Recipes by Rupa Sethu

Baked Samosas

Samosas are the ultimate Indian savory street food! Found pretty much everywhere from street corners in India to every Indian restaurant menu globally, as well as frozen versions in your local stores. Yes, packaged Indian food has come a long way in the last 30 years and you can easily buy a pack of frozen samosas and bake at home. However, and here is the big one – it is impossible to find low sodium versions. Portion control is the only option here and who wants to do that when faced with a plateful of yummy samosas? Also, samosas are traditionally fried – which is something I really avoid. So today I am attempting low sodium Baked Samosas. I’ll document the process so you can try it at home as well!

Ingredients

  • For the Filling
    • 2 large potatoes, boiled and mashed
    • 1/2 inch ginger, minced
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • 1 jalapeno, minced
    • a handful of cilantro, chopped finely
    • 1 tsp turmeric
    • 1/2 tsp chili powder
    • 1 tsp coriander
    • 1/2 tsp cumin
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • 1/2 cup of frozen peas
    • 1 lime
  • For the covering
    • 2 cups all purpose flour
    • 1/4 cup water
    • 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds) or just dried oregano
    • 2 tbsp oil (or 1tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp oil)

Method

The Filling

  • Start with 2 tbsp oil in a large pan, over medium heat.
  • When the oil is warm, add the ginger, garlic, jalapeño and sauté for a couple of minutes.
  • Now add the mashed potatoes and all the spices. Mix together.
  • Mix in the frozen peas and the cilantro, then cover and cook on low for about 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let cool. Add in the juice from the lime and mix into the filling mixture. This is your basic potato-pea filling for the samosas. No salt added!

The Covering

  • Mix together the flour, the ajwain or the dried oregano, and the oil in a mixing bowl. If you want to, you can add a pinch of salt to taste – I did not!
  • Now add the water a little bit at a time and mix into the flour to form a dough. The dough should be firm and yet be pliable.

Shaping the Samosas

  • Okay, now for the real work! Let’s shape the samosas.
  • Preheat the oven to 400F.
  • Shape out a ball of dough (about the size of a golf ball). You should get about 8 of these from the dough we made.
  • Roll out each ball into a thin, flat, round about 7-8 inches in diameter. Cut in half, to get 2 semi-circles.
  • Now, hold one semi-circle in your hand. Add a bit of water to the straight edge. fold the straight edge to form a cone and stick the edges together. Now you are holding a cone in your hand.
  • Fill it with about 1-2 tsp of filling. Careful not to over-stuff the samosas.
  • Now wet the top circumference of the cone with water and stick the edges together, as shown in the pictures. Make sure the filling is evenly distributed in the covering and all seams are closed.
  • Arrange the samosas on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with oil.
  • Bake at 400F for 20 minutes. Then flip the samosas over and bake for another 10 minutes or so. Remove from the oven when the samosas are golden brown.
  • Let cool a bit and serve with Coriander Chutney and Tamarind Date Chutney (Both available online as well as at your local Indian stores). Your delicious baked samosas are ready!

The verdict is in! These samosas are absolutely delicious and easy to make at home. Make your filling ahead of time and you can make this even easier. Enjoy your Baked Samosas!