Indian Samosas

To make the samosa dough, mix together the flour, ghee and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the mix together until it resembles sand. Add in ½ cup water and mix to combine, adding a little extra water if needed, a tablespoon at a time. We’re not necessarily kneading here, just pushing it with your hands and bringing it together until it forms a firm, flaky dough. Smooth into a ball, then pop into your mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel so things don’t dry out, then set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut your potatoes into large chunks – if they’re too small, they’re just going to turn to mush, which isn’t what we’re going with. Pop into a large saucepan of water and boil for 15-20 minutes or until tender.

Now it’s time to toast your spices. I find it best to do this one by one – if you chuck them all into the same pan, they’ll toast at different times and some will burn. And burn means bitter – yewch. So, with that said, in a dry frying pan, toast the coriander seeds for about a minute, shaking the pan often, or until they’re smelling lovely and are just starting to smoke. Transfer to a mortar. Next, toast your ajwain seeds until they’re fragrant, then move to the mortar. Repeat this process for the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek seeds. Use a pestle to grind the toasted spices to a medium coarse powder.

Transfer all your freshly ground spices to a bowl. Add the ground coriander, chilli powder, turmeric and garam masala, then mix everything together until well incorporated.

Drain your potatoes well and leave for a couple of minutes in the colander to dry off further. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a fork, roughly crush the potatoes to a chunky mash. 

Return your frying pan to the heat and add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli, and cook for 30 seconds or until smelling fragrant – you don’t want the aromatics to colour at all. Add in the curry leaves and heat through for another minute or until smelling beautiful. Add the garlic mixture to the crushed potato, followed by the spice mix. Add the salt and lemon juice for some extra pep, then give everything a good mix. Set aside to cool completely.

Have a small bowl of water ready and a damp towel. Uncover the dough and transfer to a clean surface. Roll into a rough cylinder, then divide the dough into 6 even pieces. Take one round of dough to work with, and keep the remaining dough covered with a damp towel so it doesn’t dry out. Roll the round into a rounded oblongish shape (see the video for a visual reference!) about 20cm long (8 inches) x 15cm (about 6 inches) wide, and roughly 1–2mm (1/16 inch) thick. Cut the dough in half widthways. If you’re right-handed like me, place one of the halves on to your left palm, with the flat edge near your fingertips. Dab a little water on to the flat edge, then slightly curl and fold into a cone, with a little dough overlapping. Gently press the seam with your fingertips to seal the edges. 

Hold the pastry cone in your fist and gently turn out the top edges so that you can spoon in some of your potato filling mixture. You want to add in enough filling to fill the samosa three-quarters full – it should be around 1–2 tablespoons. Now to fold. Brush the rounded edges with a little water. Now take the larger side and bring it over the filling to the opposite narrower edge. Press to seal. Now take the other side and squish that one over too, forming a pyramid-like shape. Seal well then press the seam over on itself to flatten the bottom of the samosa. Transfer to a clean plate and cover with another damp towel. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

To make the coriander and mint chutney, place all of the ingredients into a food processor. Blitz until smooth, then transfer to a small bowl and set aside for serving.

Preheat a large shallow saucepan or wok over low-medium heat. Fill to about one-third capacity with vegetable oil and place over medium-high heat. Heat oil to 180°C (350°F), or until a wooden spoon dipped into the oil produces lots of bubbles. Working in two batches, carefully add the samosas into the hot oil and cook for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. They’re quite heavy, so keep them moving in the oil so they don’t sit on the bottom and cook unevenly. When cooked, transfer the samosas to paper towel to drain, then serve with the coriander and mint chutney.

– Ajwain seeds are also known as carom seeds and are popular in Indian cuisine. They are in the same spice family as cumin, caraway, fennel and dill. Seek them out online or at an Asian grocer.

– Kashmiri chilli powder is made from Kashmiri chillies, a variety known for its lower heat rating and intense red colour. It’s widely used in Indian cuisine, and is well worth seeking out online or at an Asian grocer.