Curry Recipes Online

British Indian Restaurant Recipes - Starters & Side Dishes => Starters & Side Dishes => Bhajis (Onion, Pakora, Mushroom, Vegetable, etc => Topic started by: curryhell on November 14, 2013, 08:14 PM

Title: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 14, 2013, 08:14 PM
For those that have been waiting for it, here it is.  My take on how I do it, having read many a recipe, watched many a video and eaten many samosas, bad ones as well as good  ;D  Thanks to Natterjak for proofing another of my recipes.

Samosa filling(CH)

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/f9a9e7630df2564c0fe964d898127c48.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#f9a9e7630df2564c0fe964d898127c48.jpg)

One recipe of lamb or potato will be enough for 14 -16 average size samosas

450grm pack of minced lamb/mutton or beef (or 750grms cooked whole potatoes with skin on)
2tbs of oil
½ medium onion finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
One level tsp of ginger garlic paste
3 small fresh chillies finely chopped
1 cup of frozen peas

Spice Mix
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp mix powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1tsp methi leaves
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
Mix these all together

Method
1.   Brown the minced meat and cook until the fat is cooked out.  Drain the fat off
2.   Heat oil on high.  Add cumin seed and cook for 30 seconds until it’s sizzling
3.   Add onion and continue to cook for 2 minutes
4.   Add ginger garlic and fry for a minute or so until the water is cooked out.
5.   Add the frozen peas and cook for 2 minutes until hot
6.   Reduce heat to low and add the mince back to the pan
7.   Add spices and mix thoroughly
8.   Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently to avoid any sticking on the bottom of the pan.  Add one tbs water and mix if mixture starts to stick.  Repeat as necessary being careful not to create any sauce
9.   Remove from heat and leave to cool

For potato filling, peel cooked potatoes and crush with a fork, giving them a good mixing.  Alternatively peel and chop them into ¼ inch squares.
Follow steps 2 to 7 substituting the mince with the potato.  Cook for 2 – 3 minutes folding the mixture constantly to prevent it sticking.  Add 1 tbs water if things start to stick. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
I also like to use a simplified more traditional spice mixture excluding turmeric and mix powder but including amchoor powder and crushed red chilli.  You can experiment with this until you arrive at your ideal spice combination.

Samosa pastry
This is pretty standard and is featured already in a couple of samosa recipes on the site.  The quantities make 8 discs approximately 8 inches in diameter, enough for 16 samosas.

225gm plain flour
4 dsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ajwain or kalonji seeds (optional)
170ml WARM water

Method
1.   Mix all the dry ingredients together.
2.   Add the olive oil and rub through the flour until you have a breadcrumb texture
3.   Make a well and add 5oz (140ml) of the warm water
4.   Mix well to form a STIFF dough adding additional water a tsp at a time until all the flour is incorporated into the dough and the mixing bowl is clean.  Although the dough will be stiff it must be pliable and not dry.
5.   Add one more tsp of water and work this through the dough until all moisture has been absorbed.
6.   Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for at least half an hour.  A good sign is when the dough starts to develop little white pimples.
7.   At this stage the dough can be frozen or put in the fridge but before use it must be allowed to (defrost if frozen and then) rest at room temperature for 3 hours or more before use.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on November 14, 2013, 08:19 PM
Wow Dave! That's the kind of comprehensive recipe that I like! A quick scan of the ingredients list reveals that I've got everything that's required to get going with this. Sounds like a job for the weekend for me. Thanks for all that hard work mate! :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 14, 2013, 08:35 PM
Super work there CH, I WILL be trying these at the weekend! Great to see someone selflessly sharing their experience and helping others to improve their results. What this forum is all about.

1600 degrees C still seems a bit on the high side... You didn't spot my comment on that then! ;)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 14, 2013, 08:44 PM
Super work there CH, I WILL be trying these at the weekend! Great to see someone selflessly sharing their experience and helping others to improve their results. What this forum is all about.

1600 degrees C still seems a bit on the high side... You didn't spot my comment on that then! ;)
;D ;D  I like 'em hot Chris.  Looking forward to your feedback.  Did correct the error before posting but the superscript doesn't transpose when copied from word.  Now corrected  ::)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: mickdabass on November 15, 2013, 08:23 AM
Thank you for taking the time to post the recipe CH -  Very clear and concise.
I will give these a go over the weekend. They really do look the business

Regards

Mick
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 15, 2013, 10:17 AM
I have the impression there's going to be a sudden outbreak of Samosa making across the land this weekend! No offence to CH though but I will be cutting down the amount of chilli powder as I like my samosas mild :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Garp on November 15, 2013, 04:36 PM
Now that's what I call a recipe posting. Tremendous CH.

Never tried to make samosas and am grappling with a Chinese dish at the moment, but I will definitely give these a try.

Mrs G doesn't eat lamb, would beef work?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 15, 2013, 05:57 PM
Looking forward to all the feedback and pics.  Yes Garp, minced beef will work equally as well, but for some reason the vege ones seem to be more popular, specially among the natives  ::)  Hopefully, you'll all be pleased with your results.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: mr.mojorisin on November 15, 2013, 08:58 PM
one of the best pictorial posts I've ever seen on here.

I've only ever ate about 5 samosas in my life...gonna start eating more now :)

looks delicious..and adaptable to whatever filling you desire methinks.

CH..many thanks
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 16, 2013, 02:15 PM
Oh. My. Goodness...  Possibly the hardest thing I've ever cooked. Nearly drove me batty trying to roll out that damn pastry which kept sticking to the rolling pin!  Then the nicely prepared semicircular pastry strips managed to glue themselves in the plastic bag so as I unpeeled them they stretched out into elongated crescents rather than semi circles.

I love the fact CH posted this recipe in such a nice how-to format but honestly I won't be making it again. Took nearly 3 hours of work in the end to get 10 samosas, half of which were weirdly misshaped :/ I had more than half of my filling left over as the amount I could actually fit into my badly shaped pastry cases was very limited. This was just beyond me in truth so hats off to those Indian housewives who stay home and make these each day for their families. And to CH for mastering the technique and producing such nice looking examples in his original post.

For what it's worth I've shown pics of my filling and uncooked and cooked samosas. I've only shown the best ones, there were about 5 more which I had eaten as soon as they cooked to cover up the evidence of how clumsy my pastry rolling had been. 

Ultimately I did make enough for lunch today and tomorrow and they were tasty, although next time I would halve the salt in the pastry and reduce the chilli powder to a quarter teaspoon as it was still too fierce for me even though I only put half a tsp in.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Kashmiri Bob on November 16, 2013, 02:45 PM
Here's my effort.  Trad desi. 75 % lamb. With peas.


(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/abcb12fd0e4869044789d984416b23c1.jpg)


(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/3698386838ef951d69ecd94ed92ef72b.jpg)


Rob  :D

Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 16, 2013, 03:21 PM
 :o :o So unlike you to settle for "second best" Rob  ;)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Kashmiri Bob on November 16, 2013, 03:46 PM
:o :o So unlike you to settle for "second best" Rob  ;)

I know Dave; I'm a lazy git.  ;D  These are the best frozen ready-mades in the world though.  Just need to figure out how to get some ajwain in/on the pastry. Any ideas?

Rob  :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on November 16, 2013, 10:48 PM
Just need to figure out how to get some ajwain in/on the pastry. Any ideas?

Rob  :)

Mix ajwain into sealing batter and paint onto the outside of the samosa. Will probably give a nice cripy, bubbly exterior too.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on November 16, 2013, 10:55 PM
I tried Googling spicy bites samosas and found only one (useless) entry! They look so good I want some, where did you get yours from Rob?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 17, 2013, 10:02 AM
Ok,  I think perhaps I was suffering a grumpy attack yesterday and felt a bit of frustration over how hard I had found the method. Didn't mean to come across so negative and I have to say I've just enjoyed some of the most delicious samosas for breakfast, straight out of the fridge. I'm having a hard time deciding whether they are better hot or cold.

So... Undaunted and contrary to my somewhat petulant "never again" stance of yesterday I'm going to have another try today with an equal amount of pastry to use up the untouched half of the filling mix left over from yesterday. If I manage to make anything resembling a samosa I will set aside and freeze some uncooked, to test deep frying straight from frozen (which must work as many of the supermarkets sell "cook from frozen" samsosas).

I don't mean to discourage anyone from trying this recipe, in fact give it a go but allow yourself plenty of time so you're not under pressure.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: mickdabass on November 17, 2013, 10:23 AM
I made some yesterday. I over salted and over ajwained the pastry first time round. I did find them very small and fiddly to make to start with. Substituted the 6 inch plate for an eight inch one, rolled 6 balls of pastry out, and also used a glass the right diameter to hold the pastry funnels while i filled them.


