Samosas (Jaffrey) Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 vegetable oil to deep fry
7 medium boiled potatoes
10 tbsp vegetable oil
1/8 tsp asafetida
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp whole black mustard seeds
12 whole fenugreek seeds
3 whole dried red chilies
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

To make the pastry, combine the 2 c of flour with 3 tb oil. Add salt
& mix. Add 1 cup of water a little at a time until you have a firm
dough. Knead the dough well for 10 minutes or until the dough is
elasticy & smooth. Form inot a ball, brush with a little oil, cover
with a damp towel & set aside.

To make the filling:

Boil the potatoes & let them cool. You may peel them if you like,I
choose not to. Dice them into bite-sized pieces.

In a wok or very large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When very
hot, drop in the asafetida. 5 seconds later, add the fennel & cumin
seeds. A few seconds later add in rapid succession the mustard seeds
& fenugreek. As they begin to change colour & pop, add the chilies.
As soon as the chilies swell & darken, add the potatoes, turmeric &
salt. Fry gently, carefully turning the potatoes so as not to break
them. Fry for 15 to 20 minutes until the potatoes are unevenly
browned. Add lemon juice & mix well. Check the salt. Remove potatoes
from the wok, place in a serving dish & crush coarsely with the back
of a slotted spoon.

Divide the dough into 28 to 30 equal balls. Flatten each ball & roll
it out on a floured surface until it is approximately 4 inches in
diameter. Cut each round in half.

Taking one semicircle at a time, moisten half the length of the cut
edge with a finger dipped in water. Form a wide cone with the
semi-circle, using the moist section to overlap 1/4 inch & hold it
closed. Fill samosa 3/4 full with stuffing. Moisten the inside edges
of the opening & press it shut. Seal this end by pressing down on it
with a fork as you would a pie crust. Do all the samosas this way,
keeping them moist in a plastic wrap or under a damp towel until you
are ready to fry. (I find that I save a lot of time & anguish by
frying them as I go).

Heat the oil for deep frying in a wok. When the oil is hot, slide in
3 or 4 samosas, be careful not to overcrowd. Fry until the samosas
are brown on all sides, about 2 or 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted
spoon & drain on paper towels. Repeat until you have 60 samosas. The
oil should be hot, but do not use a high heat otherwise they will
burn.

Serve samosas hot with a sweet chutney or tamarind paste. They can be
frozen & re-heated in a 300F oven.

Madhur Jaffrey, "An Invitation to Indian Cooking"

Servings: 10

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