BAKED SAMOSA

May 04, 2018

BAKED SAMOSA

This is usually called the Bombay samosa. I love to have this with a nice cup of coffee. I am definitely not against frying , its just easier this way and baking ,saves more time!!!!! . I started out by making the crust with all-purpose flour , but it is much more easier to roll out a crust made with whole wheat flour. Now I make it only with whole wheat flour.

INGREDIENTS : The recipe for the whole wheat flour is towards the end of the post. The method remains the same.

For the samosa crust:

1 cup all purpose flour( I have used unbleached all- purpose four)
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water
a small bowl of water

For the filling:

3 medium sized potatoes , peeled and cubed
1 medium sized carrot, peeled and cubed
1/4 of a medium sized onion chopped
1 green chili chopped
1/4 cup frozen peas (completely optional , my kids don't like it , but I add it because they are nutritional)
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp garam masala
handful coriander leaves chopped
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp oil
salt to taste

METHOD

Preparing the dough:

Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add in the 2 Tbsp oil and rub the flour with the oil to form a bread crumb like texture.

Make a well in the center and pour the 1/4 cup water. I use my forefinger to twirl in the water , gradually mixing the flour working farther away from the center , to form a dough. Knead only till the dough comes together.

Keep covered with a damp towel for atleast 2 hours.

Making the filling:

I have used a prestige pressure pan junior for making this.

Heat the pan on medium high heat , when warm add 1 Tbsp oil , when the oil is hot, add the onions and chopped green chilies. Sauté till translucent.

Add in the spice powders , stir well and then add in the chopped potatoes , carrots, peas(if using) and coriander leaves. Stir well , add 1/4 cup water, close the lid , put the weight on the cooker and turn to medium high heat and cook on medium high heat till the pressure builds up in the cooker. That will take about 5 minutes. You will get the aroma of the spices roasting in the cooker.Keep a close watch , with just 1/4 cup of water there are good chances of the mixture getting burnt. As soon as the full pressure builds up , turn off the cooker.

Open the lid after the pressure is out or after 5 minutes , whichever is first. Don't take too long to open the lid otherwise the potatoes will be mushy by then. Add salt and mash the potatoes slightly leaving chunks here and there. Don't mash up the whole thing into a paste. Leave 3/4 of the mixture as chunks. Check for salt.

Keep aside to cool down.

Making the samosas:

Take the dough , make into a tube shape and then divide into balls.

On a floured chappathi board , roll out the dough into chappathi shapes.

Cut the chappathi into half along the center.

Keep a small bowl of water by the side and dipping your forefinger in the water , run your wet finger along the edges of each semi-circle.

Put a small amount of filling in each semi-circle.

Take one end of the semi-circle and bring it to the other side.

Take the other end to the opposite side.

Now we have a cone , seal the base of the cone by gently pressing along the edges. Sit up the samosa upright on its base, closing any open edges.

Do the same for the other semi-circle.

Transfer the samosas to a baking tray. (oil the tray if needed, my baking tray is almost like a non-sticky one after numerous uses).When you have made almost half of the samosas , pre-heat the oven to 400 degree F for 15 minutes.

Bake the samosa at 400 degree F for 10 minutes and then at 350 degree F for 10 minutes.

Enjoy while still warm.

NOTES

Stays crispy the day it is made .
I started out by making the crust with all-purpose flour but now I switched to whole wheat samosa crust. The method of making the crust is the same. I feel whole wheat dough is much easier to roll. These are the whole wheat samosas before and after baking.

The recipe for the whole wheat crust is :

1 cup whole wheat flour(can use multigrain flour too)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 + 1/8 tsp sugar(optional)
2 tbsp. oil
1/4 cup plus 2tbsp water

I love to eat samosas ,but making them in one stretch is very tiring . So I plan ahead and make things part by part at different times.
The filling can be made ahead and allowed to cool and stored in the refrigerator.
The chappathis can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator until ready to make the samosas. They won't stick together , since the flour is oiled.