My verdict? They were delish

Would i make them again? Yes
They were fiddly to make to start with but eventually i got the hang of it

Would i tweak anything? Yes. Pinch of salt in the pastry and leave out the ajwain (too much thyme taste - just a personal prefference)

Thanks for taking the time to post the recipe CH

Regards

Mick
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on November 17, 2013, 10:27 AM
I have to admit, NJ, that I was having serious second thoughts about doing this after reading your experience. So much so that I threw myself into preparing more chicken tikka and JerryM's balti spice mix and balti garam masala instead for the baltification of CBM's Garlic Chilli Chicken Dopiaza.

But I still have everything I need to make CH's samosas, so I'll set aside a couple of hours during the week and give it a bash.

Mmmmmm! Samosas for breakfast! Fairly knocks my porridge into a cocked sporran! :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Kashmiri Bob on November 17, 2013, 11:12 AM
I tried Googling spicy bites samosas and found only one (useless) entry! They look so good I want some, where did you get yours from Rob?

The shops on Coventry Road in Birmingham sell them Santa.


(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/c34ff0700fae242c7aa2b2b73dc90277.jpg)


Their website looks to be suspended though.  Superb samosas (for a ready-made).  My local TA did some with their commercial fryer and they bubbled up a treat.  Going to get some more today before they're all gone.  Think I'll mix-and-match lamb and veg.  They also do sheek kebabs, which can also be a pain-in-the rear to make at home, so I'll try some of those.

Looking forward to making some of CH's over Christmas.  Thanks to him for posting a great recipe/method.  Me and samosa pastry haven't got on too well in the past.  I seem to have two left hands when folding them.  :D  Resorted to these gadgets (Lidl) at one time, they're quite good, but the samosas turn out like Cornish pasties.


(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/07a3e6150b80cea10a6b100e72609e4d.jpg)


Rob  :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 17, 2013, 11:27 AM
Thanks Natterjak and Mickdabass for at least trying the recipe.  Mick, you used the correct size plate.  I have just measured my plate and it is 7 1/2 inches NOT 6 as per the instructions.  I have asked George to correct the post  :-\  Apologies for that. 
I'm very pleased that when you both did eventually get to try the end result, after obvious frustrations and no doubt some choice language whilst trying to assemble and fill the little buggers, you enjoyed the flavour.  At the end of my post i did issue a kind of  a warning  ::)

The first time of making them is the worst.  After two or three attempts you will have developed your method and gotten the hang of it.

I never said it would be easy and i'm glad you're having a second go Chris.  I'm sure it will be easier today, now knowing what to expect.  It does take practice like a lot of things to do with this BIR milarky, but once you've mastered it, like most things i suppose, it is quite easy.
As you say Chris, you need to take your time and not be under any pressure.  That is what prompted my experiment post.  The process from start to finish is lengthy, which is why i wanted to be able to break it down to avoid spending such a long time in the kichen on just samosas.  I am now able to do 3 x 1 hour sessions when it suits rather than a 3 hour marathon  ;D
I remember my first time following Manjula's video which doesn't include the quick dry frying of the cases.  She makes it look so easy.  All i can say is it was like trying to fold a cone made of sopping wet kitchen roll with banana fingers. And when i did manage to get the cone right, the thing started to collapse before my eyes or the filling would burst throught the pastry as i was closing it  :'(  There were times when i nearly sent one or two into orbit or felt like throwing it across the kitchen at the wall  :o :o  But i persevered and cracked it in the end and now enjoy the results.  I really hope people won't be discouraged by their first attempts  ???

Oh, and i always like to eat them cold and never when they have just been cooked  ;D

Nice set of tools there Rob.  I can see them working real well too.  But as you say, the shape isn't quite what we're all used to.  I think i'll carry on using my banana fingers  ;D

And there's nothing wrong with those cooked samosas you pictured Natterjak.  They look scrumy and i'm sure i'd have enjoyed them for breakfast too  :P
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: loveitspicy on November 17, 2013, 12:03 PM
Marvelous - how do these bear traps work - samosa gadgets

best, Rich
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on November 17, 2013, 12:08 PM
The shops on Coventry Road in Birmingham sell them Santa...Their website looks to be suspended though...

Right, I'll have to stock up next time I visit then. And yes, it looks like their website is suspended - how odd!  ???
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 17, 2013, 12:22 PM
Well that was an altogether much more successful samosa making exercise... Experience really counts in this samosa making lark as you need a feel for how to roll the pastry and how to wrangle those little semi circles into samosa shaped cases.

Some adjustments / things I learned:

- made my pastry just that bit dryer this time without adding the extra tsp of water after the dough came together. Think this helped but it sure is a fine line between it being too dry to roll out easily (springing back) and too wet so it sticks to the rolling pin too often.
- I didn't use the plastic bag, just laid them out on a plate. I think this helped me maintain the semi circle shape without them sticking together. 
- I didn't use the "toasting on a hot frying pan" trick and they were still ok to put together by hand. I might yet go back to the hot sear method but I was trying to keep handling of the pastry to a minimum
- I knocked the salt back to half a tsp in the pastry and that was spot on for me. Also reduced the Kalonji to a third of tsp which was about right. Enough seeds for flavour without the samosas being too spotty.

I used a 7 inch diameter bowl as my template to cut around and this is possibly the limit of size which you can readily handle when putting the samosas together (unless you're using that tawa trick to sear them a bit)

But... I still have a third of the filling mix left over! This is after making two batches so I can't help feeling the ratio of pastry to filling qty might be off. I would halve the filling amount next time (I used the suggested 750g of potato).  Overall this was a massive improvement on before and I was able to make 12 respectable looking samosas, 4 of which I have frozen raw (along with a cooked one). Next weekend I'll try frying them from frozen and will try defrosting the cooked one in the microwave to see how they fare.

Having again sampled the freshly fried ones versus the cold-from-the-fridge versions this morning I think I do prefer them cold. Just seems to bring the flavours out more.

Thank you very very much to CH for the recipe post which has inspired me to try these and contrary to my previous frustrated pronouncement I will be making these again as I feel that with experience they will only become easier and even though they take time, I guess we are all here because we actually enjoy time spent in the kitchen (as long as the result is a good one). The results from this recipe are certainly very good.

EDIT: my final top tip - always orient the pastry cases the same way, so you're picking them up in the same way. That way you develop your method so you can wrangle them consistently. Starting with one upside down all of a sudden doesn't half confuse your little fingers!

Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: chewytikka on November 17, 2013, 03:17 PM
Great thread CH and well done NJ for sharing your 'real cooking experience' ;) 8)

I'll definitely get round to this one day, not sure I'd spice the dough, but hey!
Nigella goes with Naan, Ajwain goes with Besan flour.IMO.

I also just thought Samosa was an Indian snack, but I was surprised to learn its quite universal.

Not to detract from the theme.
I like trawling food/foodie blogs, always interesting to see others cook and share.

This Somali couple living in Canada have a good blog site http://xawaash.com/#sthash.dUsoZWuU.dpbs (http://xawaash.com/#sthash.dUsoZWuU.dpbs)
The cooking videos and tips are Pro and inspiring

Making Samosa pastry, good tips here. ;)
http://youtu.be/6P5228IG5R8 (http://youtu.be/6P5228IG5R8)

Using spring roll sheets, a bit more of a fiddle
http://youtu.be/EfGKrAJQkRI (http://youtu.be/EfGKrAJQkRI)

Bobs supermarket Samosas are probably made by machine.
Clever Designers/Engineers to come up with a machine like this ;) ;D

Chinese Samosa Machine
http://youtu.be/jl5YFeg2Tqk (http://youtu.be/jl5YFeg2Tqk)


cheers Chewy
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 18, 2013, 06:11 PM
The kalonji works well in the pastry chewy, don't write it off. Not too much though, definately adds something appealing to the samosas.

Will have a look at your links ta.

Only two members tried this so far? Come on folks..!
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 18, 2013, 09:24 PM
What's with the antipodean pics then Chris?  Did the filling, cases and uncooked ones  look better upside down  ;D
Thanks for persevering.  The finished article in the pics looks the same as those from one of the local Kent general stores - very tasty.  Samosa making in the early stages can seem a little bit like a labour of love which can be unrequited sometimes  ::)  But as you've discovered, once you develop your method it all starts falling into place as your second experience has confirmed.  Give it one or two more sessions and you'll be an expert, turning out full recipes of the little triangles  ;D 
Unfortunately, i don't think my post is going to do a lot for encouraging individuals to try making samosas.  But it may serve as a reference point for those who are determined and really want to crack it.
I'm looking forward to the feedback on you freeezing experiment.
Many thanks to you and Mickdabass for giving it a go and providing hands on reports.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 18, 2013, 09:35 PM
Oh... Didn't realise they were upside down. They're right way up when I view the page on ipad. I think this is an apple thing, has come up before.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 18, 2013, 09:43 PM
@ Natterjak
You are just trying to disguise your efforts, weren't you  Chris  ;)

@CT
Enjoyed the vids.  I think i've watched virtually all vids out there on samosa making over the last year, including these.  There was a real good one of a samosa making machine in India.  That must have been the rolls royce bit of kit though and churned out samosas a lot quicker than the Chinese version  :o

I suppose i'll have to make some more this week, just because i can  ::)  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on November 19, 2013, 09:11 AM
Great thread, and amazing recipe presentation in post #1.

