Samosa

The never-ending drizzles in Bangalore have arrived a wee bit early this year. It starts drizzling early in the morning for the first few days, then it starts raining by midnight. In a few days, the time of day that rains start, keep advancing. Very soon it starts raining by the evening hours after sun-down. It does not pour. It just drizzles with varying intensity. The roads are a mess during this season and the traffic is more chaotic than ever. But on the bright side, on a warm Saturday afternoon when the drizzles start early, it is rewarding to sit down in the balcony and enjoy the rains with a hot cup of tea. A crisp samosa, especially home-made, with the tea is an added bonus.

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:
Potatoes (medium-sized) - 5
Green peas - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Amti Masala - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/4 tsp
Kalonji or Nigella seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander - 1 tbsp

Note: In place of Amti masala, you could use Garam masala too.



For the crust

Maida - 1 1/2 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - as required


Assembly
Oil - for frying



Method
Stuffing
Wash the potatoes and slice them in half. Boil the potatoes until soft. Cook the green peas until soft. Peel the potato halves and mash them coarsely. Allow some 1 inch pieces of potatoes to remain whole. Add the green peas and all the spices, to the mashed potatoes and mix them with finger tips such that they are evenly incorporated. Add the coriander leaves to garnish.
Crust
Sift maida with salt. Add the oil and coarsely incorporate with finger tips. Add water and knead into a smooth dough.
Assembly
Make balls of the dough the size of a lemon. Roll out into a thin circle. Using the back of a knife cut the circle in half. Place palm-ful of the stuffing on one half of the rolled-out dough. Fold the dough to cover the stuffing and seal the edges.








Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and lower the samosas carefully into the oil. Fry until one side is golden brown and then flip over to fry the other side.


Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

Verdict The spices (chilli) is deliberately less keeping in mind the little girl who has to consume the samosas. You could adjust the spices to your taste. You could also roll out the dough into a circle then fold it into a triangle and roll it out. Cut the triangle in half and stuff the potatoes. You will get a layered and crisp crust this way.