spoonraider: Potato-Filled Samosas

After a tasty empanada attempt, I was inspired to make something vegetarian (and eventually vegan). Naturally, samosas came to mind when thinking about something yummy wrapped around something doughy.

This recipe naturally also comes from "How to cook everything" by Mark Bittman. These samosas are potato filled, but you can have any variety of fillings.

Ingredients

1 1/4 lbs baking potatoes (russet, idaho), cubed 1/2 inch

2 cups all-purpose flour, additional for kneading

1 tsp salt

8 tbsp (1 stick) butter

2 tbsp plain yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk

1 tbsp ice water, plus more as needed

1 cup onion, chopped

1 fresh chile, minced, or cayenne pepper to taste

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp peeled and minced/grated ginger

1/2 tbsp garam masala (not in original recipe, but was recommended in other recipes)

1/2 tbsp all-purpose curry powder

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup green peas (fresh/thawed)

vegetable oil for frying or lightly greasing baking sheet

Directions

1. Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and let cool.

2. Place flour and 1 tsp salt in food processor, pulse a few seconds to mix. Cut half of butter into small pieces, add to the flour and turn on machine and let run until butter and flour are combined. Add yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk and pulse a few times. Then, with machine running, add ice water 1 tbsp at a time through feed tube. The instant the dough forms a ball, stop adding water.

3. Knead the dough for 1 minute by hand, then cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set aside.

4. Place remaining butter in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn to medium heat. Add onion and chile/cayenne and cook until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, garam masala and curry powder. Add salt and pepper and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add potatoes and peas, raise the head a little. Cook potatoes until they begin to brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Let cool while you roll out the dough.

5. Knead the dough for a few seconds, sprinkling it with a little flour if necessary. This is where I deviated from Bittman's recipe. Rip off a racquet ball-sized piece of dough and roll into a long oval. Then cut oval in half.

6. Wet half of the flat edge and fold dough over to make a small "snow-cone" cup. Seal the seam with your fingers. Fill with potato and peas. Don't over fill or you will get samosas that pop open.

7. Wet the rounded edge of the dough and fold it down over the potatoes and peas. Seal tightly. Here is a video demonstrating this "pyramid technique."

8. Either fry in vegetable oil or lightly grease a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. I would add either an egg white or milk wash to enhance the browning, as the unwashed samosas below are a little sad and pale.