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Spring Samosas
Chef Aarti Sequeira is making a tasty batch of samosas with homemade chutney.
Ingredients

Samosas:

  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as avocado or grapeseed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 10g peeled ginger, julienned
  • 1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • 1 pound frozen green peas (not petit peas)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (diamond crystal)
  • 2 to 3 scallions (about 20g), finely sliced
  • 5 stalks mint, leaves and soft stems, minced (about 5g)
  • 5 tablespoons feta cheese crumbles
  • 3 tablespoons dried cranberries

Dough:

  • 300g all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 1 cup ice water
  • 1 teaspoon nigella seeds (4g)

Chutney:

  • 1 bunch cilantro, leaves and soft stems
  • 1/2 bunch mint, leaves only
  • 4 to 5 thin scallions, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1 small thumb ginger (about 1 inch), peeled and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Juice of 1 Meyer lemon
  • 1 serrano chile, chopped (seeds and all!)
  • 1/4 cup creme fraiche

DIRECTIONS:

Samosas:

  1. Warm oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add cumin seeds (they should immediately sizzle). As soon as they’re fragrant (should only take a few seconds), add the ginger. Stir and cook until starting to turn golden brown.
  2. Add chili flakes, stir and then pour in peas. Stir to combine all the ingredients, then add water and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer until all the water evaporates.
  3. Pour peas into food processor. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then close and pulse until finely chopped but not a puree — it should be smooth but with texture. Pour into a bowl, then fold in scallions, mint, feta and cranberries. Taste for salt. Set aside to cool (do not stuff samosas with HOT filling or the pastry will melt!).

Dough:

  1. Pulse flour and salt together in clean food processor bowl a couple of times. Then, with machine on, drizzle in oil. Whizz for a couple of seconds.
  2. With machine on, pour in water a little at a time until mixture resembles small beads. Dough should stick together when pressed between fingers. Pull out onto your board, sprinkle nigella seeds and knead them in. Form into a ball, then put into a bowl, rub the surface with a tiny bit of oil, then cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Chutney:

  1. Whizz together in a blender until smooth. Taste for seasoning
  2. Neutral oil, for crying
  3. Flaky sea salt, such as maldon

Assembly:

  1. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. Cover with plastic wrap.
  2. Set up two small bowls, one with extra flour for rolling, and another with water.
  3. Roll one portion into a 5-inch circle. Slice in half so you have two semi-circles.
  4. Dip your finger into the water bowl and run along all the edges of the semi-circles.
  5. Form a semi-circle into a cone. Hold it like you’d hold an ice cream cone — fill with about 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of filling. Seal edges shut by squeezing together. The finished product should resemble a stuffed triangle. Set aside, cover with a damp towel and repeat with remaining dough and filling.
  6. Fill a dutch oven with neutral oil and warm over medium heat until it reaches 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
  7. Fry samosas, a few at a time, and turning when necessary until golden brown. Remove using spider to a paper towel-lined plate. Immediately sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Serve with chutney.
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