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Wednesday, July 11, 2007

RCI:Punjab---Samosas

A few days back when Richa of 'As Dear As Salt' announced that the theme for this month's RCI event is Cuisine from Punjab, I knew what I was going to make. RCI is an event that has been started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine.
Over the years, Punjabi food has gathered a fan following not only in India but also overseas, although authentic Punjabi food is very hard to find, amidst the restaurant made similar looking and tasting gravies. My memories of an authentic Punjabi meal are attached to the famous city of Chandigarh. My parents and me were visiting this city and we were craving for good, earthy food. That is when our driver suggested this place called 'Pal da Dhaba'. He warned us though, that this was a typical dhaba with no glimmer & glitz, but the food was to die for...we were sold on the idea and we had not only lunch over there but also dinner! The taste and aroma of their rajma still lingers on my tongue. I also noticed a very unusual thing there...the rotis were free!!! One could eat as many rotis as they wanted without any charge. When asked the reason behind this, the owner, very humbly and lovingly replied that, it did not feel right to charge people for rotis. I was so impressed!
For this event I decided to start off with the ever popular appetizer/snack--- Samosas. I have been planning to make Samosas at home ever since the time I got married, 3 years back...I know, its long pending ;) We do get amazing Samosas at our Indian store and almost every weekend my dearest hubby gets some for both of us after his game of cricket (the ground where he goes to play is so conveniently located next to the store :)). Anyways, this time I decided to surprise him. I specifically told him not to get any Samosas because we were eating too much fried stuff lately...thats it no more questions from him, my plan had worked ;).
On Monday afternoon, with the temperature hitting 90 degrees F, I started my long overdue-- 'Project Samosa'. It took me about an hour and a half to finish making the samosas. At one point I felt like submerging myself in a pool of cold water like a Hippo, with the blazing summer heat and the heat from the stove... but I was determined and nothing would stop me. The end result was a very happy one. My hubby was really surprised (as per my plan), and couldn't wait to try them out, and when he did he couldn't stop...what else could a girl ask for ;)

Ingredients: (makes 10 medium sized Samosas)
For the outer covering:
Maida (All purpose flour) 1 cup
Oil 2 tsp
Warm water to make the dough
A pinch of salt

For the stuffing:
Potatoes 3 medium sized
Green chillies 2-3
Ginger a small piece
Dhane (coriander seeds) 1 tsp
Badishep (fennel seeds) 1 tsp
Amchur powder (dry mango pwdr) 1tsp
Cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil 2 tsp
Jeere (cumin seeds) 1/2 tsp
Hing 1/4 tsp
Halad (Turmeric) 1/2 tsp

Oil to fry the Samosas.

Method:
Cook the potatoes in a pressure cooker or microwave. Let them cool. Once cooled peel off the skins and mash them. Make ginger-chilli paste. Grind the coriander seeds and fennel seeds coarsely.
Next prepare the dough for the outer cover of the Samosa. Heat the oil a little bit and then mix it in the maida along with a pinch of salt. Mix this well with your hand. The right quantity of oil will make the maida stick together when you press with your hand. Once this is done, add some warm water and make a dough. This dough should not be too loose nor too tight, otherwise it will be difficult to spread it. Cover and keep aside for 20 minutes.

While the dough is resting, prepare the stuffing. In a pan/kadhai, heat 2 tsp of oil. Add jeera and when it starts sizzling, add hing and halad. Next, mix in the ginger-chilli paste and fry for a minute. To this, add the coriander-fennel powder and fry for a few minutes. Then add the mashed potatoes, cayenne pepper, amchur powder and salt. Mix well and finally garnish with some cilantro.

In a kadhai, start heating the oil to fry the Samosas. Make sure that you fry them on medium high heat, otherwise they will turn brown from the outside and remain uncooked on the inside, and you will end up with oily Samosas. Now comes the time to assemble the Samosas...
Take a small ball of dough (depending on how big you want your samosas to be) and roll it out like this...

Cut it into half like so,

Now work with each half separately. Take one half, fold it like this,

Then, apply a little water to the unfolded end and fold it to overlap the first one, and stick it like so,

Now pick up the cone carefully in your hand and fill it with the potato stuffing...

Apply a little water on the open edge of the cone and seal it well...

Slip the Samosa in the kadhai and fry till golden brown. Make sure you maintain the heat of the oil. It should not get too hot or too cold.

Remove them and drain on a tissue paper. Serve with some green or tamarind chutney.

The Verdict : I am so glad I tried it out...the next time I won't wait for another 3 years and my hubby agrees ;)
Thanks Richa for hosting! Here is another look,

28 comments:

Priyanka said...

Very well depicted Tee. An acquaintance of my dad's who owned a Farsan (snacks) store back in India, moved to the US and i had the opportunity to learn how to make actual Punjabi samosas from him. Your recipe is right on the mark.

