Indian inspired foods and flavors are some of our favorites. Samosas are an absolute treat; whenever I have the chance I order a few and love them! So, why not make them at home? Experimenting with Indian flavors is definitely something we love to do at our house, whether we are making curries, breads, or snacks. Samosas can be surprisingly easy especially if you make them as we do (and cheat a little bit). I think the hardest part of making authentic style samosas is rolling out the dough, so we skip that step to make it easier! The recipe varies from batch to batch as we add new and different amounts of flavor each time. I will post modified recipes as new variations are made. For now, try these delicious little snacks. The secret ingredients to our style are edamame and wonton wraps – that’s right, wonton wraps!
:: what you will need ::
4 cups potato cubed
2 cups edamame (just the bean)
1 pack of wonton skins (50-60)
2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 fresh green chilies
(or 2-3 teaspoons chili paste)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon asafoetida
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon fenugreek
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon coriander powder
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
oil for deep frying
•Take time to prepare the ingredients before you start cooking. Peel and cube potatoes, boil until soft and drain. Then, thaw and warm edamame and set both aside. Mince the ginger & chili; if you don’t have fresh green chilies you can substitute them with a chili paste (we often use this chili garlic sauce). Measure out cumin & asafoetida. In another small bowl measure out the powdered spices :: turmeric, fenugreek, cinnamon, & coriander. Have the salt and water ready to go. It’s always best to have all of this taken care of before you begin cooking to avoid feeling too rushed or missing ingredients, especially when you’re cooking with a lot of spices.
• Heat ghee in a large stir fry pan or whatever you have that will fit 6+ cups of ingredients.
•add chili and ginger, allow it to cook for a moment just until they begin to brown, add cumin and asafoetida and heat until the mixture is browned.
• Add powdered spices, then water and salt, stir together until spices are mixed.
• Add potatoes, stir, then add edamame. Stir for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Cover with a lid over low heat stirring occasionally until all pieces are tender enough to mash.
• Cool slightly and mash until potatoes are broken down. I use a hand masher. Don’t worry about mashing the edamame completely.
• Fill wonton wraps, fold into triangular shape. Have a cup of water and a plate for your work surface. Set one wonton skin on the plate and scoop about a tablespoon of filling on to it closer to one corner. If the samosa has too much filling it will be more difficult to fold. Dip your finger in the water and run it along the edges of the wrap to help seal it. Fold diagonally into a triangle and press edges, crimp with fork for extra seal, fold edges over and crimp again to ensure that the samosa does not open while frying. I have also folded them like mini egg roles, which is a little bit easier to do, but the triangles are nice because the edges get a little crispy and they look more like samosas. I don’t have a pictured step by step right now, but I winged it the first time I tried and it worked out just fine… so, I know you can do it too! The first couple might look sloppy, but you won’t know the difference once they’re fried! You’ll have about 60 tries to get the hang of it ;)
• Deep-fry. I use a small pot so I don’t have to waste too much oil, fill it up about an inch and a half, enough to cover what you are frying. Heat the vegetable oil on high heat, test if it’s hot enough by throwing a corner piece of a wonton skin (from the one that accidentally ripped – you’ll probably have a couple of these) into the oil; it should fry up to the top and brown.
• Once it’s hot enough to fry use a slotted spoon or a utensil that will allow oil to drip through; be sure to choose one that will not melt and will not transfer heat to the handle. It will get very hot! Place the raw samosa on the utensil and lower it into the oil. I always leave the spoon in the oil underneath to minimize dripping hot oil as well as being cautious to not start a fire!
• Once the samosa turns brown you can remove it from the oil and place it on a plate or cookie sheet with paper towels to soak up extra grease.
• Because we use such a small pot to deep fry we can only fry about three at a time, by the time we get to the end most of them have cooled down. This is why we put them on a cookie sheet, warm up in the oven before serving if desired. Enjoy.
ellen says
yum!
Joe says
I ate this. It was excellent.
amanda says
mmmm… can’t wait to try this one. it sounds similar to one of my favorite dishes at a local thai restaurant- Ga Ree Paab (that spelling must be off) which are fried curry wontons stuffed with spiced sweet potatoes and served with sweet and sour sauce…
also- fabulous pics. Brings me that much closer to tasting these dishes before I even leave the site,,,