Punjabi samosa

One of the most famous snack or starter is Punjabi samosa. The traditional Punjabi samosa is large in size and is filled with mashed potato and few spices, sometimes you can see peas, cashew nut and raisins, the combination gives more flavour and the filling becomes tastier. The filling in the samosa can be of your choice. I used to have this Punjabi samosa in few places only where there were famous and served with two chutney (green or hari chutney and tamarind chutney), which were delicious.

To make crispy samosa, you need to use Maida (all-purpose flour), water, ajwain, salt and ghee or dalda or oil. The dough for the pastry I have made it with the scratch, I have used both ghee and oil or just ghee. If you want can use the ready-made samosa sheets which are available in the market, but it will not give the taste of homemade pastry, can try at least once. The filling can be made in advance and keep it aside but I have given you very simple and easy filling but tastes delicious. When I say deep fry means, it should be fried like deep fried.

Ingredients

  1. Maida (all-purpose flour) – 1 cup
  2. Ajwain (carom seeds) – 1/4 tsp or more
  3. Oil or ghee – 2 tbsp
  4. Oil (to apply on the palm) – 1 tsp
  5. Salt - as per taste
  6. Water – 70 ml or less
  7. Filling

  8. Potato – 300 gms
  9. Oil – 2 tbsp
  10. Saunf (aniseed) – 1/2 tsp
  11. Curry leaves (tear with hand) – 12 to 15
  12. Ginger (chopped) – 1/2 tsp
  13. Garam masala – 3/4  tsp
  14. Coriander and cumin (roasted, crushed) – 3/4 tsp
  15. Coriander leaves (chopped, optional) – few
  16. Salt - as per taste

Method

  1. For roasting coriander and cumin powder, I took coriander seeds 2tbsp and cumin seeds 1tbsp and roast on a dry pan, on a lower flame, until its aroma comes and is roasted well.
  2. Boil the potato, peel and mash it and keep it aside.
  3. Preheat the vessel with oil, when hot add, saunf, curry leaves, ginger and let it sizzle for 3 to 4sec.
  4. Add mashed potato and all the remaining spices, mix all at lower flame.
  5. Cook at the lower flame for 5 to 8min by closing the lid or can switch of immediately after mixing potato and the remaining spices.
  6. Dough

  7. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.
  8. Add ajwain (carom seeds) melted ghee (clarified butter) or oil or dalda and enough warm water (add water little by little) to make firm dough.
  9. Apply oil in your hands and knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and roll into a ball.
  10. Keep it aside for 1/2hr, by closing with a damp cloth.
  11. After 30minutes roll the dough again for 2 to 3 minutes.
  12. Divide the dough into equal lime-sized balls and roll out into a thin circle or oval shape.
  13. Brush each edge with a little water (optional), as the dough will be oily, can stick easily and form a cone shape around your fingers, sealing the dampened edge.
  14. Fill the cases with the potato masala and press the two dampened edges together to seal the top of the cone.
  15. After sealing the top cone, I always place top cone on surface and press lightly, to give that samosa shape, you can view in the picture.
  16. Place all the samosa in oil greased plate, so that it does not stick to the plate.
  17. Frying samosas

  18. When the oil is hot reduce to medium flame, adds a small piece of dough or a slice of onion, it sizzles and pops up soon. Let the flame be above lower and below medium in between.
  19. Try to cook the samosa in batches, as I have seen in the first batch the temperature of the oil will be high as you can see in the pictures that the samosa colour varies.
  20. As in the first batch I fried on medium, slowly fried but later I reduced the temperature to low not very low but still when you fry, the bubbles should be seen and the samosa was crispy and golden colour. But you can fry both in medium or low.
  21. Take out and drain on a kitchen paper. 7 to 8 small samosas came.
  22. Serve with tamarind sauce or mint chutney or tomato ketchup.

Notes

  1. You can add chilli powder, amchur powder, kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) , turmeric powder a pinch and few chopped coriander leaves in the potato filling.
  2. You can add few cashew nuts and raisins in the potato mixture by frying them with curry leaves.
  3. You can fry the samosas in medium or low heat but the oil should be hot and when samosas added, it should sizzle.
  4. With the same potato mixture you can make spring rolls also as shown in the picture.
  5. Apply oil to your hands and knead the dough it will not stick to your hands.