Neelam said...

Hey Tee.. you know what even I am waiting to try out samosas at home since I've got married and your post does encourage me to try them out soon now!

Richa said...

those look so delicious :) good to know that you finally tried them, in the meanwhile i religiously get mine from the store on the wknds ;)
mazha polpaat ekdum tuzhya sarkha ahey!Thanks!

bee said...

yum yum yum. now you have to tell me this, tee. is your hubby's cricket ground and the samosa shop in a town beginning with 'F' in california? we used to live five minutes from a samosa shop there, that was very close to a cricket ground.

DEEPA said...

wow!!!..this is so yummy and tasty ....must have tasted great ....

Suganya said...

As always.. love yr pics..

Manasi said...

Nice one Tee! Samosas are a big hit !! These look fantastic!!

Viji said...

You have presented it well Tee. Its mouth watering. With a cup of filter coffee, we can finish the plate :) Very nice. Viji

TheCooker said...

Perfect!
Never tried making them at home.
BTW, bee...not all good things come from cities beginning with 'F' ;)

SeeC said...

Hey Tee. Looks yummy... Thanks for posting with clear pictures. I will try it on a weekend :)

Srivalli said...

wow..yummy looking samosas..anytime these are best...now you have made me hungry...

srivalli
www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com

Laavanya said...

Thanks for the detailed recipe. I made it once but had trouble shaping it so my friend helped me and finally got the hang of it.

J said...

Yum!! I love samosas but have never progressed to amking them. Thanks fr the recipe.

FH said...

Samosas looks delicious.I make them sometimes but too much work.Your pics making me crave for some now!:))

Unknown said...

Samosas look perfect Tee. Love your step by step pics. I too make my filling without onions and garlic, but add some mint leaves in it. try that the next time. you will be pleased. The same filling makes great veg puffs by just using the store bought puff pastry sheets.

http://vegconcoctions.wordpress.com/

Nupur said...

This post was such a fun read! Samosa-making has been a "pancha-varshik yojana" for me too, and unlike you, I still have not gotten around to it :) Your version looks so good!
Loved hearing about the dhaba. That is what good food is all about. I hope that dhaba owner's business is still thriving!

Richa said...

hey, you hv been tagged:
http://asdearassalt.blogspot.com/2007/07/paneer-mixed-veg-in-creamy-gravy-meme.html

Jyothi said...

Hi, very tempting and yummy samosas there. I would like to try them. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful and tasty snack recipe.

BTW thanks for dropping at my blog. Keep on coming.

Sharmi said...

hey yummy looking garam garam samosas. great entry and lovely pictures.

Roopa (KitchenAromas) said...

Samosas look great! I can imagine the taste of the filling with dhania and saunf! I tried to "bake" samosas once, and they were hmm, mildly put, not so good! I gotta fry! :)

Suma Gandlur said...

Punjab and samosas tend to be synonymous, right?
I want a bite, please.

Tee said...

Thanks Priyanka! I learnt this from my mom so the credit goes to her :)

Neelam, do make them, you will not regret it :)

Richa, Thanks! i think we will be back to store bought samosas for a some time now...before I make them again ;)

Bee, Sorry, but I am not in California :) and I agree with TC, not all good things come from cities starting with 'F' and especially not CA ;)

Deepa, they tasted awesome...do try them out sometime.

Thanks Suganya! my pics are ok, not as good as yours.

Manasi, Viji, TC,
Thanks!

Tee said...

Seec, thanks and do let me know how it turns out if you try them out.

Thanks Srivalli!

You are welcome laavanya!

Jyothsna, try them out at home sometime, you will love it even more.

Thanks Asha!

Thanks Hema! Adding mint sounds good...will try it next time. I have tried the puuf pastry sheets, they taste really good!

Thanks Nupur! I hope too that the dhaba still exists.

Jyothi, Sharmi,
Thanks!

Kitchenaroma, the flavour that saunf and dhania lends to the mixture is unbelievable! I had thought of baking the samosas, but thought that it would take a long time and would not do justice to them :)

Suma Gandlur, you are welcome to take as many bites as you want ;)

Meeta K. Wolff said...

A lovely fun post! I love samosas but do not like making them myself. Wish I could have some of these!

marriedtoadesi.com said...

Tee,

This looks gorgeous. I am definitely going to try out this recipe. Thanks for sharing.

Kanchana

Unknown said...

wow tee:) nice pics makes my mouth water seeing all these pics and most of all the colors you have chosen for your blog:) Its so homely and beautiful:)

manjiri said...

wow looks so yummy!I will definitely try out this today itself.

Unknown said...

Delicious samosas... its mouth watering.. Try some south indian food varities at South Indian Recipes