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🇮🇳 Snack · India
Samosa
Crisp pastry cones of spiced potato, two-stage fried for a blistered shell, with tamarind and mint chutneys.
Fat = blistered shell
The amount of ghee is what gives samosa its biscuit crunch
Crush, don't mash
Forked coarse texture — never a smooth puree
Cone, then pleat
Half-circle → cone → tucked pleat = the signature side ridge
Two-stage frying
150°C for the blisters; 180°C for the colour
Ingredients 8 servings
- For the pastry: 300 g plain flour, 1 tsp ajwain (carom) seeds, ½ tsp salt, 60 ml ghee or neutral oil, 120 ml cold water
- For the filling: 500 g floury potatoes (Maris Piper or Russet), 100 g frozen peas, 2 tbsp neutral oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 green chilli minced, 2 cm piece of ginger minced
- 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala, ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder), 1 tsp salt
- A handful of fresh coriander, chopped
- About 1 L neutral oil for deep-frying
- To serve: tamarind chutney and mint-coriander chutney
How to make it
- 1Rub the ghee into the flour, ajwain and salt with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs — the amount of fat is what gives samosa pastry its blistered, biscuit-crisp shell — then add the cold water a tablespoon at a time, mixing into a stiff smooth dough (softer than chapati but firmer than bread dough) and rest it covered for 30 minutes.
- 2Boil the potatoes in their skins until just tender, drain, peel and crush coarsely with the back of a fork (you want texture, not mash); heat the oil in a wide pan, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle, then the ginger and green chilli for 30 seconds, stir in the dry spices and fry briefly, tip in the potato, peas, salt, amchur and coriander, and cook 4–5 minutes turning everything until the spices coat every piece — cool to room temperature before shaping.
- 3Divide the dough into 8 balls, roll one into a thin oval about 18 cm long and cut across the middle to make two half-circles; take one half, brush a thin line of water along the straight edge, and fold into a cone by bringing the two corners of the straight edge together so they overlap by 1 cm, pinching the seam tightly to seal.
- 4Hold the cone in one hand, fill it three-quarters with potato, then pleat the open edge by folding a small tuck on one side and sealing the rim shut with a damp finger — the tucked pleat creates the samosa's signature side ridge and helps it sit upright while cooking — and repeat with the rest.
- 5Heat the frying oil to 150°C (lower than you might expect, but the slow climb is what gives the shell its blisters), slip in the samosas in batches of 3 or 4 and fry 6–7 minutes turning gently until pale gold, then raise the heat to 180°C and fry another 3–4 minutes until deep golden and properly crisp, draining on a rack and serving hot with tamarind and mint chutneys.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Calories 280 kcal
Protein 6 g
Carbs 32 g
Fat 14 g
Fiber 3 g
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
🍚 Steamed basmati rice
🫓 Warm naan or roti
🥒 Cool cucumber raita
🥭 Mango chutney
