Vegetarian Samosas

Hello lovely readers! Apologies once again for the long delay in posting - things have been a bit busy on the PhD front, which now also includes a soul crushing search for a part time job that has so far been unsuccessful. Sigh! However, I did have a great time at the recent launch of our Science, Medicine and Society network (the organization for which I've been working with a few other postgrads to gather ethnographic fieldwork at community groups around London). We had a great launch and we were able to present our findings so far in a special session. All in all, it was a great event and I even had my first experience live tweeting something (@caitiescapers). I'll be using twitter to announce new recipes in the works and when posts will be going up so make sure to follow me (still learning the lingo...). Now that I'm finally back to my more normal routine, I thought it was time for a new recipe!

Step one: lay out one sheet of filo dough

Step two: brush with melted butter 

Step three: fold by thirds until you have a three layer strip

I've been wanting to try out samosas for a while since they're probably my favorite Indian dish but I wasn't sure if I wanted to take on what seemed to be a pretty involved process. However, after having a look online at different options, I decided to try it out with filo dough as a first attempt because it was the most readily available in my local supermarket in Rome. I thought this led to a pretty tasty result and I'll definitely be making these again. I'd like to experiment with making them smaller to suit party food so that might be a future post on this blog! (You know how much I love party nibbles!). Huge thank you to Laure for the photos of the rolling method and to Anna for being patient enough to stay and chat to us throughout the process! Finally, next time I make them, I'll include the coriander sauce that's a traditional accompaniment and I'll be sure to post that recipe. 

Step four: place a spoonful of filling at the end of the strip

Step five: fold over to make a triangle

Step six: continue folding in a triangle shape

Step seven: finish with more melted butter on the last section and seal

Recipe via www.bbc.co.uk/food

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 60 min

Serves: 18

Ingredients: 

Vegetable oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

60g onion, chopped

1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

60g frozen peas

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp garam masala 

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Salt

600g potatoes

4 tbsp fresh coriander leaves

2 packets of ready made filo pastry 

5 tbsp butter, melted. 

Method: 

Peel and chop the potatoes into large wedges. Add to a pot of water and boil until the potatoes are soft. Drain and set aside.

In a large pan, add the vegetable oil and the mustard seeds and leave over medium heat until the seeds start to pop. When ready, add the onion and ginger and saute until they have softened and the ginger is fragrant. Add the ground coriander, cumin, chili powder, garam masala and the juice of half a lemon. Leave to saute for a minute or so before adding the frozen peas and the potatoes. Mix well and saute for a further few minutes to ensure the spices are well mixed and coating all the ingredients. Sprinkle in the fresh coriander leaves and set aside to cool.

On a large chopping board, lay out one sheet of filo dough (be sure to cover the remaining sheets with a lightly damp towel so they don't dry out). Brush with melted butter and fold into thirds. In the corner of the resulting three layer strip, place a spoonful of the filling and fold over to make a triangle shape. Add a bit more butter to the strip and continue folding, maintaining the triangle shape and ensuring the filling is securely wrapped. On the final fold, add more butter and press lightly to make certain the edges are secure. Place samosa on a baking paper lined tray and continue with the remaining pastry and filling.

When ready, pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F. Brush the tops of the samosas with a bit more butter and bake for 30 minutes, flipping half way through. Serve with your favorite pickle or chutney and enjoy! Next time I make them, I'll include the coriander sauce that's a traditional accompaniment and I'll be sure to post that recipe.