Samosa Recipe | Punjabi Samosa

5 from 75 votes

Samosa Recipe | Punjabi Samosa

A traditional Punjabi Samosa with a crispy, flaky crust spiced with ajwain seeds, and a delicious stuffing of potatoes and peas.

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: samosas

Calories: 224kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Large bowl
Skillet
Rolling pin
Wok or cast iron pan for frying

Ingredients

For the samosa wrappers:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ajwain seeds (carom seeds)
4 tablespoons vegan butter (very cold, cut into small cubes)
1 teaspoon salt

For the peas potato stuffing:

1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
2 green chili peppers (minced. You can cut down the peppers to one and deseed if sensitive to heat. You can sub with ½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne or any red chili powder but fresh green chilies will give the best flavor.)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground fennel (coarsely ground if possible)
1 teaspoon amchur (dry mango powder, optional)
½ teaspoon turmeric
1½ pounds potatoes (yellow or red, boiled until tender , peeled and coarsely chopped)
1 cup green peas (frozen, thaw before using. If using fresh peas, cook the peas until tender before using)
Salt to taste

For deep frying the samosa:

avocado oil or any neutral oil (peanut oil, avocado oil, or any oil that can withstand high temperatures is fine. You need enough oil for the samosas to be compleely immersed while frying)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the samosa wrapper dough

Place all the ingredients except the water in a large mixing bowl.
Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it gets grainy. This process is not unlike making a pie pastry, although here you will use your fingers.
Trickle in the water slowly and knead just until a stiff but pliable dough forms.
Cover the ball of dough with a kitchen towel and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Make the peas potato filling:

Heat oil and add to it the green chilies and ginger. Saute for about 30 seconds.
Add the powdered spices: ground cumin, ground coriander, coarsely ground fennel, amchur, if using, and turmeric. Mix.
Add the boiled potatoes and mix well. Next add the green peas and stir them into the potatoes.
Add salt to taste. Cover the potatoes and cook until warmed through, no more than 3-5 minutes.
Mash the potatoes lightly with your ladle before turning off the heat. I like some large potato chunks in there but if you want you can mash it more, leaving just a few chunks of potatoes in for texture.
Cool the peas potato filling to room temperature.

Roll out the dough:

Divide the dough into seven even portions. Roll each into a ball.
Roll out one ball of dough into a circle around four to five inches in diameter. Then roll out the sides slightly longer to form an oval.
Use a knife or pastry cutter to make a clean cut through the center of the oval, creating two semi-circles or half-moons. Set them aside on a plate and repeat the process for the remaining dough.

Stuff the samosa:

Brush the edges of the pastry with water. Then pick the two corners of the semicircle and bring them together, edges overlapping slightly, to form a cone. Press the seams together to ensure a tight seal (watch video to see how it's done). It's important to do this thoroughly because you don't want your samosas to open while you're frying them.
Place two heaping teaspoons of filling in the cone, pressing it in lightly. Make sure you leave enough room at the top so you can seal the samosa.
Now seal the top of the samosa by pressing the top seam together. For a classic shape, make a slight fold in the center as you press the seams together and fold the edge in so the samosa can "sit" when you put it down.
Repeat with the 13 remaining wrappers.

Deep fry the samosas:

Heat enough oil in a wok to immerse the samosas completely. If you have a deep fryer use that. Or use a cast iron pan.
Once the oil has reached 325 degrees Fahrenheit/165 degrees Celsius carefully drop the samosas one by one in the oil. Don't overcrowd the pan. If you don't have a thermometer to check the oil temperature, just heat the oil until it shimmers and small bubbles form at the bottom of the wok. The oil should not smoke. When you drop the samosas into the oil they should bubble gently.
Let the samosas fry, simmering gently in the oil, until they are evenly golden-brown. Don't let them get too dark and flip them occasionally to ensure they fry evenly. Avoid the temptation to increase the heat unless the oil gets too cold: maintain frying temperature at around 325 degrees for the best results. Frying at high temperatures will cause the samosa wrappers to brown quickly outside while remaining uncooked on the inside.
Once the samosas are ready remove them to a colander or dish lined with paper towels.
Serve hot!

Video

Notes

Make sure the vegan butter is as cold as possible and cut it into small cubes before adding it to the dough to ensure it disperses through the dough evenly.
Use ice cold water to make the dough so the grains of butter do not melt.
Don't overknead the dough. Once the dough comes together just knead for a few more seconds to smooth it out, then let it rest for 30 minutes.
Don't overmoisten the dough. You want a stiff but pliable dough that you can shape easily.
If the dough resists when you try to roll out the samosa wrapper, let it rest for 30 seconds to a minute, then try again.
Don't add more flour when rolling, if possible. Use a little bit of oil instead to make sure the wrapper does not stick to the surface when you roll it. If you find it really difficult to roll, use a tiny bit of flour.
Roll out the samosa dough to medium thickness--in other words it should be neither too thick nor too thin. A very thin wrapper could break open in the oil and a thick wrapper will create a doughy samosa.
Make sure you seal the samosa wrappers tightly.
Don't overstuff the samosas. It might be tempting to get as much of that tasty filling in as possible but an overstuffed samosa will not seal properly.
Always maintain the temperature of the oil around 325 degrees Fahrenheit/165 degrees Celsius. The low heat will ensure that the samosa wrappers cook evenly and are flaky and crispy for a long time after they are made.
Don't overcrowd the wok or pan when you fry samosa. It might be tempting to hurry through the process so you can quickly eat the samosas, but overcrowding will bring the temperature of the oil down drastically and you will get soggy samosas.
Frying a samosa takes a bit of patience as you are working with lower temperatures than you normally might for frying. It takes me around 10 minutes to fry a single batch. But it's worth taking the time so you can reward yourself with those perfect samosas! If the oil gets too hot or begins to smoke, as it might toward the end of cooking a batch, turn down the heat.
Serve the samosas with a sweet tamarind chutney, mint chutney or just ketchup.
Some recipes add garam masala to a samosa but as tempting as that might be to substitute the other spices with a single spice, please don't do it for the best results.
A classic samosa filling doesn't have cilantro or coriander leaves but if you want to you can add a tablespoon of finely chopped coriander leaves.

Nutrition