Guest Blogger: Samosas!!!

Several of our SS2 members have been asking for Indian recipes, so here goes. I’m not an expert by any means.  I call my mom at least once a week now asking questions like “What exactly is that green stuff you put in our food?” or, “How long does it really take to make dhal?  Two hours?  Three hours?”  

It never takes three hours and that green stuff is spinach and other greens.  There is no secret to making Indian food like I always thought.  

My mom would spend hours in the kitchen while growing up, talking on the phone, slaving away on the hot stove.  What she spent most of her time doing was just talking on the phone and just taking her time cooking.  

I learned this last night when I spent three hours making samosas at Kristi’s house chatting it up with my hostess and our fellow secret sister Chelsea.

The cooking and the samosas fit perfectly into the scenario.  I was taking my time, cooking while chatting, and making a food traditionally eaten at social gatherings or used as a quick snack.  I grew up getting five of these for $1 in Toronto.  So I assume they cannot be too hard to make, right?

I did the research by looking up a recipe by Sanjeev Kapoor and calling my parents.  Sanjeev Kapoor is a well known Indian chef.  You can easily find the video at Sanjeev Kapoor Punjabi Samosa

The samosas can be filled with literally anything.  Paneer, chicken, beef, etc, etc.  I chose to make the classic Punjabi samosas, the part of India my family is from, and because I am vegetarian.  

The recipes are almost always the same.  I used his because it was super easy to follow but after speaking to my parents I made a few alterations.  

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

4 tbls of oils (more if needed)

1 tsp anise

1 in of ginger minced

5 small boiled and mashed

1 ½ tsp amchur (mango powder)

1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)

1 tsp of coriander powder

1 tsp graham masala

1 tsp anardha (pomegranate seeds, dried)

1 tsp coriander whole

Peas (if you want)

Salt to taste

1. Pour in the oil and anise seeds into the flour.  Add enough water to make more of hard dough.  Used just enough water, pouring in slowly, and mixing until you have a nice hard and round ball.  Make sure it is not too dry as that can cause the samosa to be too hard once fried.  (We learned that the hard way)  
2. Once it is done place it in a bowl and cover with a wet paper towel or cloth for about 15 mins.  
3. While the dough is sitting set up your potatoes.  In a pan, on a low setting, pour in another tablespoon of oil and let it heat up.  Add your minced ginger
4. Once the ginger seems just a little brown, careful not to let it burn, add your potatoes and mix it all well.  Add your amchur, chili, and graham masala at once and mix it up.  
5. Let the potatoes cook on the low heat while you take your anaphase seeds and whole coriander and crush them.  You can use literally anything.  I used a rolling pin but you can use your kid’s toy truck wheels if you want to.  Be creative.  
6. Once the spices are crushed roast them slightly on low heat for maybe a minute.  Not too long or they were easily burn.  We don’t want that.
7. Add them to your potatoes!
8. Add your peas!  As much as you want.  I used about half a cup.  Mixed them in well and your potatoes are ready to go!
9. This is where life gets tricky.  Go back to your dough.  Take a large size, about the size of a lemon and knead it in your hands for a minute to get the elasticity going.  
10. Roll out the dough to the shape of an oval.  Long enough, about 12 inches, and then cut it half horizontally in the middle.  
11. Take one half and carefully wet the straight edge with water and join the two corners together so you have a cone.
12. Fill the dough with the potatoes.
13. Wet the rounded edge of the dough and close it up.  You’ll be left with a triangle looking thing.  
14. Once you have made all of your samosas it’s time to fry!
15. It is best to fry them in low temperature oil for only three to five minutes until they start to show a little color, about five minutes, and then turn the heat up to medium to make the dough brown and flakey.  There are so many methods of frying.  There is no definite time.  You have to follow your sense on this and watch them carefully.  Others suggest frying them on high temperature first to brown them and then lowering the oil temperature to low in order to finish cooking the inside.  

Ask me questions!  I sure asked my parents a lot and did plenty of research and still need to perfect.  My mother suggested adding a tsp. of making powder to the dough in order to make it more crispy (no idea how that works) or adding more oil according to my father.  

Poonam