My main interest re. samosas is to get the filling to taste 'right' (for me). I know the type of flavour I've been impressed by elsewhere.

Do you think the taste of the filling would be almost the same, if cooked in a basin in the oven without pastry? I fear it's time and effort on the pastry shells which is the deterrent here. Or perhaps not, so I could make any shape shell, just to trial the filling. Once I get a filling I like - even curryhell lists some options - I'll proceed to make proper pastry shells.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 19, 2013, 10:14 PM
Cheers for correcting my errors George.
I don't think the pastry shape is that important and if you were to use any shape to encase your samosa it would be fine.  There are many examples of samosas being different shapes from the traditional  triangular shape we are familar with.  Nor do i think the pastry makes any difference to the taste of the filling, other than the two go well together, kind of complimenting one another adding to the overall pleasurable experience of eating the snack.
Regarding filling, i've looked at many many recipes for the spicing of the filling and in the main they comprise of basically the same ingredients but with varying proportions.  I think it's really a case of starting with a base mix and then tweaking where you think necessary until you end up somewhere close to where you want to be. Basically trial and error i'm afraid.
The basic spices seem to be:
coriander, cumin, chilli powder, garam masala.  More traditional recipes tend to also add amchoor (dry green mango) powder.  Chilli powder is sometimes replaced by crushed chilli flakes. Some include dried meethi leaves as well.  Turmeric seems to be added in only  a few recipes though.
A small amount of fried onion seems to be popular, having spiced the oil with cumin seeds, as does adding ginger rather than garlic / ginger.  Fresh green chilli seems to be the norm with the red chilli powder being adjusted to compensate for the overall heat effect.  The addition of chopped fresh coriander is also not unusual and in one or two recipes dried pomegranite seeds are also added (the dark variety which are quite tart rather than the red ones).
Not sure whether any of this helps very much.  I think the only real way to make progress is by spending some time in the kitchen experimenting.  I can think of worse things to be doing though.  Just think of all those samosas you get to eat into the bargain  :P
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: 976bar on November 20, 2013, 08:50 AM
Nice work Dave, I've only just seen this :)

One thing we do with our Samosa pastry when making is to add a little Turmeric powder which gives the pastry a pale golden yellow colour :)

I'll have to give these a go :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on November 20, 2013, 10:39 PM
I started sorting out these samosas this morning, but it turned into one of those days where I couldn't get on with one thing without something else competing for my attention!

Anyway, I got the filling done no bother, and I started making the pastry. This is where things started to go awry...

After a few interruptions, the pastry was made - but something wasn't quite right. I read the recipe again and...doh! the olive-bloody-oil! I missed the breadcrumb stage and went straight to drowning the flour! So I did it right second time around and left the dough to rest for half-an-hour.

Five hours later, I finally got around to picking the dough up again! Worryingly, it didn't look any different - was it not supposed to resemble a pimply youth? Undaunted, I released the dough from its cling film prison and...aaaarrrgggh! It had transformed from a mere mixture of flour and water to a cross between Mr Fantastic and a killer Klingon! It was so elastic and sticky that anything it touched immediately started to assimilate with it!

Clearly, I had gone wrong somewhere...

Rolling the mixture out was interesting. I managed to subdue the sticky beast with copious quantities of flour (eventually!) and I think the final two discs I rolled actually looked vaguely circular!

And then it was time to get the curries on for the family arriving, so into the fridge went the keema and the pastries.

Tomorrow is another day, and tomorrow will be the day the samosas finally hit the pan. Assuming, that is, that one is left in peace to get on with it! :)

I think these are going to be good, and I think if I get the dough right the next time, all will be well with the world! :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Zap on November 21, 2013, 04:12 AM
Gave the recipe a go over the weekend - making two fillings (one traditional and one takeaway style).  The pastry used ajwain seeds as is common in some of the samosas we've had here in the states.

The samosas tasted great - far better than anything I've made in the past - and the pastry was spot on.  The only disparate thing that I'd like to ask about is why mine don't have nearly the same blistering as the original picture - any thoughts (pastry thickness - consistency - oil temp - etc)?  If it matters I used veg ghee in the pastry instead of oil but I would think that could only make it richer tasting.

I'd really like to be able to nail the surface appearance - as the assembly progressed they kept looking better and better.  The batch on the right side (takeaway style) are a lot cleaner looking than some on the left.

So any thoughts on the blistering?  More pre-cook for the pasty in the pan?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 21, 2013, 06:41 AM
Well  done Zap  :) .  I would say there's as many good lookers on the left as there is on the right  ;)
Here they are in all their glory  :P

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/ccfbcd2949a019f5042d2422b92c71ed.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#ccfbcd2949a019f5042d2422b92c71ed.jpg)

Glad to hear the assembly expertise increased as production progressed, as expected.

If it matters I used veg ghee in the pastry instead of oil

Herein lies the answer to your question possibly.  Either it doesn't work as well as oil or you need to work it through the pastry more at the breadcrumb stage.  I notice their are some blisters here and there  :)

Quote
So any thoughts on the blistering?  More pre-cook for the pasty in the pan?
DEFINITELY NOT.  This stage is purely to enable easier handling of the pastry during assembly, not to improve the look.
Occasionally, i too produce samosas which seem to blister less  :-\  ;D Doesn't affect the taste though  :P
Thanks for trying the recipe and  reporting back. I'm sure you'll crack the last little bit on your next production run  ;D
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 21, 2013, 07:27 AM
Great report Keith. You had cackling at 6:00am this morning.  I can very easily relate to the killer klingon description  ;D . I also have left my dough for long periods of time and it has become very soft, sticky and extremely pliable.  This may be ideal for naans but isn't much help when making samosas >:( It's funny but some recipes suggest soft pliable dough whilst others say the dough should be stiff  :-\
The solution as you rightly say was addition of more flour to bring the klingon to heel  :D
As for the lack of pimples, these are not essetial, but when they occur I just know the results are going to be good.  I seem to get them more when the water added to the flour is on the warmer side or when the ambient temperature is higher while the dough is resting  :-\ I'm sure someone will be able to explain the reasoning behind it  ;)
Good luck with the final stages.  I can't wait for the next instalment  ;)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 21, 2013, 11:03 AM
I agree with the posts here, CH - amazing recipe, very concise and clear-cut.

I'll be giving this a go later on today, with a special filling for my girls - leftover bombay potato and pre-cooked chicken bits (just not enough for a curry) to save wastage!  ;D

Will let ya know how it goes, but the pastry is done and I have to say WOW - it is AMZING stuff so far!

Thanks for the recipe, Curryhell, so much better and authentic than bl@@dy filo squares.

Bests,

Pete
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: DalPuri on November 21, 2013, 11:45 AM
A quick search shows the first half dozen or so references saying that blistering occurs when the oil is too hot.
Some dont like this effect and prefer them smoother.
A couple of other suggestions said the fat/oil might not have been cut enough into the flour.(if fat is used)
Another mentioned leaving the dough/discs/prepared uncooked samosas overnight in the fridge (uncovered)

A short extract from The Settlers Cookbook similar to the method adopted by CH.


(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/2f40887aaa1c18f6f9fbe9c819423738.jpg)

I've also used a similar method when making parathas.
Instead of rolling out with flour and a pin, ive pressed the balls of dough in my electric chapati maker for 10-20 seconds. They blister slightly and a waxy type of skin is formed. These can be stacked up together without the need for dividers for frying later.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Willyeckerslike on November 21, 2013, 11:46 AM
I have never really been a fan of samosas.  I do suspect these will taste pretty good though.  My guess is I must have tried some that were not very good, as what can be wrong with pastry and a spicy filling?  If I get time, now that I live in the place where prisoners were once exported too I will give these a try.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: mickdabass on November 21, 2013, 12:03 PM
Think you're right about the oil DP. The back "samosa" (I use that term loosely lol) was cooked first, the front was cooked last. The oil was getting progressively hotter.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 21, 2013, 05:50 PM
Today I enjoyed, for my lunch at work, the samosas cooked at the weekend which had been frozen a few days as an experiment. Having defrosted overnight in the fridge they were indistinguishable from freshly cooked. In short, delicious.

