Well, I have samosa’s for lunch almost every day during the week – and I figured I should try making some myself!  My first go at it was pretty successful I think.  I made both beef and vegetable ones – and made my own pastry.  The pastry was pretty easy – but I think that I’ll try a variation that I came across on http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/ – adding a bit of semolina flour.

The vegetable filling I made was very tasty – but I think I’ll cut the cayenne pepper back from the 1/2 tsp I used, to 1/4 tsp, which will make my son happier ;^)

The beef filling was good, but there was something missing – I’ll have to try a couple other recipes and see how things fare.  I’ll post up the recipes for both fillings, and the pastry, this evening.

Samosa pastry

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp. ghee, clarified butter, or vegetable oil, plus extra for frying

1 tbsp. semolina flour

1/4 cup water (some say ice water, others lukewarm)

Directions

Sift the flour and salt into medium bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter and rub the mixture between the palms of your hands to evenly distribute, and let the fat-coated flour fall back into the bowl. Continue until the flour is evenly coated.

Add 6 tablespoons of the water, mix, and work until the dough comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes into a firm dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Vegetable Samosa Filling

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp cardamom

1/2 cup chopped yellow onions

2 tsp minced fresh ginger

2 tsp minced fresh garlic

1 tsp madras curry paste

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 large potatoes, peeled & diced into 1/2″ cubes

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup carrot, peeled & diced into 1/4″ cubes

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Boil diced carrot & potato cubes until tender but firm. Add the peas for the last minute, and drain.

Heat oil in fry pan, and add coriander seeds, cooking for a few seconds while stirring.

Add onions, garlic, and ginger, stirring and cooking until onions start to carmelize (approx. 5 minutes)

Add remaining spices, stirring and cooking for 30 – 45 seconds, until the spices become fragrant.

Add potato, carrot and peas mixture, and stir thoroughly.  Mixture should take on a uniform yellow color, and be somewhat dry (about 3 minutes).

Stir in the freshly chopped cilantro, and remove from heat.

Beef Samosa filling

1 lb ground beef

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp cardomom

1/2 tsp coriander

1 bay leaf, crushed

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions

Brown ground beef, and set aside.

Heat oil, then add all spices, stirring constantly.  When heated spices become fragrant, add browned beef, and heat through, stirring frequently to ensure spice mixture is mixed throughout beef (2-3 minutes).  Stir in cilantro, and remove from heat.

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The day after I made my samosa’s, I came across this site – which has a couple great videos, including how to fold samosa’s – check it out!

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