Samosa

Boil potatoes just until done without making mushy

You can either boil them in a steamer, pot or a cooker

(refer notes) Crumble them, do not mash them up

Set aside

Make samosa dough (or use frozen puff pastry sheets) Mix together flour, carom seeds, salt and oil in a mixing bowl

Rub the flour well for 2 to 3 mins in between the palms to incorporate the oil or ghee well

Take handful of flour and press down with your fingers

It must hold shape and not crumble

Add water little by little and mix the flour to form a stiff dough

It should be stiff and not soft dough

Cover and rest for 25 to 30 mins

Make potato filling Heat a pan with oil

Add cumin seeds

When they begins to sizzle, add ginger & fry until it smells good for about 30 to 60 seconds

Next add green peas and saute for 2 mins

Add red chilli powder, garam masala, cumin powder, chaat masala (optional) & fennel powder

Saute for 30 seconds

Next add potatoes and sprinkle salt

Mix and saute for 2 to 3 mins

Mix in coriander leaves & set aside to cool

Taste and add more salt if needed

If using lemon juice, add it now

How to make samosa Knead the dough gently to smoothen a bit

Make 5 portions and roll to balls

Cover the dough

Grease the rolling area and then flatten a ball

Drizzle some oil

Begin to roll to oval shape of 8

5 inches long by 6

5 inches wide

It should be neither too thick or too thin

(watch video) Cut it to two parts

The 2 parts make 2 samosas

If the edges are too thick, gently roll it to thin down

Take one part and apply water over the straight edge (towards the cut side)

Join the edges to make a cone

Press down gently to seal the cone from inside as well

(check video or step by step photos above) Fill the cone with potato masala and press down with your finger to push it inside the cone

Smear water generously on both the other edges

Bring the edges together and seal them by pinching off the edges together

If you prefer to make a standing samosa, make a pleat on one side

Bring back the pleat and seal it by pinching off the edges together

(check video or step by step photos above) Make sure the samosa has been sealed well

(check photos or video)

Cover them with a cloth to prevent drying

Deep frying After you make 5 samosas, begin to heat the oil until medium hot

Oil has to be medium hot and not very hot

A piece of dough dropped in the oil should not sizzle or rise immediately

Instead you should see tiny bubbles in the oil & the dough should take a while to come up to the surface

This is the right temperature

Gently add as many samosas as you can to the oil and fry them on a low flame undisturbed for few minutes (about 10 to 12 mins)

When the crust becomes firm, increase the flame to medium

Rotate them to the other side and fry until crispy and golden

While the first batch of samosas fry, make the rest of them

Remove the golden fried ones on to a colander

Let the temperature of oil come down slightly before you fry the next batch

Serve samosa with mint chutney sweet tamarind chutney or tomato sauce

Baking samosa in oven Preheat the oven at 180 C or 360 F for about 20 mins

Brush each samosa generously with oil all over and place them on a prepared tray

Bake these for about 35 to 40 mins