Next test will be to fry from frozen some of the uncooked ones which are in the freezer. Hopefully this will settle for me the question of whether freezing before or after cooking is best. I suspect the answer is before, but we will see.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Micky Tikka on November 21, 2013, 07:08 PM
These are a must do at Christmas time for me where I have a bit more time along with those cornbeef puff things  ;D
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on November 21, 2013, 08:35 PM
So...after my abortive attempt to complete the job yesterday, I retrieved the filling and pastries from the fridge and started to form some cones ready for the lamb.

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/6697f238c5db4ae3626af7ef4eda46c6.JPG)

Unfortunately for me, yesterday's setbacks continued into today - the pastry just wasn't right! Overnight in the fridge, it had transformed from an icky-sticky monster into a pile of half-formed frisbees! They were just too brittle to bend into shape and, after trying 4 different pieces, I realised that it just wasn't going to happen with this batch. I had two choices - make a nice lamb keema for dinner, or start again with the pastry and try to get it right this time. I opted for the pastry and, this time, I must have done something right because I ended up with a nice, dry dough.

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/d6b3115e0c622dbeb46602fa47fd0a14.JPG)

I decided to avoid the problems of yesterday and sprayed some sunflower oil onto my work surface instead of the flour dusting I used yesterday. It was Fry Light oil and I should have just stuck to pure oil, as the water content in the Fry Light made the decent dough a bit slippy and wet. In consequence, the samosa cases rather took on a bit of a life of their own between formation and filling, so although I definitely ended up with samosa-shaped snacks, they weren't exactly classics! Still, another lesson learned and I'll do better next time.

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/b251a60c05aacf432d733bc592ff5985.JPG)

After 10 minutes in 160C sunflower oil for each of the 3 batches of four samosas, they were ready for testing.

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/bed8da2789f86df7919b9bfc431b3b80.JPG)


(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/70ddf897d0611cab74f11ae6501debb9.JPG)

My good lady wife declared that hers was entirely fit for purpose, and, after scoffing my own, I reached the same conclusion! Delicious!

Thanks, CH, that's another treat for the curry menu! :)

PS: My kitchen lighting isn't exactly conducive for taking decent photos - that's my excuse anyway! The grub looked much better in real life!
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 21, 2013, 09:55 PM
I'll be giving this a go later on today, with a special filling for my girls - leftover bombay potato and pre-cooked chicken bits (just not enough for a curry) to save wastage!  ;D
..............................so much better and authentic than bl@@dy filo squares.
Hope all goes well Pete. The beauty of samosas is the vesatility of the filling you can use.  Don't mention the filo things - imposters  >:(
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 21, 2013, 10:02 PM
Today I enjoyed, for my lunch at work, the samosas cooked at the weekend which had been frozen a few days as an experiment. Having defrosted overnight in the fridge they were indistinguishable from freshly cooked. In short, delicious.

Great news Chris, that now means i can do the whole thing in advance and simply defrost , with no adverse affects  :) :)

Quote
Next test will be to fry from frozen some of the uncooked ones which are in the freezer. Hopefully this will settle for me the question of whether freezing before or after cooking is best. I suspect the answer is before, but we will see.
Will be interested to hear this result to, although i am more likely to fry then freeze unless there is a definite gain frying uncooked from frozen.  Thanks for helping with the jigsaw Chris.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 21, 2013, 10:14 PM
Nothing wrong with those little beauties Naga.  Manjula's samosas look very similar.  Great that the good lady gave them the thumbs up and that you enjoyed them.  Shame about your cases from yesterday though  :(  They look fit for purpose in the pic.  I think all would have been well if you had used them immediately.  The thing about dry frying, whilst it makes contstruction easier, you have to be very careful not to dry out the pastry too much or it does become brittle and breaks as you are trying to fold into the cone shape.  I too have experienced this.  It was exactly this issue that prompted my experiment post, as i wanted to see what sort of impact the time delay had on the dough provided i kept it as near as i could to the original condition when it came off the tawa.  I wonder if your cases could have been reconstituted if wrapped in a damp cloth ????  Hmm, may have to explore if i have any that turn out brittle  ???
Thanks for trying the recipe and providing your detailed result mate.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 22, 2013, 08:21 PM
Results are in... The samosas which were frozen uncooked, then fried from frozen were a bit drier and not as well flavoured as those which were cooked before freezing, then simply defrosted without further cooking. There was a kind of sweetness to the pastry of the precooked ones which was less prevalent in the cook from frozen ones.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on November 22, 2013, 08:46 PM
Nice one, NJ! Good to know. These samosas are definitely great straight from the fridge as you've mentioned previously - I've had 3 today lol! But I'm not sure I'll get through a full batch in good order. so freezing them down is a top option.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 22, 2013, 09:47 PM
Many thanks for completing the jigsaw Natterjak and thanks to all those that have tried the recipe and and added to the thread.  Cooked and frozen it will be if i have to make a shed load of the little blighters, quite possible with Xmas coming up :o  I hope i've given some of you the bug to continue on the perfect samosa trail  ;D  Would be good see comments on your successes in future attempts as well  ;)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 23, 2013, 12:28 PM
Well, I gave it a go and I was impressed! My first time  making samosas and they were edible, even moreish!

The dough I got was a bit on the wet side, but thats down to the measures I think.

Curryhell, you give dessertspoon measures - how many ml is this, please? I actually used my dessert spoons and I think that was my problem.

May I presume that you are meaning 10ml, being as a tsp = 5ml, a tablespoon = 15ml, then a dessertspoon = 10ml?

Sorry to be picky, but the taste on these are just right and I want to dial this recipe right in now we have tried it.

Thanks for the recipe and any help you can give CH

Bests,

Pete
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 23, 2013, 12:47 PM
Well today I made my third batch of these samosas, using up the final third of the filling made last weekend. Quite a turnaround from my initial "never again" position,  which was a bit silly with hindsight.

I'm trying to dial in on exact measurements for the pastry as I like to eliminate variations between batches. Today I used these ratios which worked well:

250g plain flour
Half level tsp salt
One third level tsp Kalonji seeds
3 tbsp oil
130ml (130g) water
Yield was 7 x 7" pastry discs for 14 samosas

I initially added 125g water which didn't quite come together as a dough, hence the extra tsp full.

I love the end result of these samosas and have got the technique a bit more nailed but it still took me over 2 hours to make, even using pre-made filling. If there's a way to streamline the process and speed them up, I'm all ears.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 23, 2013, 09:48 PM
Well, I gave it a go and I was impressed! My first time  making samosas and they were edible, even moreish!

What no pics !!!  :(

Quote
The dough I got was a bit on the wet side, but thats down to the measures I think.
Who's, your measures or mine?  ;D

Quote
Curryhell, you give dessertspoon measures - how many ml is this, please? I actually used my dessert spoons and I think that was my problem.

May I presume that you are meaning 10ml, being as a tsp = 5ml, a tablespoon = 15ml, then a dessertspoon = 10ml?

100% correct.  Not possessing a normal tbs i always use a dssrt spoon. I rarely get my measuring spoons out, only when i really have to  ::)
Glad you're having success Pete and want to nail it.  The satisfaction is second to none when you're tucking into those lovely tasty triangles  :P ;D
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 23, 2013, 09:57 PM
I love the end result of these samosas and have got the technique a bit more nailed but it still took me over 2 hours to make, even using pre-made filling. If there's a way to streamline the process and speed them up, I'm all ears.
Sounds as though you're hooked Chris  ;D ;D  There's just no substitute for the real thing once you can make it  ::)
I'm still trying to work out how you manage to make 750 gms of spud + peas do three recipes of samosas  :o  Maybe i'm just over generous with the filling  :)
As for the streamlining of the process, i'm all ears too.  The only way i can make the process less painful is to split it up into nice "bite size" pieces, dough and cases, filling , then assembly and frying.  Timewise, it's the same, but little and often does seem to be a lot easier.  And now you've provided me with the freezing option, better still.  Glad you're enjoying these Natterjak.  There just really isn't any substitute, is there?  ;)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 23, 2013, 10:41 PM
Not sure either. I added a bit of carrot but not much. Each samosa is stuffed with as much as I dare while still being able to close it.

Re streamlining it seems to me most of the time is in the rolling out of pastry, because you can't rush it otherwise the damn stuff sticks to the rolling pin. Maybe using a pasta roller would speed through creating thin strips of pastry from which the circles could be cut?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 24, 2013, 10:07 AM
Hi Curryhell...

Yeah, I'm guessing my measures were way off yours, cos my dessert spoons are probably not the same size as yours etc.

I shall redo with the measures we discussed.

I'll pop some pics in later today and edit this post, lol

As for time saving...

