Flaky Vegetable Samosas with Pea, Potato & Mint Chutney

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A proper handheld samosa: a stiff, ghee-rubbed ajwain pastry that fries up into a blistered-free, cracker-crisp shell around coarsely crushed potatoes, sweet peas, ginger and toasted whole spices. The trick is a low, patient fry — start them in barely-warm oil and finish hot, and you get that shattering shell you only usually taste at a good sweet-shop counter. Baked oven instructions included.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (300 g), plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds), lightly crushed
• 5 tbsp ghee, soft but not melted (or neutral oil)
• 1/2 cup cold water, approximately

• 1 1/2 lb russet potatoes (about 3 medium)
• 3 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
• 1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 serrano or green chiles, finely minced
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 1/2 tsp amchur (dried mango powder) or 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, leaves and tender stems

• 1 cup packed mint leaves
• 1 cup packed cilantro
• 1 serrano chile, stemmed
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour mixed with 2 tbsp water, for sealing paste
• 6 cups neutral oil, for frying (or 3 tbsp for baking)

Instructions

1. Make the pastry: whisk the flour, salt and crushed ajwain in a large bowl. Add the soft ghee and rub it into the flour with your fingertips for 2–3 minutes, until the mixture looks like damp breadcrumbs and holds its shape when squeezed in your fist — this fat is what makes the shell flake. Add cold water a few tablespoons at a time, tossing with your fingers, until a very stiff, slightly dry dough comes together; you will likely need 7–8 tablespoons total. Knead just 1 minute — it should be noticeably firmer than pizza dough. Wrap tightly and rest at room temperature 30 minutes to 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes: put them whole and unpeeled in a pot, cover with cold salted water, bring to a boil and simmer 25–30 minutes until a knife slides in easily. Drain, cool 10 minutes, peel, then crush coarsely with your hands or a fork into rough 1/2-inch lumps. Do not mash smooth — texture is the point.
3. Cook the filling: heat 3 tablespoons oil in a wide skillet over medium. Add the cumin, coriander and fennel seeds and fry 30–45 seconds until they sizzle and smell toasty. Add the ginger and minced chiles and cook 1 minute more, then stir in the turmeric.
4. Add the peas and cook 2 minutes, then add the crushed potatoes, salt, garam masala and amchur. Cook 4–5 minutes over medium, pressing and turning, until everything is coated and a few potato edges start to stick and brown. Off the heat, fold in the cilantro. Taste — it should be assertively salty and tangy. Cool completely to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before filling; warm filling steams the pastry and causes blisters.
5. Blend the chutney: put the mint, cilantro, chile, lime juice, sugar and salt in a blender with 2 tablespoons water and blend to a smooth green purée, scraping down as needed. Stir in the yogurt and refrigerate.
6. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each into a ball. Working with one at a time (keep the rest covered), roll into a thin 7-inch oval, about 1/16 inch thick. Cut the oval in half through the center to make 2 half-moons.
7. Shape a cone: brush the straight cut edge with flour paste, then bring the two corners of the straight edge together and overlap them by about 1/2 inch, pressing firmly to make a cone with a pointed base. Hold the cone in your palm and pack in 2 heaping tablespoons of filling, leaving 1/2 inch clear at the open edge.
8. Brush the inside of the open edge with flour paste. Pinch the back of the opening inward to make a small pleat (this gives the samosa its flat bottom so it stands up), then press the top edge shut in a firm, thin seal, working from one side to the other. Set on a tray seam-side up and repeat to make 16 samosas. Keep them covered with a dry towel — not damp.
9. Fry: pour oil into a deep pot to a depth of 2 1/2 inches and heat to just 275°F (135°C) on a thermometer — this is barely shimmering. Slide in 4–5 samosas and fry very gently for 10–12 minutes, nudging occasionally; they should barely bubble and stay pale. This slow stage sets the layers.
10. Raise the heat to bring the oil to 350°F (175°C) and fry 3–5 minutes more, turning, until the samosas are deep golden and covered in fine blisters and the shell sounds hard when tapped with tongs. Drain on a rack (not paper towels) and repeat with the remaining batches, letting the oil drop back to 275°F before each new batch.
11. To bake instead: arrange the samosas on a parchment-lined sheet, brush all over generously with oil, and bake at 400°F (205°C) for 30–35 minutes, flipping at the 20-minute mark, until deep golden and crisp. Baked ones are sturdier and less flaky but excellent hot.
12. Rest 5 minutes, then serve hot with the mint-cilantro chutney for dipping.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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