Proper Punjabi samosas

“Samosas and a cup of masala tea are perfect tea-time fare but equally delicious as a light meal. Samosas were the first Indian food I remember helping my mother with. She would sit me down at the table with the filling and strips of dough and I would try my hardest to make perfect triangular samosas for the guests coming that evening. These would then be fried when the guests were there so they could enjoy hot samosas. These may look complicated with a long list of ingredients but they are actually quite straightforward to make and you can double the batch and freeze half for another day. While samosas are usually fried, I like to wrap mine in filo pastry and bake them.” Anjum Anand, Anjum's Australian Spice Stories

Credit: Anjum’s Australian Spice Stories

• makes

  10

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 4 sheets filo pastry
• melted butter, for brushing
• tamarind chutney, to serve

Filling

• 3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• ½ tsp each cumin and coriander seeds
• ½ small-medium onion, finely chopped
• ½-¾ tsp finely grated ginger
• 1-2 tsp chopped green chilli, or to taste
• ⅔ tsp each ground turmeric, ground cumin and dried mango powder
• 1½ tsp ground coriander
• ⅓ tsp garam masala (optional)
• ¼ tsp red chilli powder
• 350 g potatoes, boiled until just soft, cooled, peeled and chopped
• 2 good handfuls frozen peas
• 1 tsp salt
• large handful chopped coriander leaves and stalks

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 185ºC.

To make the filling, heat the ghee or oil in a large non-stick frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds and cook for 5 seconds or until fragrant. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add all the remaining ingredients except the fresh coriander and stir until well combined, lightly crushing the potatoes so there are some lumps and some mashed. Add about 60 ml (¼ cup) water so the mixture is not too dry and cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Add the fresh coriander, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Set aside to cool completely.

To assemble the samosas, place one sheet of filo pastry on a dry work surface with one long side facing you (keep the remaining pastry covered while you work to prevent it drying out). Brush liberally with melted butter, then place another sheet of pastry on top and brush with butter again. Using a large sharp knife, cut vertically into 5 even strips (or you can make them smaller or larger if you wish). Place a heaped tablespoonful of filling at the bottom of each strip, fold over a few times so that you form a triangular pocket, then place seam-side down on a baking paper-lined baking tray. Brush all over with melted butter, then repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve hot with chutneys.

Anjum's Australian Spice Stories starts Monday 4 April 2016 on Food Network Australia. Visit the program page for recipes and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.