Hello! Hi everyone. Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to South Asian Indian cuisine with a shot at another classic Indian dish, which is a potato and vegetable samosa. For those unfamiliar, a samosa is a dish of south asian origin which most prominently features a buttered pastry dough that has been stuffed with a savory filling, then fried into a crispy, puffy delicious pastry. Those following along at this point may have noticed by now that, not unlike a dumpling, the concept of a stuffed, buttered pastry transcends MANY different food cultures, which makes sense, being that it is not a complicated concept. To my taste, the samosa has a lot of similarities to the Chinese jia li jiao, the Spanish empanada, the Jamaican meat pie, and many, many others.
What is particularly unique about the samosa, however, is that it is most often iconically stuffed with a potato based filling, sort of like a lumpy mashed potato mixed with dried spices and veggies, making for a wonderful, toothsome vegetarian filling. Finally to pair with this, we’re also going to assemble one of my very favorite sides to a fried samosa, which is a sweet and savory dipping sauce made from the reduction of tamarind paste, which, though only takes a few extra minutes to make, absolutely elevates this dish to the next level. Hope you try it.
Yields 12
INGREDIENTS (filling)
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp (about 1 inch) ginger
3 medium russet potatoes
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup rasins
peanut oil
fryer oil
INGREDIENTS (filling dry spices)
1 tbsp cumin seed
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp green chili powder
INGREDIENTS (dough)
1 1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) melted butter
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp carom seeds
pinch kosher salt
INGREDIENTS (tamarind sauce)
1/2 tsp green chili powder
1/2 tbsp ginger powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup tamarind paste
PREP
CRUSH and mince 4 cloves of garlic, set aside
MINCE ginger, set aside
ROUGH CHOP the potatoes, set aside
DESTEM the cilantro, then roll into a bunch and mince, set aside
COMBINE all filling dry spice ingredients, set aside
COMBINE all dough ingredients and kneed until a cohesive dough forms, then cover and rest for 30 minutes
COMBINE all tamarind sauce ingredients, set aside
ON THE STOVE
BOIL a pot of water, then add the potatoes and let boil for 5 minutes until fork tender
REMOVE the potatoes, then add to a mixing bowl and mash until lumpy
HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
ADD the garlic and ginger, then bloom for 15 seconds until fragrant
ADD the peas, cilantro, and raisins, then toss to combine
ADD the filling dry spice mixture, then toss for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and remove from heat
DIVIDE the dough into 12 equal pieces, then form into a coin shape with your hands
ROLL the dough into 4 inch diameter, then fold into a cone shape and seal the edges
ADD 1 1/2 tbsp filling, then fold the top shut to form a triangle shape
ADD the samosas for 350F fryer, and fry for 5 minutes until golden brown
REMOVE the fryer oil, reheat the wok over medium heat, and add the tamarind sauce mixture
LET reduce for 5-7 minutes until a thick syrup texture forms, then remove from heat
SERVE samosas with a side of tamarind sauce