Baked Samosas

I think that one of the reasons that I love ethnic food (Mexican, Asian, Indian etc.) is that is so well spiced. I'm not talking hot spicy, I'm talking well seasoned and delicious. Even "bland" foods are made delicious with all sorts of magical spice combinations and cooking techniques.

Samosas have always been a favorite Indian food of mine because the the insides are made primarily of potatoes and they just have a really wonderful texture. Normally, they are fried. At this point, I've established my dislike/fear of frying things and my love of attempting to bake them.



Baked items are almost never as delicious as their fried counterparts, and the samosas are no different. Additionally these took FOREVER to make because you're individually rolling and filling tons of tiny dumpling-like objects. These were very tasty and Nathan and I demolished them, so I don't want to discourage you from trying them out. I'm just warning you that it took about 2.5 hours to make them. And that's constant work, not including cooking time.

onion, ginger and jalapeno pre-chopped

Baked Samosas

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 Tbsp water

5 medium potatoes
1 small onion chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup frozen peas defrosted
1 Tbsp fresh ginger grated
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped fine
2 Tbsp curry powder



1 Tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin

Directions

Put whole potatoes into a pot and cover with salted water. Put on medium high heat and boil about 12-15 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.

Meanwhile, make the pastry. Mix the flour and the salt. Slowly work in the oil into the flour until it forms a rough breadcrumb consistency. Slowly mix in the water.  Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until smooth. Rub the dough with a little oil, cover, and set aside.

dough oiled and wrapped up

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

When the potatoes are cooked through, drain and sit them in an ice bath (this will help cool them quickly and make removing the skins easy). Peel and chop potatoes into 1/2 inch or smaller pieces.

Add 2 tbsp of oil to a large skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add in onion and ginger and cook until the onion is golden brown. Lower the heat and add in the potatoes, peas, jalapeno, and spices. Cook on low heat for 3-5 minutes until ingredients are well mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.

Knead the dough again and divide into 10 pieces. Keep dough covered when not using it with a damp towel.

Roll each ball into an approximately 5 inch wide circle. Cut in half. Seal the straight side together--use a little water as glue if necessary. The open side will sort of form a cone of dough. Fill the cone with filling. I like to mash some of the potatoes with the back of a spoon for the consistency, but that's personal preference.

Seal the open side and place on a greased baking sheet. Lightly oil the tops of the samosas.

Bake 15-20 minutes, flipping half way through, or until golden brown. I served these with fresh salsa, but you can also find a mint chutney or other Indian condiment that you enjoy. Extra filling is delicious on its own too!