Kasta Samosas

This recipe is for typical Punjabi samosas from Dipna Anand, is made using a simple easy method of pastry making. The word kasta means crispy so what you end up with are crispy easy to fold Punjabi samosas filled with a delicious potato filling. The size and shape of samosas generally vary considerably, and although the shape tends to be triangular, the size alters and depends on the type of samosas you are making. This is a perfect recipe for making Punjabi samosas from scratch at
home.

Ingredients

Pastry
  • Oil for deep frying
  • 180g plain flour (save 30g for the rolling out)
  • 1 teaspoon carom seeds
  • 75-90ml water
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 20g ghee, melted

 

Filling
  • 150g lamb mince or mince of choice
  • 100g boiled diced potatoes, 1cm dices
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 50g peas
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
  • ½ medium sized onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon green chilli paste
  • 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
  • ¼ teaspoon amchoor powder
  • 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds (crushed using a pestle and mortar)
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala

Method

Pastry

In a mixing bowl mix together the flour, carom seeds, salt, ghee and slowly add the water. Using your hands knead vigorously to form a tough dough, this should take about 3 minutes

Cover the dough and leave to one side

Mixture/Filling for the pastry

  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the cumin seeds, sizzle for about 1-2 minutes
  2. Add the onion to the saucepan and cook until see-through
  3. Add the green chilli, ginger and garlic paste to the mixture and cook for 1 minute before adding the lamb mince
  4. Add the turmeric, red chilli powder and salt to the saucepan together with crushed coriander seeds, and cook this together for 4-5 minutes
  5. Add the cooked diced potato, peas, dried fenugreek leaves, amchoor, garam masala and chopped coriander leaves. Cook for a final 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
  6. Cool for 20-25 minutes

Filling the samosas

  1. Roll the dough out into a rod shape using your hands
  2. Split the dough equally into 5/6 pieces
  3. Make each dough piece into a ball, flatten the ball and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough piece into an oval shape (approximately 16cm wide and 28cm in length, no thicker than 2mm), use the extra flour to stop the dough sticking
  4. Repeat this for all the dough balls (keep the flatten rolled out discs covered so that they do not dry out
  5. Cut each of the discs into two (cutting across width ways). You should end up with 10 or 12 half circle pastry shapes ready to fill
  6. To fill the samosas, hold one of the rolled out half circles on your palm with the straight edge facing up and rounded edge down. Brush water at the top and bottom edges of the pastry slightly
  7. Fold over one side of the pastry (half way across your palm) and then bring the other half of the pastry over the folded side to form a triangular shape
  8. Turn over the triangle shape and hold it open ready to fill
  9. Spoon 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture into the triangular cone shaped pocket, press down using the back of the spoon and then using your fingertips press the edges of the pastry together to seal (add more water if needed for sealing)
  10. Repeat this process for all of the samosas
  11. Deep fry the samosas until crisp and golden brown
  12. Serve hot and enjoy hot delicious samosas

Tip:

If you do not want to use the samosas straight away you can also freeze them and then when required deep fry straight from frozen.

Ingredients

Pastry
  • Oil for deep frying
  • 180g plain flour (save 30g for the rolling out)
  • 1 teaspoon carom seeds
  • 75-90ml water
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 20g ghee, melted

 

Filling
  • 150g lamb mince or mince of choice
  • 100g boiled diced potatoes, 1cm dices
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 50g peas
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
  • ½ medium sized onion, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon green chilli paste
  • 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
  • ¼ teaspoon amchoor powder
  • 2 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds (crushed using a pestle and mortar)
  • ¼ teaspoon garam masala

Method

Pastry

In a mixing bowl mix together the flour, carom seeds, salt, ghee and slowly add the water. Using your hands knead vigorously to form a tough dough, this should take about 3 minutes

Cover the dough and leave to one side

Mixture/Filling for the pastry

  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the cumin seeds, sizzle for about 1-2 minutes
  2. Add the onion to the saucepan and cook until see-through
  3. Add the green chilli, ginger and garlic paste to the mixture and cook for 1 minute before adding the lamb mince
  4. Add the turmeric, red chilli powder and salt to the saucepan together with crushed coriander seeds, and cook this together for 4-5 minutes
  5. Add the cooked diced potato, peas, dried fenugreek leaves, amchoor, garam masala and chopped coriander leaves. Cook for a final 2 minutes and remove from the heat.
  6. Cool for 20-25 minutes

Filling the samosas

  1. Roll the dough out into a rod shape using your hands
  2. Split the dough equally into 5/6 pieces
  3. Make each dough piece into a ball, flatten the ball and using a rolling pin, roll out the dough piece into an oval shape (approximately 16cm wide and 28cm in length, no thicker than 2mm), use the extra flour to stop the dough sticking
  4. Repeat this for all the dough balls (keep the flatten rolled out discs covered so that they do not dry out
  5. Cut each of the discs into two (cutting across width ways). You should end up with 10 or 12 half circle pastry shapes ready to fill
  6. To fill the samosas, hold one of the rolled out half circles on your palm with the straight edge facing up and rounded edge down. Brush water at the top and bottom edges of the pastry slightly
  7. Fold over one side of the pastry (half way across your palm) and then bring the other half of the pastry over the folded side to form a triangular shape
  8. Turn over the triangle shape and hold it open ready to fill
  9. Spoon 1 heaped tablespoon of mixture into the triangular cone shaped pocket, press down using the back of the spoon and then using your fingertips press the edges of the pastry together to seal (add more water if needed for sealing)
  10. Repeat this process for all of the samosas
  11. Deep fry the samosas until crisp and golden brown
  12. Serve hot and enjoy hot delicious samosas

Tip:

If you do not want to use the samosas straight away you can also freeze them and then when required deep fry straight from frozen.