As I was sitting in London Heathrow airport with several hours to spare, I could not help but think about my kids in New York enjoying a very snowy Sunday morning. I remember our last snow day sitting around the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and just being lazy! I’m excited about treating my kids to a yummy snack to indulge in on our next cozy night in.
I had eaten the mouthwatering samosa at a cousin’s house in India, where the cute little snacks had been a hit at her party. The samosas had rekindled an old memory where my grandmother had taught me how to make and fill them.. So, I decided to do a little experiment. As soon as I returned home, I made it a point to make them from scratch. I found a tasty recipe on this site, and I was excited to spice up my children’s day!
Ingredients:
For The Dough
2 cups plain flour (maida)
1 tbsp melted ghee (clarified butter)
salt to taste
1/4 tsp oil for kneading
For The Filling
2 cups fresh green peas, (or frozen peas, thawed ) coarsely crushed
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 ½ tsp sugar
3/4 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
4 tbsp freshly grated coconut
4 tbsp chopped cilantro (dhania)
1 tsp sesame seeds (til)
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste
Other Ingredients:
2 Tbsp water
Oil for deep frying
Method:
For the dough
1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and add enough water to make a firm dough. Cover and keep aside for 15 minutes.
2. Knead again using the oil till smooth. Keep aside under a wet muslin cloth.
For the filling
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida.
2. When the seeds crackle, add the ginger-green chilli paste and cook for a minute. Add the green peas and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds.
3. Sprinkle some water, mix well and cover and cook on a slow flame for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring once in between.
4. Remove the lid and sauté on a medium flame till the mixture becomes dry.
5. Add the sugar, coconut, coriander, sesame seeds, lemon juice and salt, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 minute.
6. Cool slightly and divide the stuffing into 20 equal portions. Keep aside.
How to Proceed:
Divide the dough into 20 equal portions and roll out each portion into a 3” diameter circle.
Place a portion of the stuffing in the centre of the circle.
With your finger wet the edge of the circle with water.
Make a half moon shape by lifting one end of the rolled dough and pressing it against the other side.
Make a pattern by pinching the dough on the edge where the two sides meet and then twisting the dough inwards. Repeat this till you have covered the entire side. It should look like this now…
Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 19 more samosas.
Heat the oil in a non-stick kadhai and deep-fry the samosas on a medium flame a few at a time till they turn golden brown in colour from both the sides. Serve immediately. Alternatively, the samosas can be frozen and fried later. When freezing them, make sure to place them an inch apart from each to ensure that the samosas do not stick to each other.
Serve with green cilantro chutney (recipe below).
While photographing the samosas, my children came out into our snow covered backyard. My daughter helped me set up the props while my son had fun playing his saxophone. It was a beautiful moment, something that's now embedded in my memory. You can see him in the background in the photograph below posing for me to capture a nice shot.
Cilantro chutney
Ingredients:
I bunch cilantro (about 2 cups) - washed, dried and roughly chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 green chilli ( 2 chillies if you like your chutney spicy)
½” ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4-6 roasted peanuts
juice of ½ lemon
salt to taste
Method:
Blend all the ingredients in a small blender. My favorite blender is the Cusinart compact portable blending/chopping system. It has a small chopping cup that is excellent for making pastes and chutneys.