Samosa Chickpea Recipes

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:

• In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and ajwain seeds; cut in butter until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. For filling, place potatoes in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, uncovered, until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain; return to pan. Mash potatoes gently, leaving some chunks. Stir in peas, lemon juice, seasonings and, if desired, chili peppers., On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 half of dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate greased well with butter. Trim even with rim. Add filling. Roll remaining dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle. Place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edge. Cut slits in top., Bake until crust is golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting. If desired, serve with chutney.

Steps:

• Soak the chickpeas overnight in water.
• The next day, place the soaked peas in fresh water to cover and cook until tender, about 3 hours.
• Place the chickpeas into a blender with a little water and puree.
• Put the pureed chickpeas into a skillet and add all the other ingredients.
• Add 1 cup of water and cook over medium heat until all the water is completely taken up.
• Allow filling to cool before using to fill samosas.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine flour salt and oil until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Gradually stir in water until smooth. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and potato; cook and stir until potato is almost tender, 5-7 minutes. Add curry, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and cayenne; cook 2 minutes longer. Add chicken; cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink and potato is tender, 5-6 minutes. Stir in peas an salt. Remove from heat., Divide dough into eight pieces. Roll one piece of dough into a 9x6-in. oval. Cut dough in half. Moisten straight edge with water. Bring one corner of half moon up to meet the other corner of the half moon, forming a cone. Pinch seam to seal. Fill with about 2 tablespoons chicken mixture. Moisten curved edge of dough with water; fold over top of filling and and press seam to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling., In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat oil to 375°. Add samosas, a few at a time, into hot oil. Fry until golden brown, 2-3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with chutney if desired.

Steps:

• To make the pastry, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the melted butter and 5 tbsp warm water. Mix with a round-bladed knife to form a dough, adding another 1 - 3 tsp water if the mixture seems too dry. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 - 10 mins to a smooth dough. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in a cool part of the kitchen for at least 30 mins. For the filling, heat the oil in a wide frying pan or wok. Add the curry powder, garam masala, cumin and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Next, add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and cook until the onion is softened and the spices are fragrant, about 4 - 5 mins. Tip in the chickpeas, then add the water and salt. Cook, stirring gently, until most of the water has been absorbed, then take off the heat. Stir in the peas and lemon juice to taste. Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely. Divide the pastry into 6 or 7 equal pieces. Now roll out the pastry and shape the samosas following my guide (on the preceding pages). Heat a 6cm depth of oil in a deep heavy-based saucepan or wok over a medium heat to 180 - 190ºC. To test, drop a bread cube into the oil; it should sizzle on contact. Deep-fry the samosas in batches until golden brown and crisp, 6 - 8 mins. Drain on a tray lined with kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven while cooking the rest. Serve hot or warm.