These organic vegetarian samosas are done in the style of a Cornish Pasty! You can squeeze lots of filling in them due to the shape, and this was kind of an accident, as I originally tried the traditional samosa style, but the shape of my cutter meant they ended up too small for my liking with too much pastry and not enough veggies!
A top tip is to chill the pastry for at least an hour, and roll it very thinly with baking paper each side while making these. You’ll end up with a wonderful crispy exterior, packed with nutrition inside. I couldn’t source any organic kalojni seeds at the time of writing, so these ones are from my favourite Haris & Co on Beverley Road in Hull. Try not to leave them out if you can, they add something magical.
My recipe made 6 large samosa pasties, but it depends on the size of your cutter!
You’ll need:
For the filling:
A large baking potato, cut into squares of your liking (mind were about 1cm square).
1 medium carrot, cut into small chunks (I didn’t need to peel mine).
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped.
1/2 cup of frozen peas.
1/2 large red chilli, finely chopped (remove the seeds if you don’t like too much heat).
1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped.
2cm square piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped (use less if you don’t want it so aromatic).
Spice mix: 1 heaped tsp each of cumin, coriander, turmeric.
2/3 tsp salt.
Oil to bake.
Pastry:
110g flour (I used organic brown).
50ml water (add gradually to the mix).
1 tsp chilli flakes.
1 tsp kalojni (onion) seeds.
1 tablespoon of oil.
For the glaze
1 beaten egg.
How to:
First of all gently cook the potato and carrot in water until just tender. It took about 12 mins for me. For the last 3 minutes of cooking time, when the potatoes are just approaching tender, add the peas.
While that’s happening, make the pastry, combine the oil and the flour and add a little water at a time until you get a firm smooth dough that isn’t too dry. It shouldn’t be sticky.
Add the chilli and kalojni and kneed lightly.
Place between two sheets of baking paper and pop in the fridge for at least an hour.
Once the potato and carrot has cooked, leave to cool.
Fry off the onion, garlic, ginger and fresh chilli in the oil with the spice mix on a low heat in a covered pan for about 7 mins.
Add the vegetables, stir well, and leave for another 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Mash the potatoes a bit with a spoon so the mix comes together a bit. Then leave with the lid off to cool a little.
After your pastry has chilled, roll it out between two sheets of baking paper until it is as thin as it can be.
Take a large circular cup (mine was about 12cm in diameter) or something similar, and cut out round shapes. Re-knead any remaining pastry until you have used it up as much as you can.
Take a pastry circle in your hand, and pack it with veg. Seal the top, leave the sides open, and use a teaspoon to pack extra filling in each side.
Place on a baking tray (use one of the sheets of paper that you rolled out the pastry with) and brush with egg (if you are vegan, use an egg equivalent or just leave this out).
Bake at 220c for about 30 mins until they are golden (check them after about 20 mins to be sure they don’t burn as your oven might be different to mine).
These are absolutely delicious slightly cooled. Enjoy!
