These delicately spiced Indian samosas are made with proper samosa pastry. It’s surprisingly simple to make, and the best thing is that you can add extra flavours, in this case a generous sprinkle of spicy black onion or kalonji seeds. These are fabulous with a dollop of mango pickle or brinjal (aubergine pickle) alongside, or with the mint raita .
Make the pastry by stirring the flour, black onion seeds and salt together in a large bowl. Drizzle in the oil and use your fingers and thumbs to rub the oil and flour together, as though you were making a crumble or pastry. Add just enough cold water to mix to a stiff dough – around 6–8 tablespoons – then turn on to a lightly oiled worktop. Knead for 5 minutes until soft, smooth and pliable, then wrap in cling film and set aside to rest while you make the filling.
Add the potatoes to a saucepan and cover generously with boiling water. Set over a medium-high heat and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well.
Set a frying pan over a medium-low heat and add the oil and onion, frying until translucent and starting to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir through the ginger, garlic and garam masala, or Pav Masala, and season well with salt and pepper. Cook for a further 5 minutes before removing from the heat and stirring through the peas and lemon juice. Set aside to cool (spreading the filling out over a large cold plate will speed this up considerably).
Divide the dough into 16 even balls. The best way to keep them the same size is to divide the dough in half, then each piece in half again, then half again, and then half again. Take one ball and roll out on a lightly oiled worktop until it is a circle of about 12cm in diameter. Lay the circle in the middle of your palm and fold a generous pleat into one side to give you a cone shape, cupping your palm slightly to support it. Add a generous teaspoon of cooled filling into the base of the cone and flatten and pinch the edges to seal up. Depending on how soft your dough is you may need to stick the edges with a dab of cold water. You should be left with a wide triangular samosa with a curved base – don’t worry if it looks a touch rustic, it proves you are using homemade dough rather than cheaty filo! Repeat with the remaining balls of dough and the rest of the filling.
Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 170°C/340°F and fry the samosas in batches for 7–8 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper for a few moments before tucking in.
