder (amchur), garam masala, red chili powder, and salt. Step 4: Combine well: Add cilantro, and combine everything. Once it's all well incorporated, remove the wok/ pan from heat and let the filling cool down a bit.
Shape the Samosas
Step 1: Knead the dough and divide: After about 20 to 30 minutes of the dough resting, knead it once again. Give the dough a quick knead, don’t over knead it, just about a minute. Now divide thedough into 8 equal parts. One part will make two samosas so we will have 16 samosas. Start working on one piece of dough at a time. Keep the remaining dough balls covered at all times with a moist cheesecloth or else thedough will dry out. Step 2: Roll each ball of dough into a slight oval shape: Use that 1 teaspoon of oil now and apply little at a time on the palms of your hand and the rolling pin. Do not apply any four to roll the dough. Roll out one portion of the dough into a slight oval shape. Step 3: Cut Vertically: Cut the oval vertically into 2 equal portions. Work on one part at a time.Step 4: Apply water on one part of the cut side: Pick one corner of the cut edge and bring it to the center. Apply water on the straight edge/side that is folded in. Step 5: Apply water on the other part of the cut side: Apply water on the other straight-cut side. Step 6: Bring the other side of the center: Pick the other corner of the cut edge and bring it on top of the other edge to make a cone shape. Press the edges to seal them.Step 7: Shape the cone: Open and hold the cone shape in your hand. Make sure to pinch the side edges and thepoint of the cone well. You should have a sturdy, perfect cone-shaped outer casing. Step 8: Fill the cone: Fill the samosa with the potato filling, around 1 to 2 tablespoons. Don't overfill the samosa or the dough will break. Step 9: Apply water to the lip: Apply water all around the circumference/ lip of the cone as you have to seal it. Step 10: Closethe Lip: Make a small fold on the lip, the side opposite to the closed edges (see the picture above). This helps in the shape of the samosas (if it seems hard just skip it). Bring the edges of the lip together and seal the samosa. Bring the edges of thelip together and seal the samosa. If you are feeling too creative you can shapethe edges in your own style.Step 11: Samosas are ready for frying: You should be able to place the samosa standing up. Your samosa is now ready to fry. Repeat the same process with remaining dough. Always remember to keep the filled samosa covered with a moist cheesecloth while you roll and fill the others. You will get 16 large samosas.
Fry Samosas
Step 1: Heat oil: Heat oil in a wok on low heat about 250 to 300 F. To check if the oil is ready, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. It should take a few seconds to come up to the surface, which means the oil is ready. If it comes up immediately then the oil is too hot, reduce the heat a little.Step 2: Put samosas in oil on low heat: Drop the shaped samosas into the oil. Put only 4 to 5 samosas at a time. Don't overcrowd the wok. Step 3: Fry samosa on low heat: Fry the samosas on low heat. After around 10-12 minutes, the samosa will become firm and light brown.Step 4: Fry samosas on medium heat: At this point, increase the heat to medium and fry until it gets nicely browned. Each batch willtake around 20 minutes since we fry on low heat so be patient. Once you finish frying one batch, lower the heat again to low and wait until the temperature of the oil drops and then add the second batch. Step 4: Enjoy Hot Samosas: You will get about 16 large samosas. Enjoy hot samosas with cilantro chutney or sweet tamarind chutney!
Notes
About samosas:
The most important thing to remember is to not fry the samosas on high heat, as they will brown to fast and won't get cooked through and the dough will remain uncooked.
Also on high heat, the samosas will form bubbles on the crust if your oil is too hot while frying the samosas.
This recipe makes 16 large samosas. You can make more or less depending on the size you prefer.
Where to find Ingredients:
Any Indian grocery store will most definitely have all these ingredients but most of the ingredients that I have mentioned. In case you can't find an Indian grocery store I have given links above where you can find them online.
Drink Pairing:Chai! Chai! and Chai! I can't stress enough. Good masala chai is the best way to enjoy these delicious samosas.