Aloo Samosa (Indian Crispy Potato-Filled Fried Pastry)
Samosas have been documented in Central Asian cookbooks since the 10th century, traveling along trade routes from Persia into the Indian subcontinent where they became inseparable from street-food culture. The pastry shell - rolled thin from a stiff dough of flour, water, and oil - is folded into a cone, filled with a mixture of boiled potato, cumin, green chili, and cilantro, then sealed and deep-fried until the layers blister and turn golden brown. The crust shatters audibly at first bite, giving way to a soft, warmly spiced interior where the potato has absorbed the cumin's earthy fragrance. Fried at the right temperature, the pastry stays greaseless and light despite the deep-frying. Chai stalls across India sell them by the hundreds each morning, served with green mint chutney and sweet tamarind sauce that together provide the sour-sweet counterpoint the filling needs.
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Instructions
- 1
Make a firm dough with flour, salt, 2 tbsp oil, and water; rest 20 minutes.
- 2
Boil and mash potatoes, then mix with peas, spices, and a pinch of salt.
- 3
Roll dough thin, cut into semicircles, and shape into cones.
- 4
Fill, then seal edges with water into triangles.
- 5
Fry at 170C slowly until deep golden.
- 6
Drain on a rack and serve warm.
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