Perhaps a 'holder' for the cones when made, so another helper can fill them? that or the holder would aid us using both hands until we get a bit more familiar with the muscle memory needed to do this easily? I was thinking something like a few cheap funnels from the 99p stores? pop em into a board in drilled holes to accommodate their spouts and voila - samosa holders  ;D

Anyway... I'll put more grey matter to work on it and find something to help and I'll get some pics up too!

Thanks for the replies Curryhell - very useful info as always.

Bests,

Pete
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 24, 2013, 10:22 AM
Hi WD,

I also had the idea of using a funnel to support the pastry case while filling it and tried this yesterday - didn't work! The pastry doesn't have enough strength to support itself within thr funnel, so the edges just collapsed inwards. I reverted to holding the pastry in one hand and filling with the other. In fact I don't find the stuffing process to be the most time consuming, it's the rolling out which gets me.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 24, 2013, 11:26 AM
Gotcha, Natterjack - ok... mebbe a puri press would do it for ya then?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cellco-Puri-Press/dp/B002J9EOJ8 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cellco-Puri-Press/dp/B002J9EOJ8)

Can get em for 14-16 quid on amazon. I'm all for labour-saving devices if they do as they say on the tin...

Bests

Pete
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on November 24, 2013, 11:46 AM
This thread (http://www.secretcurryrecipes.com/curryforum/showthread.php?6947-CBM-Home-Made-Samosa-Press) by Mick Crawford might help solve pastry problems. Pretty ingenious idea!
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 24, 2013, 11:48 AM
That's an idea WD.  Similar to what was suggested by Dalpuri:
I've also used a similar method when making parathas.
Instead of rolling out with flour and a pin, ive pressed the balls of dough in my electric chapati maker for 10-20 seconds. They blister slightly and a waxy type of skin is formed. These can be stacked up together without the need for dividers for frying later.
Interesting idea of the pasta roller Natterjak.  May have potential but i don't have one to give it a try  :-\
As for the funnels,  I can see the logic behind it.  You'd have to be careful not to overfill though, and then you've still got to get the little bugger out and close it up.  What happens if it decides to stick itself to the funnel  :o :o :o  ;D
Or we could nip down the local general store and clear their food cabinet of their home made samosas - if you're lucky enough to have a store that makes them  ;D  I'm lucky, I do and they're real tasty.
But then again, just think of all the fun you'd be missing out on and that special moment when all your efforts come together to produce that perfect little triangular snack  :P I now am feeling the need to mix up some dough and knock out the cases today and possibly boil up the spuds  ::) ::)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 24, 2013, 11:55 AM
Or we could nip down the local general store and clear their food cabinet of their home made samosas - if you're lucky enough to have a store that makes them  ;D  I'm lucky, I do and they're real tasty.
But then again, just think of all the fun you'd be missing out on and that special moment when all your efforts come together to produce that perfect little triangular snack  :P I now am feeling the need to mix up some dough and knock out the cases today and possibly boil up the spuds  ::) ::)

Youre quite right ya know - and I too am feeling the need as it happens  ;D Do excuse me for a few minutes LOL

Pete
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: natterjak on November 24, 2013, 01:56 PM
This thread (http://www.secretcurryrecipes.com/curryforum/showthread.php?6947-CBM-Home-Made-Samosa-Press) by Mick Crawford might help solve pastry problems. Pretty ingenious idea!

Interesting naga, very industrious of Mick to make his own. It inspired me to go searching and I found these:

Samosa Moulds (2pcs)
http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B006320072 (http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B006320072)

Not sure how effective they are and there's no size detailed, which makes it hard to know if they're worth trying. Still leaves me wondering how to speed through the pastry rolling stage though. I like the idea of a big tortilla or puri press though.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on November 24, 2013, 02:12 PM
[V]ery industrious of Mick to make his own. It inspired me to go searching and I found these:

Samosa Moulds (2pcs)
http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B006320072 (http://amazon.co.uk/dp/B006320072)

Not sure how effective they are and there's no size detailed
It may be worth asking, phrasing your question as a comment, as Begum reviewed them very recently :

Quote from: Begum
Its not too bad but after putting mix in mould you still need to cut around the shapes.i would recommend this product.
** Phil.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on November 24, 2013, 02:14 PM
...I found these...

I was just about to press the  BUY button when my good lady wife reminded me of all the labour-saving devices we had bought over the years at Ideal Homes shows and the likes. Without exception, they all cluttered the cupboards before being binned or offered to a charity shop.

It was touch and go for a minute, though. I was sorely tempted! :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on November 24, 2013, 02:38 PM
I was just about to press the  BUY button when my good lady wife reminded me of all the labour-saving devices we had bought over the years at Ideal Homes shows and the likes. Without exception, they all cluttered the cupboards before being binned or offered to a charity shop.

Hmmm.  Dosa maker.  Panini press.  SodaStream.  $n$ liquidisers/blenders/mini-choppers, for large $n$.    You may have a point.  But at least the breadmaker is in use at this very instant, the lassi maker is in use almost every day, and life without the the Kenwood Major would be both unthinkable and unbearable ...

** Phil.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 24, 2013, 03:55 PM
Eureka!!

Our local charity shop has a pasta machine in there - a BL@@DY good one too... COMPLETE for 20 quid HE HE!

Add the 3 quid or so for the moulds and I can get PERFECTO samosas every time, thanks to Curryhells recipe and the gadgets!

Can't wait until Monday for the shop to open now, LOL

Here's my first ever batch of samosas - the oil wasnt anywhere near hot enough, so a thermometer is on the cards. Plus, I will get the measures correct now after Crryhells kind help and advice - thanks for that CH

(http://DSCF0791)

Thanks all - what a great place!  ;D

Bests,

Pete
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Garabi Army on November 24, 2013, 06:56 PM
They look excellent Waterdiddy, the sort of thing I like to take to work for my lunch  :D

Cheers,
Ken
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: fried on November 24, 2013, 07:00 PM
Those are making me very hungry!
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 24, 2013, 07:24 PM
I wish my first ever batch of samosas had turned out like that  :-\  Fantastic result WD.  Do you really need the gadgets looking at that production run?  ;D  I'd say you're pretty much there mate.  Re. the oil temp, test it with a  bit of samaosa dough.  The oil is ready  when the dough is dropped into it and immediately makes its way to the top.  Too cold if it sits there and thinks about, too hot if it rockets to the surface, simples  ;)  Or use a bit of poppadum as i do normally. Keep dropping bits in.  Slide half a dozen samosas in as soon as when you drop a bit in, the poppadum expands and cooks. 
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 24, 2013, 08:06 PM
Aw! - that's nice of you to say so, but I set the bar quite high... The lovely Indian lady who's boys run the local Post Office and her husband, who runs the local TA, makes some ASTOUNDING samosas EVERY morning.

Whenever I pass, I buy 3 meat and 3 veg and they're STILL warm!

I would like to get mine like hers,though I realise she has the edge on me big-time in skills and years of experience ;D

Thanks to your recipe and howto - brilliant pics BTW - I am now on the path - thank you CH... great thread, m8.

Bests

Pete

Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 24, 2013, 09:17 PM
I think we all set the bar high WD.  And I know what you mean about the quality of home mades samosas made by someone who's been doing it for years  :P One of the general stores near me has been there since the early 70's.  Mr and Mrs Singh have been producing samosas, onion bhajis, pakora, rotis, chappatis, naans, curries etc, since they've been there - all damn tasty fayre.  I'm quite happy that my onion bhajis are now approaching their standard in taste and texture.  And my samosas are close too  ::) .  I've just got to master the size bit yet on the bhajis ::)
Made some dough this afternoon and boiled some spuds.  I've just rolled 12 discs and have 2 dozen cases wrapped and cooling in an airtight container, ready for filling, sealing and frying tomorrow eve.  50 mins form start to finish, excluding the  washing up though. The dishwasher can do that.  First time of using ordinary veg oil instead of olive oil in the pastry.  The olive oil is definitely lighter in the pastry and less obvious in the texture of the dough.  However the dough turned out good, with pimples, and other than dusting the initail circle in flour on both sides at the start, no further dusting required during the roll out.  Will be interesting to see the how the final results turn out tomorrow eve  ;D
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 24, 2013, 11:44 PM
Looking forward to the report, mucker!

Sounding very promising so far, I wish you all the best with them of course.

