Description
The most famous of all the Indian snacks. There are two types of samosa: Punjabi, which tend to be larger and wrapped in a thick pastry similar to shortcrust; and Gujarati-style, the smaller, lighter version made with fine filo pastry. At Dishoom, we serve the latter, although both types are delicious and we have eaten more in our lifetime than we care to count. We have given two folding methods (illustrated overleaf); whichever you use, you must always fold tightly and neatly, so as not to leave gaps or holes. For the spring roll wrappers, find an Indian brand like Taj.
Ingredients
- 1 packet frozen spring roll wrappers (each about 25cm square)
- 2 tsp plain flour
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 140g frozen peas
- 20ml sunflower oil
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 175g red onion, diced
- 2g garlic paste (page 353)
- 3g ginger paste (page 353)
- 10-15g green chilli (3-4), very finely chopped
- ½ tsp deggi mirch chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ⅓ tsp ground turmeric
- ⅓ tsp ground black pepper
- 8g fine sea salt
- 350g very lean lamb mince
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 10g coriander leaves, chopped
- 1½ tsp garam masala (page 356)
- ⅓ tsp ground cinnamon
Method
- Remove the spring roll wrappers from the freezer and set them aside to defrost while you prepare the filling.
- For the filling, put the peas into a bowl, pour on boiling water to cover and leave for 5 seconds then drain well.
- Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and let them crackle for 30 seconds.
- Turn the heat down, add the red onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes; don’t let it colour. Add the garlic and ginger pastes and the green chilli and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in the chilli powder, ground cumin, turmeric, black pepper and salt and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the lamb mince, turn the heat up a little and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly. The mince should be very lightly browned throughout.
- Turn the heat down, add the lime juice, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. The mixture should be quite dry; if necessary, cook with the lid off for a few minutes to drive off excess liquid.
- Add the peas, chopped coriander, garam masala and cinnamon. Mix nicely and allow to cool completely before forming the samosas.
- Mix the flour with enough cold water (1-2 tbsp) to make a “glue” (it should be thick enough to coat things but thin enough to easily spread).
- Fold the samosas to enclose the filling, following one of the two methods shown overleaf.
- To deep-fry the samosas, heat the oil in a deep-fryer or other suitable deep, heavy-based pan to 160 degrees Celsius. Deep fry in batches for 4-5 minutes, flipping the samosas over occasionally, until the pastry is dark golden brown. Drain well on kitchen paper before serving, with lime wedges.