Samosas with coriander and green chilli chutney

Samosas are very popular in Indian. They are often served with some kind of chilli sauce mixed up with sambal, or simply with a variety of chutneys such as mint, coriander, tamarind or eggplant. The Chefs' Line

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

I was born and raised there among several cultures who all loved them, so I’m very familiar with them. The roadside vendors would serve them with a drizzling of their own sauce of the day. Samosas always were and still are a favourite snack of mine when served with chai. This recipe is my own version. If you don’t have the time to make your own pastry, the store-bought shortcrust pastry sheets work almost as well. Enjoy!  

Ingredients

Pastry 

• 200 g plain flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 100 g cold ghee or margarine

Filling

• 2 -4 tbsp oil, for cooking
• 1 tsp mustard seeds 
• 1 sprig of curry leaves, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander roots
• 1 tbsp finely chopped spring onion ends
• 50 g onion, ginger, garlic and turmeric paste (see note)
• 2 tsp curry powder, or to taste 
• 2 tsp ground cumin 
• 2 tsp garam masala 
• 200 g peeled potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 200 g peeled pumpkin, cut into small cubes
• 100 g peeled sweet potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 65 g (½ cup) frozen peas 
• Salt and ground white pepper, to taste
• 125 ml (½ cup) vegetable stock or water
• Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Coriander and green chilli chutney

• 1 small bunch coriander leaves and stalks
• 2 fresh green chillies, roughly chopped 
• White vinegar, sugar and salt, to taste

Cooling time: 1 hr

Instructions

For the pastry, place the flour and salt into a large bowl. Using fingertips, rub the ghee or margarine into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add a little cold water until the mixture comes together into a soft pliable dough. Divide the dough into 8-10 portions and roll into balls. If using ready rolled pastry sheets, defrost them first, then use an 11.5 cm pastry cutter to stamp out rounds of pastry. Place on a baking paper-lined tray, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For the filling, place a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2-4 tablespoons of oil (you’ll need less oil if you’re using a non-stick fry pan). When hot, add the mustard seeds and cook for 1 minute or until they start to pop. Add the curry leaves and 30 seconds later add the coriander roots and spring onion ends followed by onion, ginger, garlic and turmeric paste. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until golden. Add the ground spices and stir for another 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add all the vegetables (except the peas), the stock or water and season to taste. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the peas and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until there’s no more liquid left in the pan and the mixture is dry. Remove from the heat and transfer to a tray, stand until cool, then cover and refrigerate until chilled before assembling into samosas.

For the chutney, place all the ingredients into a mortar and pestle and grind until smooth. Adjust and balance the flavour with vinegar, sugar and salt to suit your taste.

To assemble the samosas, roll out each piece of pastry on a lightly floured work surface into an 11.5 cm circle. Place as much of the chilled filling as the circle could take when closed on one side of the pastry. Lightly dampen the edge of one side, then fold over to cover the filling, pinching the dry edge of the circle onto the wet edge to form a semi-circle. Avoid getting any filling mixture on the edges because the oil in the mixture will spoil the seal. Once assembled, use a fork to crimp the edges of the pastry to form a pattern or simply curl the edges like a Cornish pasty.

Heat the oil for deep-frying in a large saucepan to 180˚C. Deep-fry the samosas, in batches for 5 minutes or until golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel and serve hot with a dollop of chutney.

Note

• For the onion, ginger, garlic and turmeric paste, place a little of each ingredient into a high-speed blender and process until a paste forms.

This recipe is from Series 2 of The Chefs' Line airing weeknights at 6pm on SBS. Episodes will be available after broadcast via SBS On Demand. Join the conversation #TheChefsLine on Instagram @sbsfood, Facebook @SBSFood  and Twitter @SBS_Food. Check out sbs.com.au/thechefsline for episode guides, cuisine lowdowns, recipes and more! 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

I was born and raised there among several cultures who all loved them, so I’m very familiar with them. The roadside vendors would serve them with a drizzling of their own sauce of the day. Samosas always were and still are a favourite snack of mine when served with chai. This recipe is my own version. If you don’t have the time to make your own pastry, the store-bought shortcrust pastry sheets work almost as well. Enjoy!