Cheesy, Crispy, Crunchy Samosas…..
If someone asks me what was my favorite snack while growing up, I would say instantly without any further pondering: Samosas. Yes, this was and is my favorite snack, especially to munch on in the evenings along with a cup of hot tea. This crispy, crumbly triangle shaped stuffed pastry with either veggie or non-veg filling gained a special place in my heart. My mom used to make this most of the days, especially on weekdays so that my sis and me could have this after coming from school. On those days, coming back from school, first thing I did was to rush into the kitchen and eat the samosas, it was hard for me to stop with just 2 or 3. I ate as if I were on a samosa eating competition. If I had participated in a real competition, I would have won for sure. Most of the times I fought with my sis over the last one. Many times I won the fight, but my conscious wouldn’t let me have it all by myself, so had to share with my sis, and this made the last samosa taste the best.
This snack is often considered as the street-smart snack in India, sold by street vendors. Not just sold on streets, there wouldn’t be any cafeteria without samosas on their menu, mostly placed on a huge tray piled up with this crispy treats. As soon as we enter the cafeteria, our eyes would start starring at this and the order will be placed in no time. Now this doesn’t limit on just streets or cafeteria, this can be found on the menu of any fine dining restaurants as well. Without a question, samosas have become the favorite snack of all.
I usually make samosas with non-veg filling, here is the recipe for non-veg filling: https://thasneen.com/cooking/stuffed-poori/
But this time I wanted to make the filling in a totally different way. Hence I made a cheesy filling for my samosas. Here are the step-by-step instructions for making the pastry and the filling.
Ingredients
For making the Filling:
- Onion chopped-1
- Green pepper, chopped-1/2
- Canned corn, rinsed-1/2 of the can
- Jalapeno chopped-1
- Garlic mined- 1tsp
- Ground cumin-1tsp
- Ground coriander-1tsp
- Ground black pepper-1/2 tsp
- Cheddar cheese shredded-1/2 cup
- Cilantro chopped-1 handful
- Salt- to taste
- Oil- 2 tbsp
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instruction:
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
- Add onion, salt and saute till translucent.
- Add garlic and jalapeno to this and saute for few minutes.
- Add green pepper and corn to this and let it cook.
- Now add, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground pepper and give it a stir.
- Add cilantro to this.
- Finally add the cheddar cheese and mix everything well.
- Turn off the flame and close it with the lid until we make the dough.
To make the Dough:
- All-purpose flour or Maida- 1.5 cups
- Salt- 1/4 tsp
- Water- enough for kneading the flour
Instruction:
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
- Add water little by little and knead the flour, add only just enough water to make a soft dough.
- Add oil to this, combine well, wrap it and set aside for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, make small lemon size balls out of the dough.
- On a floured surface roll each balls into a thin circle using rolling pins.
- On a flat skillet or tawa, heat the rolled dough on both sides, just for a second.
- Don’t over heat the rolled dough, edges should be still soft.
- Cut the heated rounds into 2 halves.
Making the Glue:
- All-purpose flour- 1tbsp
- Water- little
- Mix flour and water together and make it into a smooth paste. It shouldn’t be watery.
- Working with 1 piece at a time, apply the above glue on half of the cut edge.
- Form cone shape by overlapping the cut edges.
- Fill the cone with 1 tbsp of veggie-cheese mixture.
- Apply glue on top inside edges of pastry; press to seal. Trim jagged edges. Crimp with fork if needed.
- In a wok or deep saucepan, heat oil to 350°F.
- Fry samosas in batches until golden in color about 4 minutes.
- Remove to paper towel–lined tray.
- Serve Warm with tomato ketchup or with the quick salad.
Tips:
- For a healthy version, use fat free cheddar cheese and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes
- Onion chopped-1
- Green pepper, chopped-1/2
- Canned corn, rinsed-1/2 of the can
- Jalapeno chopped-1
- Garlic mined- 1tsp
- Ground cumin-1tsp
- Ground coriander-1tsp
- Ground black pepper-1/2 tsp
- Cheddar cheese shredded-1/2 cup
- Cilantro chopped-1 handful
- Salt- to taste
- Oil- 2 tbsp
- Vegetable oil for frying
- All-purpose flour or Maida- 1.5 cups
- Salt- ¼ tsp
- Water- enough for kneading the flour
- All-purpose flour- 1tbsp
- Water- little
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
- Add onion, salt and saute till translucent.
- Add garlic and jalapeno to this and saute for few minutes.
- Add green pepper and corn to this and let it cook.
- Now add, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground pepper and give it a stir.
- Add cilantro to this.
- Finally add the cheddar cheese and mix everything well.
- Turn off the flame and close it with the lid until we make the dough.
- In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
- Add water little by little and knead the flour, add only just enough water to make a soft dough.
- Add oil to this, combine well, wrap it and set aside for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, make small lemon size balls out of the dough.
- On a floured surface roll each balls into a thin circle using rolling pins.
- On a flat skillet or tawa, heat the rolled dough on both sides, just for a second.
- Don't over heat the rolled dough, edges should be still soft.
- Cut the heated rounds into 2 halves.
- Mix flour and water together and make it into a smooth paste. It shouldn't be watery.
- Working with 1 piece at a time, apply the above glue on half of the cut edge.
- Form cone shape by overlapping the cut edges.
- Fill the cone with 1 tbsp of veggie-cheese mixture.
- Apply glue on top inside edges of pastry; press to seal. Trim jagged edges. Crimp with fork if needed.
- In a wok or deep saucepan, heat oil to 350°F.
- Fry samosas in batches until golden in color about 4 minutes.
- Remove to paper towel–lined tray.
- Serve Warm with tomato ketchup or with the quick salad.
