Vegetable Samosa (pyramid-shaped pastries)

Vegetable Samosas

Samosas are probably the most popular appetizer and are often served. This recipe is for traditional recipes for light lunch and even breakfast.  It is similar to fried pastries with spicy potato boiled stuff inside crispy flour dough served with spicy chutney. A variant of non vegetarian recipes are prepared with the filling with non vegetarian stuffs. Now we are preparing for vegetarian Samosa with mixed vegetable.

Preparation time: 30-45 minutes

Makes 8 samosas.

Ingredients

Filling:

• 4 medium sized potatoes (about 2 cups)
• 2 cups mixed vegetable (carrots, fresh green peas, cauliflower especially)
• 1 handful cilantro, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoonful turmeric
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoonful oil
• ½ teaspoon cayenne

Dough:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• ½ Sooji flour (Semolina flour)
• ¼ cup safflower oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup luke warm water

Method of preparation

Filling:

• Heat the oil in frying pan and add the cumin seeds.
• Then add coriander powder, green chillis and stir for few seconds.
• Add green peas stir it well until tender.
• Wash the  potatoes and vegetables and chop very finely. Cook with a small amount of water until just tender.
• Add the cilantro, turmeric, salt and mix well according to taste  and let filling cool to room temperature.

Dough:

• Mix the flour and salt together in a shallow dish.
• Heat the ¼ cup safflower oil until a speck of flour sizzles in it.
• Make a bowl or depression in the flour. Pour the hot oil into the flour .
• Carefully mix well with your hands.
• Now add the water, a few spoonfuls at a time, mixing and kneading with your hands until the dough is thick, smooth and not sticky.
• Cover the dough and set it aside for 20 minutes or so.

Assembling the samosa

• Break off a walnut sized piece of the dough and make it into a ball. Roll this out on a lightly floured board until it is a circle. 4-5 inches across and about 1/8 thick.
• Place about 2 teaspoons of the cooled filling in the centre of the circle. Now cover the filling by folding over the edges, one third at a time. To create a triangular shape. Pinch all the edges, one third at a time. To create to be sticking, moisten them slightly with a bit of water or milk, then pinch. When all the samosas have been stuffed, begin to deep fry them. Heat the oil until a drop of dough sizzles to the surface. Place 1 or 2 samosa in the hot oil and deep fry them for about 4-5 minutes, turning them frequently until they are a soft goiden color.
• Drain on absorbent paper and serve with mint churney.

Benefits:

Kapha should eat these in moderations, because of the frying some qualities of potato vadha.

Suggestions:

1. Samosa can be prepared ahead of time and can be freeze for a month.
2. Before freezing fry them enough untill samosa changes the color to very light gold brown.
3. Keep Samosa are in room temperature, bag them in zip lock bags and freeze them.
4. To use frozen samosas take out as many you need and fry them on medium heat.