Bests,

Pete
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 26, 2013, 09:52 PM
Didn't have time to make these yesterday.  But not too worried as another day in the fridge for the cases would confirm that i can adopt this practice going forward if necessary.  Next step is to freeze the dozen that are still in the fridge and see what happens when i go to use them once i've brought them back to room temperature.  Anyway, i'll let the results speak for themselves.  These were spiced traditionally, coriander, cumin, chilli, amchoor powder, garam masala, dried meethi and salt.  Tsp cumin seeds, garlic / ginger paste fried in with the onions, added half dozen birdseye chillis finely chopped followed by the peas, crushed potato, adding the spices(all well mixed) in two stages and a tbs of fresh chopped coriander.  The filling had a little kick with a slight tartness to it.  Must go and prep some tamarind dip and some dips youghurt sauce for the work colleagues  ::)

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/ff7e6f57293ddcf90ed5f4c445d84b5f.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#ff7e6f57293ddcf90ed5f4c445d84b5f.jpg)

Pleased to report no adverse affects from using the vege oil rather than olive  :)

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/8e424702820fcdfc4929ec9954fd7a4a.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#8e424702820fcdfc4929ec9954fd7a4a.jpg)

Once they've cooled i'd better try one i suppose with my dipping sauce  :P ::)

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/99d9cf6090ba518d1007c471bc6565e8.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#99d9cf6090ba518d1007c471bc6565e8.jpg)

I dry fried one disc when the tawa was not  up to temperature  :-\.  Whilst the dough was nice and soft and maleable, it reminded me of how much hard work it is to fold, fill and seal a samosa.  Whilst i can now do it, dry frying is definitely the way forward for me  ;D ;D

I thought  a little sampling was in order  :)

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/befc1625bd6212b41e69200ca8dbfe5c.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#befc1625bd6212b41e69200ca8dbfe5c.jpg)

Yep, they're just fine, there won't be any complaints with these  ;D

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/34610fdd1e7305d1011ab3088f321a81.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#34610fdd1e7305d1011ab3088f321a81.jpg)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Micky Tikka on November 26, 2013, 10:04 PM
You got far too much time on your hands making those samosas CH
what you need is a relaxing curry night out  ;D
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 26, 2013, 10:06 PM
You got far too much time on your hands making those samosas CH
what you need is a relaxing curry night out  ;D
Took me all of 45 mins to fold, fill, seal and fry them and 10 mins to wash up  ::) ::)
And there's now 12 cases in the freezer for further experimentation  ;)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Waterdiddy on November 26, 2013, 10:26 PM
CH - You are an inspiration!

I did these tonight and they are ALL down to you, m8 - thanks SO much!!#

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/f93649ceddc640571c5286d618c1b888.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#f93649ceddc640571c5286d618c1b888.jpg)

This is only half the pastry, tomorrow I will try my new pasta maker (20 quid from the charity shop) on the rolling, see how she does  8)

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/d8a7fad4e82a6fdb16155f90ac883add.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#d8a7fad4e82a6fdb16155f90ac883add.jpg)

Nice job Curryhell, now I have more confidence in the Samosa dept.

Bests,

Pete
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on November 26, 2013, 10:35 PM
I've been called many things WD, but never an inspiration  :o ;D Think you can put a tick in the samosa box now Pete - DONE, great results there  :P.  You're definitely cooking with gas so to speak  ;)  That looks a nice bit of kit by the way.  Looking forward to  tomorrow's report.  Just don't forget your dough may be a lit more supple tomorrow and may need a bit more flour once it's back to room temp.  Good luck mate  :)
By the way, mine with tamarind dip were absolutely   :P :P :P
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: ziggycat on March 04, 2014, 01:08 PM
Just wanted to say a big thanks to you CH.. I've been making samosas with filo for as long as I can remember.. and then last weekend I made these ;

the pastry was really light with a nice crunch.. absolutely perfect.  Freinds said they were the best they had tasted :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Garp on March 04, 2014, 01:27 PM
I've never tried making samosas, but those look delicious, Ziggy.

Great work (do you deliver)?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on March 06, 2014, 07:56 PM
Having looked at those little beauties I've now gone into retirement from samosa making  :o  I'll be placing my order for 4 dozen on  a regular basis  ;D
Excellent work Ziggy.  They're spot on and so so much better than those horrid filo things  ::)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on March 06, 2014, 11:11 PM
Any opinions on the best keema filling for these beauties?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: 976bar on March 07, 2014, 10:13 AM
Wow Dave,

I had totally missed this thread mate, they look the Muts Nuts!!!  :o

Will certainly be giving these a go :)

Well done Dave...
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Zap on May 14, 2014, 09:23 PM
Came back to haunt this thread again after some time.  Now have made a few batches of Samosas (usually go big and freeze them as they reheat beautifully).  I am curious what if anything those of you getting the crazy blistering have changed - hotter oil / thinner pastry / different oil?  Just curious as that is still more elusive than I'd like it.

Otherwise I'm THRILLED - definitely up there with some of the best I've had.
Often served up with spicy raw onion (chili powder, vinegar, tomato paste mixture) and my favorite, Green (Coriander leaf & mint Chutney).  The green chutney goes beautifully with the samosas, but I'm not sure if any BIRs have it or if it is just found here in the States.

I think I'm going to have to try making some Bhajis next!
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: LouP on May 22, 2014, 05:20 PM
I made these for the first time today. The pastry only made 12 as it was very difficult to roll and after cooking 4 of them as a test (for dinner) I realise the pastry was a bit thick. They tasted great though. I did the potato filling with peas and a bit of carrot ( as I hadn't got quite enough spuds).

I did the circles and l stacked them but they started sticking before I could get them on the tawa so next time I will roll...cut circles....to Tawa... half and then bag.

They were quite hard work from start to finish but well worth it and I know they will get easier and better with practice. We scoffed 2 each with some salad and chicken 65 ( hubby had chips with his) . Yum :)

Cheers guys!
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/2435b91e0b7df8926436a6cd277b8c44.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#2435b91e0b7df8926436a6cd277b8c44.jpg)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on May 22, 2014, 10:00 PM
Glad to hear you are getting good results chaps.  Practice does make perfect.  Just keep at it  ;D
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Onions on June 11, 2014, 02:17 PM
These look great CH! Bricking it, but gotta give it a go! Cheers :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: ExpatBride on October 08, 2014, 08:31 AM
Can anyone suggest a method for baking the samosas?

I've moved to a teeny tiny flat and sold my deep fryer, which I deeply regret on a weekly basis, but I just haven't got room for it.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: noble ox on October 08, 2014, 08:43 AM
An easy way is to use a small chip pan saucepan with a basket or a smaller pan and tongs ;)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: mickdabass on October 08, 2014, 01:18 PM
What about brushing them with oil and baking at say 180c until golden.. I'm no pro but I've done diy chips like that
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on October 08, 2014, 05:08 PM
I'd go with NO's suggestion.  I doubt very much whether the desired results can be obtained by any method other than deep frying.  That isn't to say they cannot be baked but the results will be significantly different.
Baked onion bhaji anybody  ;D
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: noble ox on October 08, 2014, 05:39 PM
 :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Sverige on October 08, 2014, 06:19 PM
Suggest shallow frying them in 1.5 cm of oil on low heat, turning halfway thru. Got to be better than oven baking
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: LouP on October 08, 2014, 07:18 PM
these were mine on Friday. Shallow fried 4 to a pan :)
(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/c1f2537396053b7fc2047560ea206679.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#c1f2537396053b7fc2047560ea206679.jpg)
before

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/d1c4c54d21953bb69fd096b36ea2fa10.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#d1c4c54d21953bb69fd096b36ea2fa10.jpg)
during

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/6886f8d3c7d968df7b1e5f7926374985.jpg) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#6886f8d3c7d968df7b1e5f7926374985.jpg)
after
Yummy!!
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Gav Iscon on October 08, 2014, 07:20 PM
Very nice Loup.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Madrasandy on October 08, 2014, 07:22 PM
Tasty looking  :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: LouP on October 08, 2014, 08:17 PM
They are so good but there is never enough. People at work want them, we all love them. They are fantastic. Mini indian pasties :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Gav Iscon on October 08, 2014, 08:43 PM
Is that CH's filling you used?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on October 08, 2014, 09:26 PM
Is that CH's filling you used?
I think I can answer that Gav, no it is not.  Not that it matters in the slightest cos it doesn't.  The whole point of this post was to show those who are familiar with the quality samosas of old how to make something better than the c**p dished up in BIRs today.  Fair play to anybody that has taken the trouble to try it out.  With this, as like most cooking, particularly BIR, practice makes perfect.
Unlike the die hards, who insist on a madras not having this ingredient or that, blah de blah de blah, you can fill these with whatever you want and spice according to your own tastes.  Pretty much like any curry really, so long as you enjoy it  ;D
Experiment away, and enjoy the results  ;)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Gav Iscon on October 08, 2014, 09:44 PM
They're definitely on the list to try (they have been since you first posted them last year). I find these things along with onion bahji's etc tend to get over shadowed by curry and therefore get put to one side.  :(
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: curryhell on October 08, 2014, 09:51 PM
I find these things along with onion bahji's etc tend to get over shadowed by curry and therefore get put to one side.  :(

Oh, so true Gav.  It's good to have a good positive result and a YES, "nailed" experience to spur you on for the long haul stuff  ;D ie. that 5% or more we're all chasing  ::)  Once you've made these a couple of time, it'll be like riding a bike.  And everybody just wants more and more, never mind the curry  :o
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: LouP on October 08, 2014, 11:38 PM
They are to spec except minus 150/200 gms of spuds but plus 150 gm carrot. (didnt have enough spuds in).

