I love samosas. This is a vegetarian recipe, but you can add minced lamb to the mixture if you prefer the meat version. I made mine with filo pastry – you can make the traditional samosa pastry if you like, but it is quite an art to get it right, and filo crisps up really well when you fry them. I asked my Indian friend Kesh if it is ok to use filo and he said yes, so if it’s good enough for him then I don’t feel too bad about cheating. Like the onion bhajias, you can fry these in advance and heat them up later in a hot oven.
To make the filling you need:
2 onions chopped
4 medium potatoes diced small
2 carrots diced small
2 cups of frozen peas
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of green masala paste (if you haven’t got any – whizz up a green chilli with 2 large cloves of garlic and and inch of root ginger)
1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
1 and a half teaspoons fresh crushed garlic
2 teaspoons sugar
half a teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
half a tablespoon ground coriander (dhania)
half a tablespoon ground cumin (jeera)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
a large handful of coriander leaves finely chopped
Method
1. Heat 3 tablespoons of sunflower or groundnut oil in a large pan or wok with a lid
2. Add the onions and fry gently for a few minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Cover and simmer over a low heat for up to 45 minutes (the cooking time will depend on how large the pieces are).
4. Test regularly with a knife to see if cooked (try a potato).
5. Stir through some butter or non dairy spread while still warm, and then set aside to cool. Next step you need butter or non dairy spread and some cornflour.
6. Melt some butter or non dairy spread to brush on the pastry.
7. Mix 1 teaspoon of cornflour with water to make a runny paste – this can be used to ‘glue’ the filo edges together if the samosas are a bit loose.
Once the filling has cooled, spread out some filo pastry on a work surface.
Take one sheet and brush it with the butter or dairy free spread and place another sheet over the top.
Slice the sheet vertically into approx 5 strips.
At the bottom of a strip place a spoonful of filling. Fold the corner over in a triangle, then back again in a zig zag pattern until the whole strip of pastry has been used. Seal the end with a dab of the cornflour paste.
Click here for a folding diagram.
Carry on until all of the filo and mixture is used up.
Deep fry in hot oil until brown and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.
If not eating immediately they can be finished in a hot oven for 10 minutes.
Truly Scrumptious 
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