Vegetable Samosas

 

One thing which I really fell in love with when I was living in the UK was Indian Food.   I had of course experienced curry prior to moving over to England.  As a young army wife living on a British Army base in Southern Alberta, I had been introduced to it by some British friends. It was love at first bite.

Then when we were living in Fredericton, New Brunswick a number of years later we were introduced to Vegetable Samosas at the Fredericton Farmer's Market which was held every Saturday. I fell in love with those also!  

My oldest son and I both loved them and I used to make Samosa deliveries to him after he had grown up and left home and was living in an apartment in downtown Fredericton. Good times! 

 

When I moved to the UK I belonged to an International Women's group in Chester. One of the ladies was Asian and used to make the nicest Indian appetizers. Samosas, pakoras, onion bhaji, etc.  They were all fabulous.

A friend of mine, Joy, also made the most beautiful beef/lamb samosas.  I enjoyed them at her house many times. You can find her recipe here.  We met on Food.com when it was known as Recipezaar and actually  spend loads of time in person as well.  We share lots of happy memories of time spend together and good food eaten.

My favorite samosas are vegetable ones.  I could gobble up a whole plate of them.  The recipe I am sharing with you today is a mixture of two recipes. The filling comes from a cookery book entitled World of the East Vegetarian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey.  

The method of putting them together has been adapted from a samosa recipe on BBC Food by Anjum Anand from her book Indian Food Made Easy.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE VEGETABLE SAMOSAS

There is nothing out of the ordinary except perhaps for the phyllo dough.  This is readily available these days in most grocery stores.

For the filling:

• 4 medium potatoes, boiled, unpeeled and cooled
• 4 TBS vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
• 1 cup (152g) frozen peas
• 1 TBS peeled and grated fresh gingerroot
• 3 TBS minced fresh parsley (or coriander/cilantro)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin seeds
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 4 TBS vegetable oil

You will also need:

• 1 packet of ready made phyllo pastry
• 5 TBS melted butter

 

I like to use fresh coriander/cilantro, but I know a lot of people don't like the taste of it. You can use fresh flat leaf parsley in its place.   You will want to toast the spices before you make the filling.  This really brings out their flavors.

This is very easily done in a dry skillet. Just pop them into the skillet and cook, stirring, until they become quite fragrant without burning. Set aside to cool.

I  really love the simplicity of these ingredients.  There is nothing too extraordinary required, but the flavors and textures when put together are fabulous!

 

HOW TO MAKE VEGETABLE SAMOSAS

These only look complicated. The hardest part is probably folding them up in the pastry.  Just follow the instructions and they go together very easily. Once you get the first one done, the rest are simple.  Baked and not fried. Quite often I will make the filling a day ahead of time and keep it covered in the refrigerator until I am ready to fill and bake them.

To make the filling, peel the potatoes and dice them into a 1/4 inch dice. Pop into a bowl and set aside.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the ground coriander, garam masala, and ground cumin. Cook, stirring until the mixture becomes very fragrant. Set aside and leave to cool.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently until it turns light brown in color. Add the peas and the ginger, along with 3 TBS water and the parsley. Cover, lower the heat and cook for several minutes until the peas are cooked through.

Add the diced potatoes, salt, and the toasted spices, along with the lemon juice. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and adjust seasoning adding more salt if needed. Take off heat and leave to cool completely.

Unroll the phyllo pastry. Cover with some plastic wrap and a damp tea towel. Peel off one piece, keeping the remainder covered. Lay out onto a flat clean surface and brush with melted butter.

 

Fold one third of the pastry lengthwise towards the middle. Brush with butter again, and fold in one third from the other side. to make a long strip that is triple layered.

Place one heaped spoonful of the filling mixture at one end of the strip, leaving a 1 inch border. Take the right corner and fold diagonally to the left, enclosing the filling and forming a triangle. Fold again along the upper crease of the triangle. Keep folding in this way until you reach the end of the strip.

Brush the outer surface with additional butter. Place onto a large baking sheet, which you have greased with butter. Lightly cover while you make the rest of the samosas.

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.

Bake the tray of samosas in the center of the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.  Serve hot with your favorite Indian condiments.  I like chutney with mine!

 

These really are one of my most favorite things.  I could eat a whole plate of these and nothing else and be quite happy. You can sprinkle seeds on them prior to baking if you like.  Sesame, poppy or nigella seeds are quite popular.

I love mango chutney with mine, but any jarred chutney works well.  I recently purchased a variety of chutney's from Blighty's, which is an online British Food supplier, but if you are keen to make your own, I found some really tasty looking samosa dip recipes here. 

You could actually enjoy them with any Indian appetizer! 

If you are as fond of East Indian Flavors as I am, you might also enjoy the following recipes:

COCONUT CHICKEN CURRY -  This chicken curry is fabulously fruit and rich, without being overpowering. It is actually a great dish to make when you are first introducing someone to Indian flavors.  Its quite simply delicious!  Lovely with steamed rice and some naan bread.

LAMB ROGAN JOSH - Lamb lends itself beautifully to curry dishes.  This dish starts with a homemade curry paste and is very easy to make.  It has a bit of a kick, but not overly so. It smells amazing when it is cooking.  It is moderately spiced. The lamb gets melt in the mouth tender. Delicious with pilau rice and crisp poppadoms for scooping up all of that lush sauce.

Vegetable Samosas

Yield: 24 samosas

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

The filling for these delicious samosas has been adapted from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe in her book, World of the East Vegetarian Cooking. Madhur Jaffrey is the Queen of Indian cookery!

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 4 medium potatoes, boiled, unpeeled and cooled
• 4 TBS vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
• 1 cup (152g) frozen peas
• 1 TBS peeled and grated fresh gingerroot
• 3 TBS minced fresh parsley (or coriander/cilantro)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin seeds
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 4 TBS vegetable oil

You will also need:

• 1 packet of ready made phyllo pastry
• 5 TBS melted butter

Instructions

1. To make the filling, peel the potatoes and dice them into a 1/4 inch dice. Pop into a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the ground coriander, garam masala, and ground cumin. Cook, stirring until the mixture becomes very fragrant. Set aside and leave to cool.
3. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently until it turns light brown in color. Add the peas and the ginger, along with 3 TBS water and the parsley. Cover, lower the heat and cook for several minutes until the peas are cooked through.
4. Add the diced potatoes, salt, and the toasted spices, along with the lemon juice. Cook over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and adjust seasoning adding more salt if needed. Take off heat and leave to cool completely.
5. Unroll the phyllo pastry. Cover with some plastic wrap and a damp tea towel. Peel off one piece, keeping the remainder covered. Lay out onto a flat clean surface and brush with melted butter.
6. Fold one third of the pastry lengthwise towards the middle. Brush with butter again, and fold in one third from the other side. to make a long strip that is triple layered.
7. Place one heaped spoonful of the filling mixture at one end of the strip, leaving a 1 inch border. Take the right corner and fold diagonally to the left, enclosing the filling and forming a triangle. Fold again along the upper crease of the triangle. Keep folding in this way until you reach the end of the strip.
8. Brush the outer surface with additional butter. Place onto a large baking sheet, which you have greased with butter. Lightly cover while you make the rest of the samosas.
9. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6.
10. Bake the tray of samosas in the center of the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until crisp and golden brown.
11. Serve hot with your favorite Indian condiments.

Notes

These can be frozen (unbaked), so long as you have used fresh phyllo pastry. Just freeze on a baking tray until frozen solid and then pop into an airtight container. They will keep for up to six months. When you are ready to cook them, no need to thaw. Brush with more butter and bake until golden brown and heated all the way through.

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