Baked Samosas

My favorite of all Indian festivals - Diwali - is just around the corner. Yay!  Diwali is a time for family, friends, hope and new beginnings. Every year, when we were kids, we had a massive Diwali party a couple of nights before the actual day of Diwali. We put on some good shows that we still laugh about - dances, skits, parodies, musicals - the list is endless. We wore some horrifying outfits (the joys of growing up in India in the 90's) that still keep coming back to haunt us on Facebook. We put on our first saris, wore our first high heels, giggled and blushed at our first crushes. We roamed carefree around the neighborhood with sounds of fireworks all around us. Diwali is also a time for 'taash' (poker) and food! The night of the big party was my dad's annual taash event - it was an all night poker event - no kids allowed! 

Food coma was an essential part of Diwali. No matter whose house we visited, the "aunties" there stuffed our faces with sweet and savory treats that they had prepared tirelessly for days on end. I hope to continue this beautiful tradition. Though I don't know how to  make some of the traditional Diwali treats, I am determined to learn. 

I haven't made samosas before but I have eaten more than my share of them. I know exactly how I like them - not too spicy with the potato pieces intact, i.e not boiled and mashed. A bit of experimentation resulted in a pretty delicious, guilt free treat that was no too difficult to make after all.

Yield - Makes 10 Samosas

Time - 2 Hours

Ingredients

2.5 Cups All Purpose Flour

5 Tablespoons Cooking Oil

2 Medium Potatoes

1 Cup Frozen Peas

1/2 Teaspoon Carom Seeds

3/4 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1/2 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds

1/4 Teaspoon Nigella Seeds

Asafetida, a dash

1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Coriander Powder

1 Teaspoon Amchur (dry mango) Powder

Salt

1 Cup Water

Method

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour along with 4 tablespoons of oil, carom seeds and salt to taste. Add enough water to knead to a smooth dough - about half a cup, more or less as needed. Knead the dough till it bounces back when you poke a finger at it.

(I forgot to add the carom seeds until after I had started kneading already! I just added it and kept kneading and all was right in the world)

Chop the potatoes in small even pieces. 

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin, fennel and nigella seeds and wait for them to start crackling. Add turmeric and red chili powder and stir it in for a second or two and add in the chopped potatoes. Stir to coat the potatoes in the spices. Add the coriander powder, amchur powder and salt. Stir it one more time. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover and cook till the potatoes are soft about 15 minutes.

Add the frozen peas, stir and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Now back to the dough. Cut the dough in 10 even balls. Roll each one out to a circle (approximately 6 - 7 inch diameter). Cut it in half.

Fold the semi-circle along the cut side, press in the edge - in the shape of a cone. Stuff this with about 2 -3 tablespoons of the stuffing (depending on the size of your semi-circle). Leave a bit of room to fold the samosas in. Pinch together about half an inch of the dough from the opposite side of the sealed edge and fold it in. Tuck in the edges together and seal it all in. 

Sit the samosas upright in a greased baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 250 C. Bake for 15 minutes and turn the samosas around to evenly cook on sides and bake for another 10 minutes, taking care not to burn them (all ovens tend to do their own thing!) 

Enjoy!

2 comments LABELS: Appetizers, Indian, Snack, Vegan, Vegetarian