Persian Samosas Recipes

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes, cube them, and boil them until they start to get tender, about 20 minutes.
• Dice the onions, saute them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, about 6 minutes, or until they start to brown. season with turmeric and pepper while they are sauteing. add the garlic and saute for about 45 more seconds. set aside.
• brown the turkey. Add the frozen peas and cook for an additional couple minutes.
• de-stem the cilantro and parsley as best you can (honestly, i'm pretty lazy about this). dice.
• When the potatoes are tender, drain the water and mash with a tbsp of olive oil or butter. Season with salt, pepper, dried mint, and cayenne.
• Cut the flour tortillas in half vertically. put a dollop of the potato, onions, turkey, and herbs right in the middle. fold over vertically. fold and smush the sides (it might help to wet your fingers), making a triangular pocket.
• In a large, relatively deep pan, heat about half an inch of canola oil on medium high heat for about five minutes, or until it starts to crackle. Put your first batch of samosas in, and turn the heat down to medium low. Fry on both sides for about 3-5 minutes, until they are nice and brown.
• Alternatively, you can be a bit more healthy and bake them at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, turning once. Just lightly brush olive oil on both sides.

Steps:

• For the dough: Whisk together the flour, ajawain, if using, and the salt. Add the oil and, using your hands, rub it into the flour mixture until fully incorporated. While stirring with a wooden spoon, gradually add the water, until a shaggy dough is formed. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until soft and pliable, about 3 minutes. Rub a little oil, about 1 teaspoon, over the dough, place on a plate and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight.
• For the filling: Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with cold tap water by about 2 inches, and season with salt. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, transfer to a medium bowl and set aside to cool slightly. Using a fork, slightly smash the potatoes.
• Meanwhile, in a small food processor (mini-chopper), combine the onion, ginger, garlic, chiles, and 1 tablespoon water and puree to a paste.
• Heat the ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the onion paste, salt, garam masala and turmeric and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring and mashing lightly with a wooden spoon, until hot, about 2 minutes. Stir in the peas. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, chopped cilantro and remaining 2 tablespoons water.
• To form the samosas: Divide the dough into 10 portions. Using your hands, roll each portion into a small ball. On a floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 7-inch wide disc. Cut each disc in half.
• Set a small bowl of water beside you. Working with one dough semi-circle at a time, fold half of the straight edge up to the rounded side and wet its outside edge with a little water. Fold the other half up to form a cone, overlapping it with the other side by 1/4 inch. Press the edges together to form a seal. Hold the cone in one hand and fill it with about 1/4 cup of the potato filling. Slightly wet the inside of the rounded edge and fold it over the filling to enclose it. Press the edges together to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling to make 20 samosas.
• In a large, wide heavy-bottomed pot, pour in the oil to a depth of about 2 inches. Place over medium heat, and heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 365 degrees F.
• Working in small batches, fry the samosas until golden brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Serve immediately with tamarind sauce or your favorite chutney.
• For the ghee: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Skim off any of the white foam that comes to the surface with a spoon (being careful not to scoop up any yellow fat from the butter) and discard. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until all of the water has evaporated and the white milk solids have browned in the bottom of the saucepan, about 8 minutes.
• Line a sieve with cheesecloth or a coffee filter and pour the butter through into a container. Discard the browned milk solids in the sieve or reserve for another use. Use now or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Yield: about 2 cups

Steps:

• Make the dough: Put flour, salt and ajwain seeds in a medium bowl. Drizzle in oil and work into flour with fingers until mixture looks mealy. Add water gradually, stirring until a soft dough has formed. If dough seems too dry, add a tablespoon of water; if it seems wet, add a tablespoon of flour. Knead for 1 minute and form into a ball. Wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
• Make the filling: Simmer the potatoes and carrots in well-salted water until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a deep, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Put 1 tablespoon oil in a very small skillet over medium heat. When hot, add cumin and mustard seeds. When seeds are fragrant and beginning to pop, stir in garlic, ginger, chiles, turmeric and garam masala. Let sizzle for a minute, then add skillet contents to onions.
• Add reserved potatoes and carrots and stir well to coat. Check seasoning and adjust salt. Remove mixture to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. When cool, add lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Mix well, smashing the potatoes a bit in the process.
• Make the samosas. Portion the dough into 20 pieces, each weighing 1 1/2 ounces. Form each piece into a ball and place on a large plate. Cover with a damp napkin.
• Roll each dough ball into a thin disk about 6 inches in diameter, as if rolling out pie dough. Cut each disk exactly in half, leaving 2 pieces with a straight side and a round side.
• Form each half-disk into a cone by folding it over and pinching the straight sides together. Put 3 tablespoons filling in the opening on the round side, then pinch closed to make a stuffed triangle. Form the rest of dough balls into samosas.
• Heat about 2 inches of oil in the bottom of wok over medium-high heat. Adjust heat to maintain the oil at 350 degrees. Slip samosas 4 at a time into the hot oil and let fry on one side until golden, a minute or so, then flip and cook other side. Lift from oil and drain on paper towels. Serve samosas hot or at room temperature, accompanied by your favorite chutney.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine flour, ghee, salt and caraway seeds until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Gradually stir in enough water to form a firm dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 1 hour., Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until just tender, 8-10 minutes; drain. Set aside to cool slightly. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook until potatoes start to cling to the skillet, about 5 minutes. Stir in peas, ginger, garam masala, cumin seeds and salt; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in optional ingredients as desired. Set aside., Divide dough into 6 pieces. Roll 1 piece of dough into a 10x6-in. oval. Cut dough in half. Moisten straight edge with water. Bring 1 corner of half moon up to meet the other corner of the half moon, forming a cone. Pinch seam to seal. Fill with 3-4 tablespoons potato mixture. Moisten curved edge of dough with water; fold over top of filling and and press seam to seal. Gently press the bottom of the samosa to flatten slightly. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., Preheat air fryer to 350°. Brush the samosas with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. In batches, arrange in a single layer without touching in the air-fryer basket. Cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes.