Recipes

Samosas (Fried Potato-Filled Pastries)

  • Serves

    makes 24

JAMES ROPER
Indian Samosas
Indian Samosas

Triangular deep-fried pastries stuffed with spiced potatoes and peas are an iconic Indian snack. Pair them with tangy tamarind chutney or herbaceous coconut-cilantro chutney for dipping.

Triangular deep-fried pastries stuffed with spiced potatoes and peas are an iconic Indian snack. Pair them with tangy tamarind chutney or herbaceous coconut-cilantro chutney for dipping. This recipe, from cookbook author Raghavan Iyer, first appeared in our August/September 2014 special India issue with Indrani Sen's story The School of Small Bites.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • 34 cup ice-cold water
  • 12 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp. canola oil, plus more
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1 small yellow onion, minced
  • 34 cup frozen peas, defrosted
  • 14 cup minced cilantro
  • 14 cup minced mint
  • 12 tsp. garam masala
  • 2 small green Thai chiles or 1 serrano, minced
  • 1 (1") piece of ginger, peeled and minced
  • Tamarind and coconut-cilantro chutneys, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Step 1

Make the dough: Pulse flour, butter, and salt in a food processor into pea-size crumbles. Add water; pulse until dough forms. Divide into 12 balls; chill 1 hour.

Step 2

Make the filling: Boil potatoes and carrots in a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water until tender, 8–10 minutes. Drain; coarsely mash. Add 2 tbsp. oil to pan; heat over medium-high. Cook cumin seeds until they pop, 1–2 minutes. Add onion and ginger; cook until golden, 4–6 minutes. Let cool; stir into potato mixture with peas, cilantro, mint, garam masala, chiles, and salt.

Step 3

Form and fry samosas: Working with 1 ball at a time, roll dough into a 6" round; cut in half. Gather straight edges of 1 half-round together, overlapping by 1⁄4" to form a cone. Moisten seam with water; press to seal. Spoon 1 tbsp. filling into cone. Moisten edges of cone with water; pinch to seal. Heat 2" oil in a 6-qt. saucepan until a deep-fry thermometer reads 350°. Fry samosas until crisp, 8–10 minutes. Drain on paper towels; serve with chutneys if you like.

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