There are few things as pleasing as a homemade samosa, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t like a samosa and it would be unheard of to dislike a homemade one at that! I love homemade samosas but find it difficult to make them regularly, let’s face it they do take a lot of love to make from scratch, and it is love I don’t often have, unless it’s Ramadan, lol!

I much prefer to take the easy option and make samosas using tortillas or spring roll pastry, which is far far more convenient (no I don’t love cooking THAT much, in fact I never said I did, hehe). But if like me you enjoy making food that delights your family, and that’s what motivates you, then carry on reading.

When I developed this recipe I was going through a phase of loving all things mini – my daughter was at primary school and I was trying to create recipes I could easily prepare beforehand and throw into her lunch box in the morning, and these were born as a result. Being mini they were perfect for a small appetite.

I know some of my recipes use a lot of ingredients and as brilliant as they are, often the best recipes are the simplest ones. You know that saying, ‘less is more’? Well it couldn’t be more true than in this instance. This recipe doesn’t have a long list of ingredients, which will either delight you or frustrate you, either way I would suggest you try it as it is and see whether or not you want it ‘spiced’ up more.

I don’t know about you guys but whenever I serve samosas like this I inevitably have some sort of spicy sauce/dip to go with them; we love naga mayo (mayonnaise mixed with a little ghost pepper pickle) or just a spicy mint and yoghurt sauce, which is equally as good. Serving your samosas with a spicy sauce or dip means you don’t have to go to town with the spices added to the filling.

This recipe is perfect for young children because it doesn’t include any chillies or chilli powder, those of you who enjoy a bit of spice are welcome to add chilli flakes or green chillies. I’ve used potatoes and petits pois for the filling but you can use a mince meat, mixed vegetable or chicken filling using the pastry and method shown here, it’s really up to you.

The dough for this recipe shouldn’t be too soft, a firm dough that holds its shape is what we’re looking for – this will help to easily form a cone once the dough is rolled out without collapsing. The dough is best made from plain flour or chapatti atta (durum atta), there isn’t a huge amount of difference, use whatever is more convenient for you.

These samosas are best eaten on the day they are made, nothing beats the texture and taste of fresh homemade pastry the day it’s prepared. However should you want to prepare these beforehand and freeze, they’re freezable too, just be sure to fry them in hot oil over a medium flame until piping hot all the way through.

I really hope you guys enjoy this recipe and some of you find it invaluable for kiddy lunchboxes too!

Makes – 24

You will need: for Homemade Mini Potato And Peas Samosas

1 large onion
2 medium potatoes
oil
1 tsp salt (approximately, adjust to your taste)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 cup of frozen peas/petit pois

For the pastry:

2 cups plain flour (you may also use chapatti atta)
1 tbsp oil
a pinch of salt
3/4 of a cup water (you may need slightly more or less depending on the flour you use)
flour for dusting

Method:

Start by dicing 1 large onion and 2 medium potatoes. Dicing as fine as possible is important to ensure the filling fits into the pastry afterwards – I used a dicing gadget to dice the potatoes, but prior to owning this gadget I’ve always used a knife and chopping board and that has always worked for me.

Rinse and leave the potatoes in a bowl of cold water till needed.

In a large frying pan heat some oil.

Once hot add the diced onion followed by 1 tsp of salt. Cook for a few minutes until the onion is slightly brown.

Add 1 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp coriander powder, fry uncovered for a few minutes until the raw smell of the turmeric powder is gone.

Add the diced potatoes, mix well and cook covered over a low heat until the potato is soft, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.

The potatoes are cooked once soft – I usually test this by eating the potatoes, lol!

The last step to making the filling is to add 1 cup of frozen peas. Stir through and cook covered for a few minutes, avoid overcooking the peas.

Turn off the heat once done and leave to cool to one side.

To prepare the pastry add 2 cups of plain flour to a large bowl.

Make a small well in the centre and add 1 tbsp of oil, followed by 3/4 of a cup of cold water (add 1/2 cup to start with and add the remaining 1/4 cup as needed). Depending on what flour you use, plain flour or chapatti atta, you may need slightly more or less water.

Combine the ingredients till they come together to form a ball of dough.

We don’t want a dough that is too soft, as the samosas won’t hold their shape, a firm dough is what we’re looking for.

The dough may look quite dry and stiff to begin with, as you knead this it will become much more smooth and elastic.

Tip the dough onto the counter and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth.

Next divide the dough into half and roll into two equal sized balls (top left photo) and using either a knife or a bench scraper divide each ball into 6 equal portions (top right photo).

Roll each of these portions into smooth round balls and leave on a lightly dusted surface.

Each ball will make 2 mini samosas once rolled out and halved, giving you a total of 24 samosas.

Cover the small dough balls with a tea towel while you begin to roll, this will help to stop them from drying out.

Dip a mini dough ball into flour or lightly dust the surface and roll out using a rolling pin.

Roll out to approximately 13 – 14cm, I have placed my hand over the rolled out dough to give you an indication of the size.

Now cut into half using a knife.

Take one half of the rolled dough and apply water from the half way point at the centre of the flat edge of the samosa pastry and follow the direction shown in the bottom left photo.

Fold over the left side (bottom left photo) of the pastry, followed by the right side which we previously applied water to.

Lift up the pastry and you will find you have now formed a cone, fill using the cooled potato and pea filling.

Apply water to the unsealed edge of the pastry and pinch together to close. Make sure you apply enough water and close properly to stop the samosas from bursting open while frying.

The samosa is now ready to fry. Carry on rolling and forming the samosas in this way till they are all complete, it helps to roll several balls of dough, cut and fill them together.

Place each samosa on a flat tray or flexible chopping board as you go, this makes them easy to freeze and releasing is much easier from a flexible chopping board.

Once all the samosas are complete, place in the freezer till hard and then place into a freezer bag or suitable container.

To cook the samosas, heat some oil in a wok – note the oil should be hot but not too hot, as otherwise the frozen samosas won’t cook through to the centre properly.

Place the samosas into the oil one by one and cook for 2 – 3 minutes either side until golden brown.

To cook from frozen fry for 8 – 10 minutes over a low to medium flame, turning frequently to ensure they are cooked and hot all the way through.

You should be able to tell the frozen samosas are cooked on the inside once you hear the samosas stop spluttering, which is an indication the inside is cooking through. The samosas are done when they’re golden brown on the outside and hot on the inside.

Bon Appétit!

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