Punjabi Samosa’s recipe
It’s really hard to decide on your first recipe for a food blog – so many choices so little time. After sifting away through several recipes, flavors and ideas – I found myself incredibly hungry. In recent times, my sister was visiting my Mum in Mumbai (India) and while she was there, our chats have included images and discussion about the various Indian ‘chaat’ and snack foods and the like that she was enjoying. The purpose of this anecdote is to explain how the humble Punjabi samosa became my first recipe choice – it was merely a result of a combination of absolute hunger from all that research and my recent craving for Indian snack-y food due to the recent delicious Indian chaat and snack food discussions with my sister.
So without further ado – the Punjabi Samosa!
This recipe allows for 2 Punjabi samosa’s per person.
Punjabi Samosa
(Serves 4)
Ingredients – Dough:
2 and 1/2 cups Refined flour (Maida)
1 tsp Carom (Ajwain) seeds OR Thyme
1 tsp Salt
4 Tbsps Clarified butter (Ghee)
Water
Butter – to be melted (Substitute for Clarified butter/ Ghee)
Dried Thyme
Method – Dough:
Knead all the ingredients together into a firm, yet bouncy dough. Cover the dough with a cloth to rest aside.
Dough mixture – to be mixed by hand or electric dough mixer in a bowl
Kneading
Required dough consistency
Note: Amount of clarified butter used is key to getting the right dough consistency. As a general rule, the ratio of ghee to flour is approximately 1 Kg Flour TO 200 gm of clarified butter.
Ingredients – Filling:
2 Tbsp Clarified butter (ghee)
1 tsp cumin seeds/ powder
1 tsp ginger paste OR 1 inch piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
1 Tbsp garlic paste OR 5 garlic cloves finely chopped
5 Medium potatoes (Boiled and Mashed)
1 and 1/2 tsp Dry Mango Powder (Amchur) OR 1 Lime (juice)
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Red chilli powder OR 1 red chilli chopped
1 tsp Garam Masala (preferably Punjabi)
Salt to Taste
Optional Ingredients – Filling:
The following ingredients can be added to your liking.
1 cup Green peas (boiled OR steamed OR canned – Optional, but traditionally added in)
1 tsp Whole coriander seeds (dry roasted in a pan and ground/ pounded to a powder – Optional)
1 tsp Dried Pomegranate seeds (dry roasted in a pan and ground/ pounded to a powder –Optional)
Method – Filling:
Sauté all the ingredients in a suitably sized saucepan and mix evenly.
Spiced potato filling
Method – Punjabi Samosa:
The covered dough should now be uncovered. Make a ball slightly bigger than a golf ball and roll well.
Small ball of dough to roll out
Roll out into an oblong shape, about 4mm thick, to about the length of your palm. Cut in half.
Rolling out the dough
Rolling out the dough to an even oblong shape
Rolled into oblong shape and cut in half
Fill a little water into a small bowl. Dip finger in water and apply around the cut edge of one half and seal to make a cone.
Seal cut edge to make a cone
Fill the cone with the potato filling mixture, while leaving about 1cm space all around. Make a back bone of samosa and seal using water as before.
Filled up samosa prior to sealing it
Filled up samosas ready to fry
Deep fry samosas in low to medium heat until lightly golden brown and crisp. Samosa’s are ready to serve and enjoy!
Finished batch of samosas
Removing the cooked samosas
Deep drying in low to medium heat
Beautiful golden brown samosa’s
I generally serve these with either bottled sweet Tamarind sauce, which I got from an Indian shop and/ or a fresh Mint yoghurt dip (recipe to follow).
Mint yoghurt dip
Ingredients:
6 Tbsps Greek Yoghurt
2 Tbsp Fresh Mint (finely chopped)
2 Tbsp Fresh Coriander (finely chopped)
1 tsp Chaat Masala
1 tsp Sugar
Seasoning (Salt and Pepper)
Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and you’re all set!
Chopped coriander and mint with yoghurt and seasoning
Mint yoghurt dip
And tadaaaaaaaaaaa:
Plating
Punjabi samosas with a Mint yoghurt dip and tamarind sauce
Drink serving suggestions (from my personal experience):
The first time round I tried the Samosas as a snack with Rekorderlig Cider – Mango and Raspberry flavoured – and it was delicious.
Rekorderlig – Mango and raspberry
The second time round I had F over for dinner and she brought over a beautiful bottle of Ruffino Chianti (similar to another Italian wine that I quite enjoy) that also paired quite well with the Samosa’s as an entrée.
Ruffino – Chianti
Dinner with F
Alternatively – most Indian food pairs well with tangy drinks or soft drinks.
Do let me know how you go with this recipe or if you have any suggestions!
Carpe Diem 