Potato and Pea Samosas

Ingredients

• 300 g plain flour
• 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• 60 ml for the dough, the rest for frying
• 600 g potatoes, boiled and roughly crushed
• 150 g frozen peas
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 20 g ginger, grated
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp amchur
• a handful of coriander

Method

1. A stiff dough with fat rubbed in

   Rub 60 ml oil into the flour with the ajwain and a teaspoon of salt until it clumps when squeezed, then add just enough cold water — about 90 ml — to make a firm dough. Firm, not soft: a slack dough gives a soft, bubbled pastry rather than the crisp, blistered shell you want.

   5 min

2. Rest it

   Wrap and rest 30 minutes so it rolls thin without springing back.

   30 min

3. Make the filling dry

   Temper the cumin seeds, add the ginger and chillies, then the crushed potato, peas and remaining spices. Crush the potato rather than mashing it smooth, and cook off any wetness — a damp filling steams the pastry from inside.

   10 min

4. Cool completely

   Spread the filling out and let it go completely cold before shaping. Warm filling makes the dough sticky and impossible to seal.

   30 min

5. Cone and seal

   Roll each piece into an oval, cut it in half, form a cone around your fingers sealing the straight edge with water, fill, then pinch the top firmly shut. Any gap lets oil in and filling out.

6. Fry low, then high

   Fry at 140°C for 8 minutes until pale and blistered, then raise the heat to 180°C and fry until deep gold. The low first fry is what creates the bubbled, flaky crust; straight into hot oil gives a smooth, hard shell.

   10 min