We had them as a mixed starter/main with Shami, tikka etc so we could enjoy fully. Mum and dad had theirs as starters to curry :)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: ziggycat on October 09, 2014, 01:08 AM
This is definately the best samosa making technique, it's foolproof with superb results.

I've have been accused of buying them before now, they turn out so good friends don't believe I made them. They're far better than my local TA or anything you can get in a shop.

Anyone who's not attempted them is missing out.  First time making them seems a bit laborious but once you get the hang of it and done it a few times you'll be flying and experimenting with different fillings.

I make these regularly and can knock out 2 dozen in no time these days.

Chicken curry and beef vindaloo fillings always go down a storm.  ;)

will post some pics next time I make some (probably this weekend)

Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: ExpatBride on October 09, 2014, 07:28 AM
Thanks for the helpful replies!  I'll try frying in a small pan/wok, and bake a few to see how it goes.  I'll report back if I have any outstanding results to report from the baking. 
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: ziggycat on October 09, 2014, 08:38 AM
I've tried baking them and the results are disappointing.

Stick with frying them if possible
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Edwin Catflap on October 10, 2014, 03:01 PM
Hi Guys

Found this the other day and thought it might help those that struggle with the folding etc. It is a cheat I know and its using filo pastry but they look Ok to me if you are having probs etc.

Ed

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/fad3d712c09ddad633bff2e0598c04f3.JPG) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#fad3d712c09ddad633bff2e0598c04f3.JPG)

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/a8dd4ff459e6bf8c5af6681f8ff7c224.JPG) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#a8dd4ff459e6bf8c5af6681f8ff7c224.JPG)

(http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/pics/1f56a684e8d451c4a128976daf4ccb22.JPG) (http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/imagehost/#1f56a684e8d451c4a128976daf4ccb22.JPG)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on October 10, 2014, 03:50 PM
It is a cheat I know and its using filo pastry...

Don't be a filo apologist Ed. It's a perfectly legitimate way to make samosas. Personally I've never had a home-made-pastry samosa in a BIR so all this guff about never using filo is just that as far as I'm concerned.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: mdigiman on December 17, 2014, 10:20 AM
Absolutely fantastic been searching for a samosa recipe, will give it a try im sure I will get frustrated I will try your pastry and I might cheat and use ready made filo pastry lol.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Bhajeegirl on December 31, 2014, 04:14 AM
This is a great thread!...just what I've been looking for. A couple of questions though... Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the traditional and a takeaway style filling? ... Also Some recipes add a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice to pastry mix. Anyone know why?
I tried making samosas a couple of times and failed miserably with both the pastry and filling each time with the pastry being too hard and the filling overpowering with spices. Haven't tried Curryhell's recipe yet though....
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Sverige on February 07, 2015, 07:04 AM
Bhajeegirl, try watching this video which has a really clear demonstration of each stage. Starting at around 7:30 in the video she shows how to fill them, which I think is especially helpful.  I think this will help you but I can't answer your specific questions I'm afraid as I don't know:

http://youtu.be/PoNTfvK7B1c (http://youtu.be/PoNTfvK7B1c)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Zap on March 16, 2015, 07:58 AM
Had an Indian night for family and friends recently, just wanted to add that I've tried natterjak's updated pastry recipe with some seasoning adjustments.  The main difference is a slight change in the flour amount plus more oil in the dough. 

The samosas turned out perfectly, lots of blistering and crispy pastry.  I should add that I made one other change, and that was using Maida (Indian white flour).  Given it having pastry flour qualities, that may have played a part as well in the great success.

I can definitely call my quest for samosas over - between the filling and the pastry, they outrank ANY I've gotten elsewhere and they freeze beautifully.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on March 16, 2015, 08:45 AM
The emphasis of this thread appears to be on the pastry wrapping - fair enough - but I decided to try and get the flavour of the filling right, before I spend time on the pastry.

Over the past few weeks, I've made several different recipes for lamb samosa fillings, eating them with rice, as a main meal.  The two best samosas I've ever had served up in a restaurant were (1) on the lawn of a 5 star hotel in North India, and (2) a BIR in Hertfordshire (their main course dishes were lacklustre). I can recall the delicious flavour of those samosas and that's what I seek to recreate at home. Plenty of BIRs serve samosas with a flavour I'd describe as 'quite good' and other BIRs serve up samosas which taste barely adequate. Curryhell's samosa filling recipe would come into the 'barely adequate' category for me. It appears to be based on a recipe from a Pat Chapman book, and I never rated his recipes. Or perhaps CH and PC took their recipes from another source. I know all this is so subjective but that's my take, for what it's worth.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on March 16, 2015, 10:36 AM
More importantly George did you find any that matched your best samosa filling experience?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on March 16, 2015, 10:45 AM
ss - yes, I'm getting quite close but there's probably room for a bit of further improvement. Purely for my taste buds - and I don't expect anyone else to agree - I now prefer the mixture that's the best so far, to perhaps 90% of BIRs.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: littlechilie on March 16, 2015, 07:03 PM
Great looking recipe, I have not made Samosa for a few years so will be giving this one a go, Thanks CH.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Zap on March 18, 2015, 04:34 AM
The emphasis of this thread appears to be on the pastry wrapping - fair enough - but I decided to try and get the flavour of the filling right, before I spend time on the pastry.

In my case, most of the samosas we have here in the US are the potato and pea variety, for which I have cloned both takeaway and restaurant (traditional) styles of filling accordingly to my own taste.  I've never had a meat-based samosa but am tempted to try one sometime.  My suspicion is that the takeaway variety might use mix powder but a more traditional one will differ and likely have spicing that is more geared toward the flavor of the lamb.

Regardless, the biggest issue I've had myself in recreating the perfect samosas is the pastry which is now excellent as well.  Prior attempts were quite disappointing and definitely left for a less-than-idea experience even with good filling.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on March 18, 2015, 08:54 AM
Thanks to Zap for bumping CH's recipe back up. It's been a while since I made these and reading back through the recipe just makes me want to make some more. Must get to the shops for some lamb mince!
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Sverige on June 21, 2015, 12:19 PM
Had a go at these today and just enjoyed a few for lunch. Not sure why but when I used the ingredients specified in post 1 for the pastry I just ended up with a soggy messy wet slurry. Tried to adjust it back with adding extra flour and ended up with a very tough dough. It will take some more tries to figure out the right rations.

Still, I made the best of it and the filling worked well (veggie style). This was just the first batch cooling

Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on August 31, 2017, 02:26 PM
I just made up a batch of this and I'm very pleased with it now. When I tried it for the first time it lacked flavour for my taste so I now double all the spices and that makes it perfect for me.

Also, using Morrisons frozen mince, I started off by browning it with the intention of draining off the fat as suggested but quickly realised that there was minimal excess fat so I decided to quickly throw in all the other ingredients and cook it on for a few more minutes to soften the onion a bit. And I have to say it's none the worse for having done this and it saves all the messing about with separately cooking and draining the mince etc., assuming that the mince has as little fat as this batch did that is.

So this is my preferred recipe now but in future I'll just throw everything in at the same time for convenience. The doubling of all the spices is the crucial part for me though.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: scalexkid on September 02, 2017, 06:19 PM
Still, I made the best of it and the filling worked well (veggie style). This was just the first batch cooling
If I saw those fresh out, they would not make it to the cooling stage, they look pretty good to me.....
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Sverige on August 06, 2018, 01:46 PM
Finding some leftover cooked potatoes today in the fridge, I had a brainwave and decided samosas were in order, so I revisited this great recipe. The vegetarian version of filling recipe from the OP worked well with 200g cooked potato, quarter of a mug full of frozen peas and the same amount of finely chopped carrots. 750g of potato, as mentioned in the OP, seems way too much for those spice quantities IMHO.

Well the samosas were great and because I used only half the filling up, I'll be cooking more tomorrow. Just a simple classic indian snack and having scoffed a few for lunch I wonder why I don't cook these more often.  I guess they took an hour, start to finish. Not much effort for a good result.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Sverige on August 13, 2018, 09:22 AM
I picked up a set of pasty moulds in Lidl - I think they're mentioned earlier in this thread too. Certainly make the process of filling the samosas much quicker and easier, but do you get to call them samosas when they look so much like Cornish pasties??

My top tips are to make the pastry a day ahead and leave it in the fridge in a plastic bag or cling film overnight. Having made batches with freshly made pastry and pastry rested overnight the texture of the overnight pastry is far superior. All that flakiness and pimples you see in the photo seems to be accentuated by a long rest between mixing and rolling the dough.

