2002 and 2006 were very difficult years for me. During this time I found that nothing would relax my mind like going to the kitchen and preparing something. From a simple PB&J sandwich to a 22 ingredient delight – it was all the same to me, and most times by the end I would have a lighter heart and a yummy dish! This was one of my favorite offerings.
A Samosa is a South East Asian snack made of fried dough stuffed with either meat or vegetables. This wasn’t a family recipe , I learned from watching Vah Chef and I practiced until it all came out right and became a family recipe. It takes time and patience to make samosas from scratch, that’s why I only made them once in a while on very special occasions -but I used to enjoy doing it. It would take too much of my energy these days, but perhaps some careful planning, a good kitchen chair and canola can help bring these delicious snacks back. When it comes to the filling, certainly you could add or subtract as your family would prefer.
The old fashioned way
3 cups of flour
5 Tbls of Oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Water just enough to make a pliable dough (start at 1/2 cup)
1. Add salt and sugar to the flour. Add a little semolina if youd like. Mix well
2. Add oil to flour and combine until the flour resembles sand. There should be coarse grains. Take your time to mix this well. It is important to the recipe.
3. Add the water – I think a colder water would give you more of a shortbread, warmer will give an easier dough to work with. Knead the dough into a ball and let it rest for 15 – 30 mins.
Potato and Pea filling
1 or 2 potatoes
half of an onion
2 cloves garlic
1 small knob of ginger
Tiny piece of green chile pepper (optional)
1tbls garam masala
2 tbls curry powder
1tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp of salt (maybe less)
2 tbls green peas
Boil, cool and dice potatoes.
Finely chop garlic, onion and ginger and grind all together.
add to potatoes with about 2 tbls of oil let them meld for about 5 mins
Add remaining spices.
Roll, cut, fold and stuff dough
fry until golden!
Here is a video by another wonderful cook Manjula – she shows how to roll, cut, fold and fill the samosa dough. she is making cocktail samosas, but the assembly steps are still the same.
I adore samosas… one of my favorite things when my husband and I go out for Indian food. The lamb/pea ones? pure heaven. 🙂
Your dough recipe isn’t much different than the one I use to start pierogi by hand. Interesting…
Happy Friday!
Melissa
http://www.measi.net/measiblog/
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Melissa, it’s so true! During the time that I was doing all of my cooking, I was so surprised to see how many recipes from different cultures would be so similar. I started to believe then that we all have so much more in common that we give each other credit for. I love making pierogis too!
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oh I love Samosas! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
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I love them too Christy! Thanks for commenting on my blog!
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Sounds delish! I might just have to try these out this weekend! I’ve got all the ingredients! (and a little extra time!) Here from the 31 dayers group!
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Hi Heather! That’s so great if you will get to try Samosas. This is a link to Manjula, another fantastic cook, she shows very clearly how to roll, cut, fold and fill the dough. she uses peas alone. Ive never tried it, but my sister saw the peas samosa recipe and now she is interested! I do hope you get to make the samosas even if not this weekend!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLZRFpeRH0Q
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Looks delish!
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I first had samosas when I lived in South Africa, which has a large Indian population. So much deliciousness!! 🙂 These were one of the best things to get on the side of the road, and there were always interesting flavor options. Yum!!
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Wow, that sounds like an amazing experience Jen! I would love to have a samosa in South Africa! Thanks for stopping my my blog!
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