Who can resist a well made hot and crisp Samosa! Spicy potatoes encased in a crisp pastry, yum 😀

Okay, maybe fit only as a rare indulgence, but magical with a cup of coffee or chai. I made samosas for the first time last Diwali and realised how simple they were to make!
Now before a party or a festival, I make these mini samosas at least a day in advance, ziplock and freeze them. I fry them as and when needed. The maximum I have frozen and stored them is a week. These come in real handy as starters or snacks.

Play around with the filling as you want. I do the traditional potato filling and sometimes a potato, onion and peas filling.

For the filling
Potatoes, peeled and chopped fine- 4/5
Oil- 1 Tbsp
Asafoetida/heeng- ½ tsp
Cumin seeds/jeera- ½ tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Red chilli powder- ½ tsp
Green chilli, chooped fine- 1 tsp (adjust as per taste)
Ginger, grated fine- 1 tsp
Garam masala- ½ tsp
Aamchoor/mango powder- ½ tsp
Fresh coriander leaves/cilantro/hara dhaniya

Heat oil, add the asafoetida and cumin seeds. As the cumin starts to crackle, add the potatoes, green chilli, ginger, salt, red chilli powder and mix well. Cook covered till the potatoes soften. When done add the garam masala and amchoor and mix well. Mash some part of the filling mixture and mix. Add the chopped coriander and the filling is ready.

For the samosas (This recipe gives about 40 small samosas)
Maida/All purpose flour- 500 gms
Salt- 1 tsp
Oil- ½ cup ( or a little more if needed)
Carom seeds/ajwain- 1 tsp
Oil to fry the samosas
Mix all the listed ingredients. Rub the flour with finger tips till the mixture resembles bread crumbs and a fistful of the flour holds well. Add water slowly to knead firm dough. Rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 20 parts and make balls. Roll out to make a small circle. Cut into two halves to get two equal semi-circles.

Bring one end to the centre of the semi-circle and seal with a dab of water. Bring the other end to form a cone.
Spoon in some filling and seal the opening after moistening the edges with some water. Make all the samosas like this. Deep fry in medium hot oil. If the oil is too hot, the insides will remain raw while the outside browns too quickly. If it is not hot enough, the samosa will soak a lot of oil! So the heat needs to be right.

To store, transfer to ziplock bags and freeze. Remove and fry as and when needed. They stay good for up to a week.
Enjoy with fresh coriander chutney and tamarind chutney!