Vegetarian Curry Samosas With Tamarind Dip Food

VEGETABLE CURRY SAMOSAS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, curry powder, mustard seeds, and cumin seeds; cook for 3 minutes. Add broth and potatoes; cook until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add carrot and peas, cook 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and allow filling to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Roll puff pastry out on a work surface and cut into 16 thin rounds. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling on each round. Cover edges of pastry with beaten egg and press edges together using a fork to close. Place samosas on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until pastry is puffed and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
• While samosas are baking, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, horseradish, curry powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate sauce until needed. Serve with samosas.

SAMOSAS WITH TAMARIND-DATE CHUTNEY

Steps:

• For the pastry: Add the flour, salt and nigella or ajwain seeds to a medium bowl and mix. Add the ghee or oil and mix in with your fingers until the dough looks crumbly. Begin by adding 3 tablespoons of cold water, then add more water a little a time to make a stiff dough. Try to knead the dough as little as possible (think flaky pie crust). Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.
• For the spice blend: To roast the spices, heat a small cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the whole spices: coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, clove, cardamom and cinnamon and roast, shaking the skillet often, until the mixture darkens slightly and becomes toasty and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a small bowl to cool. Add the amchur powder, red chile powder and turmeric. Once cool, transfer to a grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to a medium-fine grind.
• For the filling: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and let sizzle until they darken slightly, about 30 seconds Add the peanuts if using and cook until crunchy, about 2 minutes. Add the chiles and ginger and cook, stirring often, until the raw aroma of the ginger goes away, about 1 minute.
• Add the potatoes, peas, roasted spice blend and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and cook until the peas soften and the mixture is well mixed and seasoned, about 3 minutes. Add the cilantro if using. Add salt to taste, amchur for additional tang and red chile powder for spice.
• To assemble and fry the samosas: Pour enough oil into a large Dutch oven or wide heavy-bottomed pot to come up the sides about 3 inches. Place over medium heat and heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil registers 340 degrees F.
• While the oil is heating, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball (a kitchen scale is helpful here but not necessary). For smaller samosas, you can divide the dough into 8 balls. Cover all but 1 ball with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Flatten the uncovered ball into an oval patty. Lightly brush with oil and roll the patty into a thin oval (8 to 9 inches long and 5 to 6 inches wide). Cut in half widthwise into 2 semicircles.
• Set a small bowl of water beside you. Working with one semicircle at a time, fold over one end of the straight edge halfway toward the rounded edge. Using a fingertip, lightly wet the outside edge with a little water as well as the inner edge of the other half of the straight side. Then fold the other half up and overlapping the wet sides, about 1/4 inch, to form a cone. Press the edges together to form a seal. Hold the cone in one hand, pinch the seam again to make sure it's sealed and fill it with 2 tablespoons of the potato filling. Make a little pleat opposite of the sealed edge by pinching it over about 1/4 inch. This is the backbone of the samosa and will help it stand. Wet the inside of the rounded edge and fold it over the filling to enclose it. Press the edges together to seal. Repeat with a second dough ball and some of the filling to make 4 samosas.
• Double-check that the oil temperature is 340 degrees F (it's important for the oil to be medium hot; if it's too hot, the outside of the samosas will brown too quickly, while the inside dough will not be cooked enough and the samosas won't crisp up). Gently slip in the 4 samosas and fry until golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. If the samosas haven't browned by then, increase the temperature to 360 degrees F and cook, turning over as needed, until golden brown. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
• While the samosas are frying, shape and fill 4 more samosas, then repeat until all the samosas are shaped, filled and fried. Serve immediately with Tamarind-Date Chutney.
• Stir together the seedless tamarind, date paste, jaggery, cumin powder, red chile powder, ginger powder, fennel powder, black salt, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium low so the sauce is simmering. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes; when you dip a spoon into the sauce and run your finger across the back of it, it should hold a line. Taste and add more salt or jaggery if needed. Remove from the heat and strain. Allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight glass jar and refrigerate.

SAMOSAS

Steps:

• For the dough: Place the all-purpose flour, rice flour, ajwain seeds and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the ghee and use your fingertips to rub the ghee into the flour until the dough resembles breadcrumbs. (This step is key to making flaky samosa pastry.) Mix in the water, mixing until you can form a pliable, soft ball of dough. Cover the dough in the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
• For the potato filling: Grate the boiled potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds and coriander seeds. Stir the spices until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ginger, serrano chile and peas and continue to stir and cook another minute. Add the garam masala, amchur, asafetida, fenugreek and cumin and cook a further 30 seconds. Add the grated potato and gently stir to coat in the spices, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Cool the mixture, then fold in the cilantro.
• To make the samosas, cut the dough into 6 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Keep the balls on a plate covered with a damp kitchen towel or paper towel so they don't dry out.
• One at a time, place a ball on a sheet of parchment paper. Press down to flatten, then cover with another sheet of parchment. (Do not flour the dough or paper as this will dry the pastry out; a tortilla press can also be used to form the discs.) Roll the dough into a disc. Cut in half, creating 2 semicircles.
• Brush the straight side of one semicircle with water, then fold the straight edge over to form a cone. Fill with potato filling. Brush the open pastry edge with water, then press the edges together to seal. Place sealed-edge down on a work surface and press down to keep the cone shape. Repeat with the remaining dough, making 12 samosas.
• Pour about 6 inches of oil into a medium pot. Place over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Line a plate with paper towels.
• Working in small batches, fry the samosas, turning once or twice, until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to the prepared plate to drain.
• Serve hot with tamarind or mint chutney or ketchup.

VEGETABLE SAMOSAS

Steps:

• To make the filling, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic, mix in the spices and fry for 10 mins until soft. Add the vegetables, seasoning and stir well until coated. Add the stock, cover and simmer for 30 mins until cooked. Leave to cool.
• To make the pastry, mix flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the oil and 100ml water to make a firm dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5-10 mins until smooth and roll into a ball. Cover in cling film and set aside at room temperature for 30 mins.
• Divide the pastry into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and roll out into a circle of 15cm. Divide this circle into two equal pieces with a knife.
• Brush each edge with a little water and form a cone shape around your fingers, sealing the dampened edge. Fill with 1 tbsp mixture and press the two dampened edges together to seal the top of the cone. Repeat with the remaining pastry.
• Heat the oil in a large deep saucepan to 180C. The oil should come 1/3rd of the way up the pan. Deep fry the samosas in batches for 8-10 mins until crisp and brown. Take out and drain on kitchen paper.