My Contest Entry to the Jan 2014 Samosa Recipe for Manjulas Kitchen

To start off the New Year, this month’s contest to make a variation of a Samosa recipe. For example, you can create different outer shapes and change the inside filling content. A good example is Samosa Pinwheels recipe.

SWEET  POTATO  SAMOSA

Makes 8 samosas.

 

Dough Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 11/2 tablespoons oil
• ½ cup of water( you may need more or less)

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 large sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into very small cubes
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder
• 3 tablespoon of roasted nuts (any nuts of your choices I used almonds)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1tablespoon of fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon allspices  powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
• 2 tablespoons butter or oil
• 1/2 cup  raisins

Method

Dough:

1. Mix the flour, salt, oil and salt together to make a soft dough (add more water as needed).
2. Knead the dough for about 2 minutes to make the dough smooth and pliable.
3. Set the dough aside and cover it with damp cloth. Let the dough sit for at least 15 minutes.

Filling:

1. Heat the oil or butter in a frying pan on medium high heat. (Watch the butter and make sure it will not burn.)
2. Add the potatoes and stir-fry for about 6 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
3. Stir in gram masala, roasted nuts, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspices, raisins, ginger and honey or sugar. (Add more sugar or honey according to taste.)
4. Let the filling cool to room temperature.

Making Samosa:

1. Take 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour to make a paste and keep aside.
2. Knead the dough for a minute.
3. Roll the dough flat to abount1/4 inches thick.
4. Cut the flatten dough in to 6 inches rounds. (You can use a cookie cutter.)
5. Fill the rounds with 3 tablespoons of filling. Press this filling down with your fingers.
6. Spread the paste lightly all along the edge of one side of the circles making a semicircle of the paste.
7. Pick the circles up with both hands and fold it into a half moon shape. Pinch the side so that it is completely sealed. (You can use a fork to make sure it is sealed.)
8. Continue filling the rest of the samosas.
9. Heat about 1-1/2 inch of the oil in a frying pan on medium heat the tempter should be around 350F. You can bake them in a oven at 350. (Use piece of dough to check the oil tempter. The dough should sizzle and come to the surface slowly.)
10. Place the samosas in the frying pan a few at a time.
11. When the samosas are floating on top of the oil turn them slowly.
12. Fry the samosas until the samosas turn a light golden-brown color on all sides.

Suggestions:

1. The samosa  will go good with sweeten yogurt or tamarind chutney
2. I made them into half-moon shape, but they will work in the regular samosas shape.
3. You can add, take away, or change the amount of the spices to your liking.