Topic: The results of a little experiment

[curryhell]

I regularly receive requests from work colleagues for onion bhajis, but more so for samosas, as their appearance tends to be somewhat rarer  :
As those of you who make them from scratch will know, that whilst the process is simple, the time it takes from start to finish if making any quantity is substantial.  Whenever i make them it's always a minimum of 2 dozen. I could easily make 4 dozen but these too would disappear in no time at all.  It's great that my fellow workers enjoy my food and want it as often as they can get it, but they fail to realise the work and more so the time involved in providing it.
In order to satisfy their yearnings whilst at the same time reduce the time period I spend in the kitchen, I decided to try and break the process down and see if i could spread the steps over  a day or so rather than having to do the whole thing in one go.
Filling, not a problem. Prepare one day and use whenever.
Dough and preparing the pastry for the cones - here was the issue.  The dough is no effort but the rolling out, filling and frying all together is, espeically when doing 2 dozen plus.
So i decided to prepare the dough and roll out the pastry and prepare as i normally do and then wrap, seal and leave for a day or so to see what impact it had on the pastry when i tried to make the cone, fill it, seal it and then fry it.  This is all with a view to freezing it in future so that the time spent at any one session is greatly reduced.

Here's the results:





Results are in: in terms of quality, all samosas devoured and loads of satisfied groans and ahh's received.  So no impact on product quality 
Time wise: I can knock out enough pastry for 24 cones in less than an hour without the need to then have to stand there, fill them, seal them and then fry them.
Definitely the way to go.  Final check is to make, freeze, defrost then finish them.
Yet again my guinea pigs get fed  ;D ;D and i don't spend the entire afternoon working on samosas  :

EDIT
I forgot to add, the 2 dozen i took in last week prior to the experimental batch, were accompanied by CBM's tamarind sauce diluted to make a dipping sauce.  They all raved about this and it too was promptly devoured and then added to the standing order along with the samosas 
I just knew it would make a perfect accompaniment to samosas and onion bhajis.  LUSH 

[Waterdiddy]

And when was it you exepected to be in Southampton to drop my two dozen off again? 

They look LUSH, m8!! yummmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Pete

[mickdabass]

Hi CH

Have you a recipe for these please?

[natterjak]

Hi CH, I'd be very interested in seeing a little how-to guide post with recipe for the dough, filling and notes on storing the pastry and finished products - if you fancy a little homework! (Sorry)

I've never dipped a toe into samosa making but if you've figured a way of making it convenient, wot perhaps the finished product freezable and deep-fry from frozen, that might be the perfect freezer filler.

[Zap]

Those look amazing - Samosas are one of the best starters although a bit time consuming the few times I've made them from scratch.  I've never gotten the pastry quite right though - would love to see a how-to/recipe for them.

[Stephen Lindsay]

They look great CH - are they filled with veg or lamb?

[Naga]

I'm with the others - they look great! And a wee walkthrough on recipe and technique would be most welcome.

[chewytikka]

The best I've seen anybody do on here CH

Always a bit hit and miss when I buy these.

Very rarely do much baking, but being inspired by yours
I might give it a go when time allows. Thanks for sharing
cheers Chewy

[Waterdiddy]

Come on, CH! - could ya do us mere mortals a recipe and howto, please m8?

It's that or a national delivery service I'm afraid. You'll be WELL busy

Pete

[curryhell]

Cheers guys for the compliments.  That batch was vegetable as was last weeks 2 dozen.  Less faffing and a damn sight cheaper    I normally make a dozen of each and then freeze the lamb filling for later use.
Cheers CT.  Baking   Deep frying more like  ;D
Ok, i'll do my homework and post up the recipes and a few pics showing the process.  I've had this in the in tray for a while.  I do love home made samosas with proper pastry which drove me to crack this one.  Years ago this is how they were always served.  Nowadays in restaurants, its those awful bought in filo pastry things - YUK 
The experiment isn't quite finished.  I need to confirm the results, having frozen the pastry and made them.  And finally, the results after a part cook, freeze and a cook from frozen to finish.
What ever the next set of results, i'm happy that i can make the pastry today and finish them the next day or day after, having had it in the fridge.  That in itself eases the pain, with a thumbs up from the testers 
I'll post the recipes over the next few days in the correct section of the forum and wait for the feedback from you all