Easy Samosa Recipe

Flaky, buttery pastry filled with flavourful spiced potatoes. Samosas are delicious and one of the most perfect snacks! However, it’s important to get the pastry just the right amount of buttery crisp and the filling have just enough spice.

With traditional Samosas the pastry is made from scratch with a mix of mainly flour, water and ghee. However, this does take some time making the dough and rolling out individual pieces for each samosa. So, I’ve come up with an alternative that still gives you the feel of Samosa but is quicker to make. The answer is Filo Pastry!  

Filo Pastry is crispy and layering it with butter adds to the flakiness of the pastry too. It’s important to follow the defrost instructions on your pastry box, they differ brand to brand, and you want to ensure the pastry is ready when you are.

We layer three sheets together and cut them into 3 horizontal pieces, folding into a triangle to create each of the samosas. The instructions may be confusing so have a look at the video. The pastry section starts at 5:10 and the folding process commences at 6:57.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Ingredients

Filling

• 4 Medium Sized Potatoes 525g
• ¾ cup green peas (defrosted or frozen)
• 1 tbl ghee
• 1 -2 green chilies, finely chopped
• 1 tbl ginger, minced
• 1 pinch asafoetida
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp Carom seeds (Ajwain)
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
• ½ tsp fennel seeds (optional)
• ¼ cup coriander leaves finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt or salt to taste

Pastry:

• 375g Frozen Filo Pastry
• 25 grams butter, melted

Method:

Prep:

1. Defrost the Filo Pastry as per the instructions on the packet.
2. Cut the potatoes into medium size piece and boil until they are cooked through. You want them to be cooked but not flaking apart. Set them aside.
3. If you’re using frozen peas, soak them in warm water for 10 – 15 minutes until they’re at room temperature.

Filling

4. In large fry pan add 1 tbl ghee and melt on medium heat.
5. Add 1 pinch asafoetida, 1 tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp Carom seeds and ½ tsp fennel seeds (if using). Sautee until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
6. Add the 1 tbl minced ginger and 1 -2 green chilies, finely chopped. Sautee for about 30 more seconds until fragrant.
7. Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder, ½ tsp dried mango powder (amchur) and the green peas. Sauté for 1 minute.
8. Add the potatoes and 1 tsp salt and sauté on medium for 3 – 4 more minutes.
9. Take the mix off heat and mix through the finely chopped coriander leaves.

Assembling the Samosas

1. Preheat the oven to 175C and line 2 baking trays.
2. Take the filo pastry out of the packaging. Whatever pastry you are not using (we will work 1 sheet by 1 sheet at a time), cover it with a slightly damp tea towel.
3. We are working in layers of three. Place one sheet of filo onto your work surface and brush lightly with butter.
4. Layer another sheet of filo onto the first filo and brush lightly with butter.
5. Add a final 3^rd sheet of filo onto the previous sheet and brush lightly with butter.
6. Cut the pastry into 3 long strips.
7. Place 2 -3 tablespoons of filling mixture in 1 corner of the filo pastry strip.
8. Taking the bottom right or left corner of the strip fold this down diagonally so that you have created a triangle at the end of the strip.
9. Fold this horizontally towards the remaining pastry strip so you are sealing the filling and keeping the triangle shape.
10. Continue folding as per steps 8 & 9, so you are alternating between diagonal fold and horizontal fold, until the strip has been fully incorporated. Make sure you are keeping the triangle shape.
11. Brush the triangle with butter and place onto a lined baking tray.
12. Continue the steps 7 – 11 for the remaining 2 strips.
13. Then repeat steps 2 – 12 for the remaining filo pastry sheets until all the sheets have been utilized.
14. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and crisp.
15. Serve immediately!