Punjabi Samosas

Punjabi Samosas

Makes 8 Samosas

Ingredients 

A. Ingredients For The Dough

1. All purpose flour/maida 2 cups 

2. Ajwain/carom seeds 1 tsp

3. Ice cold water 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp

4. Oil 5 tbsp for kneading the dough 

5. Salt to taste 

6. Oil for deep frying 

B. Ingredients For The stuffing 

1. Potatoes 3 medium sized 

2. Peas 1/2 cup

3. Ginger crushed 1 tsp

4. Green chillies finely chopped 2 small

5. Chilli powder 1/2 tsp

6. Cashews 5 chopped

7. Raisins 10 chopped

8. Coriander leaves for garnish 2-3 sprigs 

9. Coriander powder 1 tsp

10. Hing/asafoetida a pinch

11. Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp

12. Fennel seeds 1 tsp

13. Aamchur powder 1/2 - 3/4 tsp

14. Garam masala 1/2 tsp

15. Salt to taste 

16. Oil 2 tbsp

Method Of Preparation

A. Method Of Preparation Of Dough

1. In a bowl, add maida, salt & oil. You need to add enough oil to coat the flour & you should be able to hold the flour together & at the same time it should crumble easily when broken. If your not able to hold the flour together, then add more oil.

2. Now add cold water(little at a time) & keep kneading to bring the dough together each time you add water.

3. After you finish adding all the water, knead the dough for about 5 minutes to form a firm dough. The dough is not going to be elastic or soft.

4. Cover the dough with a damp cloth & let the dough rest for 40 minutes.

B. Method Of Preparation Of The Stuffing

1. Boil the potatoes using a pressure cooker. The potatoes need to be boiled well, at the same time they need to remain firm. When the potatoes are cooled, mash them. Do not mash them fine. There needs to be a few bite size pieces.

2. Boil the peas & keep it aside in a bowl.

3. Add oil in a pan. When the oil gets hot, add hing, cumin seeds & fennel seeds. Now add the ginger paste & finely chopped green chillies.

4. After sautéing the above ingredients well add the potatoes & mix well. Add chilli powder, coriander powder & salt. Mix thoroughly & then add the green peas. Mix everything together & turn off the gas. Now add the cashews & raisins & coriander leaves & mix well. Let the mixture cool.

How To Make Perfect Samosas

1. Take the dough & divide it into balls of equal size.

2. Take a ball & flatten it & roll it into a disc that is neither too thick nor too thin.

3. Using a knife, cut the disc in the center into two.

4. Now u have a semi-circle. On the straight end of the semi-circle, apply some water using your finger tips.

5. Now bring the two ends of the straight side together(one side overlapping the other) & seal the edges tight. Pinch the tip (top) in order to seal it well.

6. Now it forms a cone. Take some stuffing & fill in the cone. Press it well so that it stays in.

7. Now again apply water on the edges of the cone(all around the cone) in order to seal the samosas well. 

8. Bring the two sides together(bring the side without seam over the side with the seam & close the cone) & starting from one end, seal the cone nicely. 

9. Now, using ur hand, make a bend at the bottom(see the picture) & bend the samosas a little. This helps to make your samosa stand in upright position.

10. Let the samosas rest for 15 minutes before frying.

11. Heat a pan with oil. When the oil is nice & hot, drop a samosa gently into the oil & immediately lower the flame. 

12. Fry the samosas on a medium-low flame for a long time or till it becomes golden brown in color.

13. Drain them onto paper towels.

14. Serve hot with tamarind-dates chutney/green chutney/tomato ketchup.

Notes

1. If you don't want to deep fry the samosas, you may bake them at 350 F for 35 minutes. 

2. Do not add a lot of water to the dough. Adding a lot of water does not give you crumbly & flaky samosa. There will be a lot of air bubbles on the samosa & will not be flaky when you add a lot of water to the dough.

3. Fry the samosas in deep bottomed kadai/pan. If your kadai is big enough, then you can get all the samosas at a time. Always fry them on a medium-low flame & never on a high flame. Again if you get on a very low flame, your samosas will become soggy & soft.

4. You can adjust the quantity of spices as per your liking.

5. The dough shouldn't be soft like chappati dough. It needs to be firm. Before letting the dough rest it will not be stretchy but after 40 minutes, you will find the dough stretchy.

6. Follow the above steps & I'm sure you will be able to make the best samosas with a very yummy stuffing :-)