Oven-Baked Indian Samosas

Growing up whenever I craved an Indian dish or snack, all I had to do was to tell mom…and abracadabra..it was ready for me to devour 🙂 I guess that’s why I didn’t really find a reason to learn back then. Now that I crave Indian food so often and mom is thousands of miles away, I am taking the initiative and quite intrigued to learn how to make various Indian treats. Specifically those that you don’t have to give up eating sweet items or cheese for rest of the month to keep the balanced diet on track!

So on that note, I wanted to make a healthy Indian savoury afternoon snack for my food-savy husband when he got back home from work and that too with just the ingredients I had at home. I really did not have much and the luck of the English weather meant it didn’t make sense to go out to get stuff…hmmm….what do I do?

I decided to experiment with oven-baked samosas. I have never had them before, but I was sure they couldn’t be that bad compared to the fried ones.

The moment of truth: six samosas on plate with coriander chutney. I watch as my husband picks one up and take a bite. I am a nerve wreck, not knowing how they will taste and what he will think of it. He uttered, “hmm….good..really nice.” That was a sign of success! 🙂

So here is how I created them (for the first time I wrote down my ingredients and methods while preparing so that I could share it if it was  a successful experiment :))

Serves 2-3 (6 medium size samosas)

Prep Time: 25-35  minutes
Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes

Samosa Dough:

1 cup plain flour/all-purpose flour; 1 tbsp olive oil; ¼ tsp salt; ¼ cup water

1. Mix everything except the water in a bowl. Pour the water little at a time until all combined in form of a semi soft dough. You may not need all the water.

2. Divide the dough in three equal parts and set aside.

Samosa Filling: (it looks like a lot of ingredients, but they are mostly all spices)

2-3 medium potatoes, boiled and roughly mashed***
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp of cumin seeds (jeera), pinch of turmeric powder (haldi) and asafoetida (hing)
Paste of 1 garlic clove, 1cm ginger  and 1 green chilli (or 1 heaped tsp of paste)
2 stalks spring onions, chopped (can also use onions)
¼ tsp each of  garam masala, coriander-cumin powder (dhana jeera), salt, and lemon juice
½ cup mix of sweetcorn and peas
handful of chopped coriander

***Tip: Fastest way to boil potatoes is to place washed potatoes in a grocery bag, tie a knot and place in microwave for 3-5 minutes.

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan. Add cumin seeds and pinch of turmeric powder and asafoetida. Add onions and ginger, garlic & chili paste. Saute for a few minutes.

2. Add the sweetcorn, peas, garam masala and coriander and cumin powder. Cook for a few minutes. Switch off stove.

3. Add potatoes, lemon juice, salt (to taste) and fresh coriander to the mix. Set aside.

Assembly:

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F

1. Roll out a dough ball to 6-8inch diameter circle or just thicker than a coin. Cut down the middle to create a semi-circle. Take one piece, brush (or use finger) the edges and form a cone. Seal it by pressing firmly along the dampened edge.

2. Place 1/6 of the filling in the cone and seal with a tooth of fork.

3. Repeat until all six are prepared.

4. Place in oven for 20-25 minutes: about 10-12 minutes on each side. If you are preparing to serve later: cook in oven for 12-15 minutes initially and then heat for 10 minutes in the oven at time of serving. 

There is a satisfying crispy texture, but obviously not the same as the fried one. You can also try different type of filling by adding/substituting other vegetables you like.

If you love samosas and want to have them often, this is a great healthy option. How did yours turn out? What worked well? What would you change?

June 1, 2011 | Categories: Snacks | Tags: Indian, Potato | 3 Comments