Samosas

It was a rainy Saturday evening and it bugged me that we had to stay indoors and that too on a weekend. Especially having an 8 month old and not taking her out was something i definitely hated. After enjoying the awesome weather in California , NJ was definitely a no-no to me. But my hubby's job demanded the move and here i am. 

I have always loved samosas from my childhood and there has never been a day when i have asked for it and my dad said "NO" :). I wanted to make it but i kept thinking that its a tedious process and did not want to get involved in it. But this rainy evening increased my craving for samosas with hot Chai and so i decided let me try my hands on it. So there i was blog hunting. I searched a couple of blogs and came up with a combination for the filling that would satisfy my taste buds :).

So what exactly is a Samosa ???? This is in case anyone who is not Indian chances upon my blog :).

Samosa generally consists of a fried or baked triangular shell with a savory filling which may include spiced potatoes, onion, peas, coriander, andlentils. The size and shape of a samosa as well as the consistency of the patty used can vary considerably, although it is mostly triangular. Samosas are often served with imli chutney or curd.

Ingredients :

For the shell :

1cup all purpose flour

salt to taste

little oil

water ( enough to knead the dough)

ajwain is generally added to the dough but i don't prefer it .

oil for frying

For the filling :

2 medium sized potatoes - boiled and crumbled

1/2 cup boiled green peas 

1 small sized onion

1tsp ginger garlic paste

2 green chillis

1/2 tsp red chilli powder ( you may skip the chillis and increase this to 1 tsp)

a pinch of turmeric

1/4 tsp garam masala

salt to taste

chopped corainder leaves

1/4 tsp cumin seeds.

ghee for frying ( i always add ghee , but this can be substituted with oil)

So how do we go about it?????

Mix the all purpose flour with salt and oil. To this add water slowly to make a dough. Do not add to much water as then the dough would not be firm and that makes it difficult to knead.

Sprinkle some water slighlty on the mixed dough and leave it covered for 30 mins.

In the meantime , add ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds and when this splutters add onion and green chillies. Fry onion till it turns translucent. To this add g&g paste and fry till the raw odor is gone.

Now add the cooked peas and  fry for a min or two. To this add the crumbled potatoes and mix all together. Fry for a min.

Now add the dry powders and salt and fry for a few mins. Add the chopped coriander leaves and remove.

Make small sized balls of the dough. Roll it flat as you would roll a chappati. Cut the rolled out dough into 2 halves.

Take one half and form a cone out of it.Seal the point where the two ends meet. Hold the cone between your fingers and add the filling. Wet your finger and run it along the end and seal the cone.

Add enough oil in a kadai or pan and fry the samsosas. Remove once they turn golden.

Hot samosas are now ready to serve with tomato ketchup , green chutney or any other combination you may like. 

I had my garma garam samosas with tomato ketchup and cup of hot chai :)