Vegetable samosas with filo pastry

Vegetable samosas are triangular parcels of lightly spiced vegetables wrapped in casing of filo pastry. Not only are they are tasty Indian side dish they are also great for snacking, packed lunches and make a perfect party food.

This easy samosa recipe will show you how to make and fold your own samosas in a few simple steps.

If you enjoy Indian inspired dishes why not make a serving of pilau rice, cauliflower and chick pea curry or lentil and spinach dahl to enjoy alongside your samosas?

The quantities in this vegetable samosa recipe are sufficient to make around 15 samosas, depending on size.

Ingredients

• 1 potato (250g approx) - peel and dice the potato into small cubes roughly half a centimetre across

• 1 medium sized carrot - dice the carrot into cubes about the same size as the diced potato

• 100g garden peas - frozen garden peas are ideal, but if you have fresh peas they could be used instead

• 1 medium sized onion - peel and finely chop the onion. Either a brown or red onion could be used depending on what you have to hand

• 2 garlic cloves - peel and finely chop or crush

• 1 - 2 teaspoons curry powder - your favourite blend of curry powder will add flavour to your samosa filling. You can use store bought curry powder or you can follow this recipe to make your own curry powder. The quantity can be adjusted to suit your taste

• ½ teaspoon garam masala - this is a mixture of spices often used in Indian cooking and will contribute to the overall flavour

• Water - sufficient to cook the vegetables

• About 5 sheets filo pastry - filo pastry provides a light and crispy casing to your samosas. The exact amount you will need may vary depending on the actual quantity of other ingredients used. See these useful tips for working with filo pastry.

• Cooking oil - any type of cooking oil can be used

How to make vegetable samosas with filo pastry

Soften the onion, garlic, potato and carrot in hot oil in a large frying pan for a few minutes. Add the curry powder garam masala and mix evenly. Add sufficient water to cover, add the peas and stir. Simmer over a low heat until the vegetables are cooked, this should take around 20 minutes. Leave the filling to cool before folding the samosas.

How to fold samosas

Take a sheet of filo pastry and cut into 3 equal lengths using scissors. Lay one length out on a pastry board or other suitable work surface. Keep the remaining filo pastry covered so that it does not dry out before you need it.

Place a spoonful of mixture on the centre of one end of the filo pastry.

Fold the pastry over the mixture to create a triangle shape.

Fold the parcel over again and again until the length of filo pastry is used up.

Fold over any remaining short length of pastry to form a neat parcel. Repeat the process with using the remainder of the samosa filling.

How to cook samosas

Your veg samosas can be either fried or baked.

To fry - the samosas can be either deep fried or shallow fried in hot oil. If shallow frying, turn each samosa over after a few minutes and cook until they are golden on each side. They only take a few minutes to cook through. Remove from the oil and drain.

To bake - brush both sides of the samosas with oil, place on a metal baking sheet and bake in the oven at 180^oC, 350^oF, gas mark 4 until golden, turning part way through the cooking time.

Tips

1. Leave the samosa filing to cool completely before starting to fold your samosas.
2. The samosas can be served either hot or cold.
3. The samosa filling can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge until the following day.
4. The uncooked samosas can be store in the fridge until the next day or can be frozen. Fully defrost at room temperature before cooking.

FAQs

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