Samosas - Potato and pea filling wrapped in phyllo pastry

Samosas are an iconic Indian snack! Growing up, samosas were a must at every party and movie night. The traditional samosa consists of a spicy potato and pea mixture stuffed in a flaky whole wheat pastry and is deep fried. This recipe is a variation of the classic samosa. Instead of a whole wheat pastry, I have used phyllo pastry, which is commonly used in Middle Eastern foods. I chose to buy pre-made frozen phyllo pastry to make life easy. Also, I have baked the samosas instead of frying them. Multiple layers of phyllo pastry bake to make a perfectly crisp and flaky exterior that houses the soft mixture of potatoes, peas and spices. Samosas are typically served with a cilantro chutney which is tangy and flavorful. Try making these samosas with the cilantro chutney and let me know how you like them!

Makes: 18 samosas, Prep. time: 1 hour, cook time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 18 14"x9" frozen filo/phyllo pastry sheets

• 1/4 cup canola oil (or any neutral flavored oil)

Filling:

• 2 large Russet potatoes

• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

• 1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas

• 1/4 tsp finely chopped Serrano pepper

• 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

• 1-2 tbsp lime juice

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 2 tsp garam masala

Cilantro chutney

• 2 firmly packed cups cilantro leaves and stems

• 1 tbsp roasted peanuts

• 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger

• 1 inch piece of Serrano pepper

• 1.5 tbsp fresh lime juice

• salt

• 1/8 tsp raw mango powder (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel and cube the potatoes into 1 inch cubes and boil in salted water until tender. Drain the water.

2. Add the remaining ingredients for the filling into the potatoes and using a potato masher, mash everything together. Taste the filling and add more salt or spice if needed. Set aside to cool.

3. In the meanwhile, prepare the filo pastry. Follow package instructions for the pastry. I took my pastry package out of the freezer 6 hours in advance and kept it in the refrigerator. This allowed the pastry to thaw gradually. If the pastry is handled when frozen, it will crack. If the pastry is brought to room temperature rapidly, the moisture will make it soggy.

4. Handle the pastry sheets with care. These are very thin sheets that can tear easily. Lightly dust your work surface with plain flour. We will layer three sheets in this way: Place one sheet on the floured surface. Brush gently with oil. Place a second sheet on top. Brush this sheet with oil and place a third sheet over it.

5. Using a pizza cutter, slice the layered sheets to make 3 strips, 14"x3" each.

6. To shape the samosa, place 1.5 tbsp of the filling at the top of one strip. Pick up the top right corner of the strip and fold it over the filling so that the corner touches the left edge of the pastry strip. The folded portion of the strip should make a triangle (see pictures below). Fold the triangular section downwards, and then fold over to the right side. There should be 1 or 2 inches of the pastry strip left over. Fold that over the shaped triangle and dab some oil over the edge to make sure it stays in place (See pictures below).

7. Keep the wrapped samosas under a kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Assemble the rest of the samosas in the same way.

8. Once all the samosas have been assembled, they can be baked immediately or frozen. To freeze samosas, arrange them in layers, separating each layer with a plastic film. If they are stacked without the plastic, they will stick to one another.

9. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Place samosas on a baking tray and brush each samosa lightly with oil on both sides. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the samosas over and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

10. While samosas are baking, prepare the chutney. Add all the ingredients for the chutney into a blender and blend until it forms a smooth mix.

11. Serve hot samosas with chutney and enjoy!