Spicy Potato Samosas

By lorik

Ingredients

• For Filling:
• 3 baking potatoes, about 1 lb, peeled
• 2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup finely diced carrots, blanched for 3 minutes and drained
• 2 fresh small green chilies, seeded and chopped
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Wrappers:
• 1 package frozen spring roll wrappers, thawed
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons water
• peanut oil for frying
• Chinese plum sauce for dipping
• Variation from Food 52:
• Makes a little over 24 triangles
• 1/2 pound potatoes , peeled and chopped into chunks (just halved is fine if they’re small)
• 2 big carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks that are about the same size as the potato pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 smallish yellow onion, chopped
• One 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 serrano pepper, minced
• pinch of salt
• A few sheets (I used two 10- by 15-inch sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed but still pretty cold (move it from the freezer to the fridge for a few hours before use)
• Flour for work surface
• 1 egg, beaten, with a tablespoon of water mixed in

Details

Servings 48
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 25mins
Adapted from cooking.com

Preparation

Step 1

FOR FILLING: Place the potatoes in a saucepan, add water to cover generously and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Drain and let cool, then peel and cut into 1/4-inch dice.

In a nonstick wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the ghee or oil. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes, peas, carrots and chilies; gently mix with the onion mixture. Increase the heat to high and fry until the potatoes have a dry consistency, about 3 minutes longer. Season with the curry powder, turmeric, salt, sugar, cilantro and lemon juice. Stir together gently and remove from the heat. Set aside to cool.

TO ASSEMBLE: Remove 16 spring roll wrappers from the package; freeze the remaining wrappers in an airtight plastic bag for another use. In a small bowl, mix the flour with the water to form a paste; set aside. Cut the spring roll wrappers into 3 equal strips. Cover the unused strips with a damp cloth. Lay 1 strip vertically to you on a work surface. Place a well-packed heaping tablespoon of the filling at the end nearest you. Pull the left-hand corner over the filling on the diagonal to the opposite (right) edge to create a 45-degree angle and corner. Fold up to enclose the top edge, then continue folding the bottom triangle toward the top edge, enclosing the filling completely. Brush the last flap of the triangle with the flour-water paste to seal the triangle. Set on a baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining strips and filling.

In a wok or deep frying pan over medium-high heat, pour in oil to a depth of at least 2 inches and heat to 375 degrees F. on a deep-frying thermometer. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower several triangles into the oil, making sure they can float freely. Fry, turning as needed, until golden brown and crisp, 1-2 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Variation:

Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil and cook potatoes and carrots for about 10 minutes, until tender. Drain water and mash vegetables with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon plus some elbow grease. The mixture can still be a little chunky.
While potatoes and carrots are boiling, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, and ground cumin and cook for about 5 minutes. Everything about that will smell good.
Dump onion mixture into potato mixture. Add peas, cilantro, mint, garam masala, serrano, and salt. Mix together into a beautiful, chunky, fragrant mush. Allow to cool slightly. Try some with a spoon, no one will know.
Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, unfurl a sheet of cold puff pastry and slice it into 3- by 3-inch squares. Roll each square out only slightly with a rolling pin, dollop a generous scoop of filling on one diagonal half, and then fold it into a triangle, one far corner folding up to meet its opposite. Crimp the edge with the tines of a fork to seal. If you run out of pastry but are still left with filling, unfurl the other sheet and continue 'till one resource is spent.
Line up triangles on your baking sheet (may need to work in shifts depending on how big you make your triangles and how big your sheet is!). Brush the tops with a little egg wash and then bake 30 to 40 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool slightly on the sheet, and then move to a wire rack for the remainder of the cooling process.