Samosa is a fried or baked pastry (snacks) made from flour with a salty or spicy filling such as spiced potatoes, onions, cheese, peas, beef or other meats. It may take a different form but it always includes cone, triangular or half-moon shapes, depending on how you want it.
Some people call it samusa while others call it samoosa.
So in today’s article, I will show you how to make a perfect flaky and crispy samosa at home. For me, a good samosa should be crispy and most importantly it should not be oily. Making samosa is a multi-step process so I am not going to say it’s super quick and easy but the joy of biting your delicious homemade flaky crispy crust filled with spicy potatoes makes it worth it. This is one of the special treats you should give to yourself on special occasions.
I am super excited to share with you my broad knowledge on Samosa making, so let's jump right into it.
Here are tips on how to make a perfect Samosa
1.Mixing the oil with flour to incorporate by doing so, you will rub the oil and flour together for 3-4 minutes
2.Do not overwork the dough because if you do the samosa will be hard
3.A soft dough won’t give you a crispy samosa so your dough should be stiff
4.Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes
5.Roll out the dough evenly and roll it thin but don’t roll it super thin else the dough will tear apart when you fill it.
6.Do not use any flour while rolling the samosa, you can apply little oil on your rolling pin.
7.Fry the samosa on a low heat that way they will turn crisp.
Below are the list of ingredients for your samosa dough
1.2cups of flour
2.1teaspoon of carom seeds
3.1/4teaspoon of salt
4.4 tablespoons and 1teaspoon of oil
5.Water to knead the dough around 6 tablespoons
Ingredients for Samosa filling:
1.3-4 medium potatoes
2. 2tablespoons oil
3.2 teaspoons of crushed coriander seeds
4.1teaspoon of finely chopped ginger
5.1 green chilli pepper chopped
6.1/2 cup of green peas
7.1teaspoon of coriander powder
8.1/4 teaspoon of red chilli pepper
9.3/4 teaspoon of salt
10.1/2 dried mango powder
How to make samosa dough
1.Start by adding the flour, carom seeds and salt in a large bowl and mix well.
2.Add the oil and start mixing properly with your fingers. Rub the flour with the oil until the oil is well incorporated in all of the flour. Do this about 3-4 minutes, you don’t have to rush this step. Once incorporated, the mixture resembles crumbs.
3.Press some flour between your palms, it will make a shape this means oil is enough and well incorporated. Now start adding water little by little and mix to form a stiff dough. Dont overwork the dough and don’t knead a soft dough, it should just come together and form a stiff dough. I used 6 tablespoons of water only
4.Cover the dough with a moist cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting start working on the filling.
How to make the potato filling:
1.Boil potatoes until it's sweet, peel the skin and mash the potatoes and set aside.
2.Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium heat. once the oil is hot, add the crushed coriander seeds and let the seeds sizzle for few seconds then add the chopped ginger, green chilli pepper, cook for a minute.
3.Add the boiled and mashed potatoes and green peas to the pan. Mix everything together.
4.Add the coriander powder, dried mango powder, red chilli pepper and salt.mix to combine, once it is well-incorporated remove the pan from heat and let the filling cool down.
How to shape your samosa and fry:
1.Once the dough has rested, give it a quick knead then divide it into 7 equals. Start working on a piece, keep the others covered else the dough will dry out.
2.Roll out one dough ball into a circle shape then cut it into two parts. take one part and apply water on the straight edge, you can mix some flour to the water so that it forms a nice glue. Now bring the two edges of the straight line together and pinch them to form a cone shape.
3.Fill the samosa with the potato filling, use about 1-2 tablespoons. Don’t overfill the samosa. then apply water around the circumference of the cone as you have to seal it.
4.Your samosa is now ready.repeat the same process on the remaining dough.
5.Now heat oil on low heat, to check if the oil is hot enough to fry, drop a small piece of dough into the oil it should take a few seconds to come up to the surface. That means the oil is ready. Drop your shaped samosas into the oil.
6.Fry on low heat about 9-13 minutes, the samosa will become firm and golden brown in colour at this point increase the heat from low to medium and fry until it becomes nicely browned.
7.Once you’re done frying one batch, lower the heat again and wait for the temperature of the oil to drop then add the second batch.
Very important, Always remember to fry your samosas on a low heat because if you fry on high heat temperature, they will not get crispy and the dough will remain uncooked.
Don’t overload the pan with the samosa, you can fry 4 for each batch
Written by: Ogar Shile Matilda N.also known as Primeness
