Indian · Snack · Hard
Samosa
Rome's most famous pasta. Silky egg and Pecorino sauce clinging to every strand, studded with crisp guanciale. No cream, ever.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Samosa, in 5 ideas
- The filling must be completely cool. Warm filling steams the dough from inside and makes it soggy. Make it first, then the dough.
- Stiff dough, not soft. If the dough is too soft, the samosas puff up like balloons instead of staying crisp and flat-sided.
- Seal the edges twice. Press, then press again. Any gap will open in the oil and the filling will escape.
- Ajwain is the signature flavor. Those tiny seeds give samosa pastry its distinctive taste. Do not substitute.
- They freeze beautifully. Freeze unfried on a tray, then bag. Fry straight from frozen at 300F, adding 2 minutes.
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for frying
- 1/2 cup cold water, approximately
- 3 medium potatoes, boiled and diced
- 1/2 cup green peas (thawed if frozen)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp amchur (dried mango powder) or lemon juice
- 1 green chile, minced
- 1/2 tsp grated ginger
- Salt, to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
How to make it
Directions
- Rub the flour, ajwain, salt, and 4 tablespoons of oil together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add cold water a splash at a time until a stiff dough forms. Knead 5 minutes, cover, and rest 30 minutes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil and crackle the cumin seeds for 30 seconds. Add the ginger and green chile, then the peas, coriander, garam masala, and amchur.
- Fold in the diced potatoes and salt. Cook 3 minutes, lightly mashing a few potatoes so the filling holds together. Stir in the cilantro. Cool completely.
- Divide the dough into 6 balls. Roll each into an oval about 6 inches long. Cut in half to make 12 half-moons.
- Form each half-moon into a cone: fold the straight edge into a triangle, overlapping slightly, and seal with a dab of water. Hold it like an ice cream cone.
- Fill each cone two-thirds full with the cooled potato mixture. Pinch the open edge shut firmly, pressing out any air.
- Heat oil to 300F (lower than you think). Fry the samosas in batches for 8 to 10 minutes until deep golden and blistered, turning occasionally.
- Drain on a wire rack. Serve hot with tamarind chutney and mint chutney.
Fry low and slow at 300F. Hot oil browns the outside before the dough cooks through, leaving raw floury patches. Patience gives you the blistered, shattering crust.