The "dough cutters" as Lidl calls them have a cutter to the rear side which cuts a circle of  pastry, the this fits into the hollowed out top side so you can fill them, wet the outside with flour/water mixture then squeeze the whole thing shut to seal them.

My other top tip - wait a minute after rolling the dough before you cut the circles. The dough springs back and if you cut it immediately you end up with a pastry circle just too small to seal properly when you close the thing after filling it.  These were deep fried at 180C for 4 minutes to cook.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Garp on August 13, 2018, 05:37 PM
Never got round to trying these but yours are certainly giving me the urge. Cornish or not, they look excellent.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Naga on August 14, 2018, 07:43 AM
What a great idea, Sverige! Traditional shape or not, I agree with Garp, they look excellent. Must keep my eyes open for those moulds in Lidl.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Sverige on August 14, 2018, 10:03 AM
Yeah it's worth giving this recipe a try. I still like the traditional triangular  shape samosa the best, but for ease I will be sticking with my Cornish pasty moulds I think.

I mix the pastry up in my mini Kenwood ch180a chopper thingy, with 180g flour, 2.25 tbsp oil, half level tsp salt (blitz these together) then add 40g warm water, blitz again then a further 35g warm water, blitz one more time then turn out into a small bowl and press together into a dough ball, cover and into the fridge overnight.

I think those are the same proportions from the OP, certainly I've never found a reason to vary from curryhell's recipe except to reduce a little bit the amount of potato in a batch of filling.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on September 09, 2021, 12:10 PM
What happened to the recipe in Curryhell's first post in this thread?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on September 09, 2021, 07:28 PM
Dunno, Guv.  Archive.org has not archived it, and Google's cached version is identical to the truncated version now found here.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on September 09, 2021, 08:32 PM
That's very odd (if not worrying. What other posts may have been altered?). I see George "edited" it. Did he remove it for some strange reason? I also recall George being very negative about the recipe and that post also has disappeared. Unless I'm confuddling it with another post on Curryhell's samosas.

I've got what might be the original recipe but as I prefer it with double quantities of spices I'm not sure if I've amended the original to my tastes or not. I suppose I'll have to make some and find out.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on September 09, 2021, 09:07 PM
That's very odd (if not worrying. What other posts may have been altered?). I see George "edited" it. Did he remove it for some strange reason? I also recall George being very negative about the recipe and that post also has disappeared. Unless I'm confuddling it with another post on Curryhell's samosas.

There's no way I would have reduced anyone's recipe to a few lines. You are correct that I was a dissenting voice in terms of not liking the flavour of the filling. I made the criticism in another thread while having a difference of opinion with curryhell. So the 'system' must have scrapped most of the recipe in error. Not good. What else has been lost from the forum? If you look at posts #19, 29 and 30 you can see curryhell ask me to make an edit, then thank me for the action, and then 976bar say he's only just seen the recipe. He wouldn't have said that if I had deleted it, would he?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Unclefrank on September 09, 2021, 09:38 PM
Think this might be the original recipe.
Samosa filling (CH)
One recipe of lamb or potato will be enough for 14 -16 average size samosas

450grm pack of minced lamb/mutton or beef (or 750grms cooked whole potatoes with skin on)
2tbs of oil
½ medium onion finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
One level tsp of ginger garlic paste
3 small fresh chillies finely chopped
1 cup of frozen peas

Spice Mix
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp mix powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1tsp methi leaves
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
Mix these all together

Method
1.   Brown the minced meat and cook until the fat is cooked out.  Drain the fat off
2.   Heat oil on high.  Add cumin seed and cook for 30 seconds until it’s sizzling
3.   Add onion and continue to cook for 2 minutes
4.   Add ginger garlic and fry for a minute or so until the water is cooked out.
5.   Add the frozen peas and cook for 2 minutes until hot
6.   Reduce heat to low and add the mince back to the pan
7.   Add spices and mix thoroughly
8.   Cook for five minutes, stirring frequently to avoid any sticking on the bottom of the pan.  Add one tbs water and mix if mixture starts to stick.  Repeat as necessary being careful not to create any sauce
9.   Remove from heat and leave to cool

For potato filling, peel cooked potatoes and crush with a fork, giving them a good mixing.  Alternatively peel and chop them into ¼ inch squares.
Follow steps 2 to 7 substituting the mince with the potato.  Cook for 2 – 3 minutes folding the mixture constantly to prevent it sticking.  Add 1 tbs water if things start to stick. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
I also like to use a simplified more traditional spice mixture excluding turmeric and mix powder but including amchoor powder and crushed red chilli.  You can experiment with this until you arrive at your ideal spice combination.

Samosa pastry
This is pretty standard and is featured already in a couple of samosa recipes on the site.  The quantities make 8 discs approximately 8 inches in diameter, enough for 16 samosas.

225gm plain flour
4 dsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ajwain or kalonji seeds (optional)
170ml WARM water

Method
1.   Mix all the dry ingredients together. 
2.   Add the olive oil and rub through the flour until you have a breadcrumb texture
3.   Make a well and add 5oz (140ml) of the warm water
4.   Mix well to form a STIFF dough adding additional water a tsp at a time until all the flour is incorporated into the dough and the mixing bowl is clean.  Although the dough will be stiff it must be pliable and not dry.
5.   Add one more tsp of water and work this through the dough until all moisture has been absorbed.
6.   Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for at least half an hour.  A good sign is when the dough starts to develop little white pimples.
7.   At this stage the dough can be frozen or put in the fridge but before use it must be allowed to (defrost if frozen and then) rest at room temperature for 3 hours or more before use.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on September 09, 2021, 10:14 PM
I just found I have a pdf document (8 pages) covering the recipe and all the photos which curry hell used in 2013, taken as a capture of the thread page(s).
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Secret Santa on September 09, 2021, 11:00 PM
Unclefrank, yes that is the original recipe and confirms that I had indeed doubled the spices on my copy. Glad you posted that as I was sorely tempted to double which would have effectively quadrupled the original recipe quantities. Many thanks.

Maybe a mod could reinstate the original recipe now? And is there a history of edits that mods or the site owner can see to ascertain when it got changed?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on September 09, 2021, 11:36 PM
During my time as global moderator, I don't think I ever saw an audit trail, or any way to recover deleted content.  I suspect that only Yousef could manage this, if it is even possible ...
But perhaps George could post his PDF (as an attachment).
--
** Phil.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on September 10, 2021, 08:13 AM
perhaps George could post his PDF (as an attachment).

Sure, for what it's worth. The presentation of the recipe was one of the best ever and I guess that's why I captured the whole of post #1. But, when I tried the filling, it fell well short of the flavour I like in meat samosas, and quite often enjoy in BIRs.

Is it possible to attach a pdf directly or do you have to change the extension to something else?
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on September 10, 2021, 08:14 AM
PDFs can now be attached as-is, George.
** Phil.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on September 10, 2021, 08:27 AM
Thanks. In the meantime, here's an extract of the recipe in jpg format, showing that all I adjusted was plate sizes. So much for scurrilous accusations that I may have deleted almost the entire recipe.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on September 10, 2021, 08:39 AM
And here would have been the pdf copy I captured. It will be a crime if only the recipe text is added back, given the photos are so good.

Instead there was an error message I received:

"Your attachment could not be saved. This might happen because it took too long to upload or the file is larger than the server will allow.

Please consult your server administrator for more information."
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Onions on September 10, 2021, 09:49 AM
It's all a bit bizarre, but I've added the recipe back to the original post. Thanks for trying though George. These do look good-'Cornish or not'! (As was said up there!)
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on September 10, 2021, 09:56 AM
And here would have been the pdf copy I captured.  Instead there was an error message I received:  "Your attachment could not be saved. This might happen because it took too long to upload or the file is larger than the server will allow.  Please consult your server administrator for more information."

Send me the PDF, George, and I will find a way to upload it.
** Phil.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: George on September 10, 2021, 12:17 PM
Send me the PDF, George, and I will find a way to upload it

Maybe I will, thanks, But, first, does anyone know the file size limit? Maybe that's the issue. My original document is 12 pages but only the first 8 pages are for post #1 (the recipe). I was going to trim it but didn't. Then, maybe it's possible to resave a pdf document more efficiently for a smaller file size.
Title: Re: Curryhell's Samosa recipe
Post by: Peripatetic Phil on September 10, 2021, 12:54 PM
[D]oes anyone know the file size limit? Maybe that's the issue. My original document is 12 pages but only the first 8 pages are for post #1 (the recipe). I was going to trim it but didn't. Then, maybe it's possible to resave a pdf document more efficiently for a smaller file size.

Exactly.  I was proposing to explore all of those options.
--
** Phil.