Samosa Recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's "Indian Cooking" For the pastry: 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 4 Tbsp oil 4 Tbsp water For the stuffing: 4-5 medium potatoes, boiled in their jackets and allowed to cool 4 Tbsp oil 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped 1 cup (175 g) shelled peas 1 Tbsp finely grated peeled fresh ginger 1 fresh hot green chilli, finely chopped 3 Tbsp very finely chopped fresh green coriander (cilantro) 3 Tbsp water 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp ground coriander seeds 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 2 Tbsp lemon juice oil for deep frying Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the 4 tablespoons on oil and rub it in with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Slowly add about 4 tablespoons water -- or a tiny bit more -- and gather the dough into a stiff ball. Empty the ball out on to clean work surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth. Make a ball. Rub the ball with about 1/4 teaspoon oil and slip it into a plastic bag. Set aside for 30 minutes or longer. Make the stuffing. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/4 inch dice. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large frying pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the onion. Stir and fry until brown at the edges. Add the peas, ginger, green chilli, fresh coriander (cilantro), and 3 tablespoons water. Cover, lower heat and simmer until peas are cooked. Stir every now and then and add a little more water if the frying pan seems to dry out. Add the diced potatoes, salt, coriander seeds, garam masala, roasted cumin, cayenne, and lemon juice. Stir to mix. Cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently as you do so. Check balance of salt and lemon juice. You may want more of both. Turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool. Knead the pastry dough again and divide it into eight balls. Keep 7 covered while you work with the eight. Roll this ball out into a 7 inch (18 cm) round. Cut it into half with a sharp, pointed knife. Pick up one half and form a cone, making a 1/4 inch wide (5 mm), overlapping seam. Glue this seam together with a little water. Fill the cone with about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the potato mixture. Close the top of the cone by sticking the open edges together with a little water. Again, your seam should be about 1/4 inch (5 mm) wide. Press the top seam down with the prongs of a fork or flute it with your fingers. Make 7 more samosas. Heat about 1 1/2 to 2 inches (4-5 cm) of oil for deep frying over a medium-low flame. You may use a small, deep, frying pan for this or an Indian karhai. When the oil is medium hot, put in as many samosas as the pan will hold in a single layer. Fry slowly, turning the samosas frequently until they are golden brown and crisp. Drain on paper towel and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. ------------- S A M O S A S ------------- Pastry: 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp ghee 1/2 cup warm water Filling: 1 1/4 tbsp ghee 1-5 cloves garlic, crushed 2 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp lemon juice OR vinegar 8 oz. ground lamb (or beef) 1 tsp mint leaves 1 tsp coriander (optional) 1 onion (finely chopped) 1 tbsp garam-masala 1 tbsp ginger, grated (fresh) 1/2 cup hot water oil for cooking PASTRY: Sift flour and salt into bowl, add ghee and water, mix thoroughly, knead for a couple minutes. Cover with plastic, make filling. FILLING: Heat ghee in pan, fry onions, ginger, add garlic. fry until onions are soft. Add curry, salt and vinegar, mix well. Add meat and fry over high heat, stirring constantly, until meat changes color. Turn down heat, add water and cover. Cook until liquid is absorbed (~ 10 - 15 min). Towards the end, stir meat to keep it from sticking. Add garam-masala, mint, and coriander, mix, remove from heat, cool, and add the rest of the onion. Mix. Take small pieces of dough, shape into balls, and on a lightly floured board, roll each ball to a very thin circle, about the size of a saucer. Cut circle in half. Put ~ 1 tsp of filling in the middle of each half circle, brush edges with water, fold dough over and press edges together. When they are all made, heat oil in a wok, deep fry a few at a time until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Eat until too full.