Aaha Oho: Baked Samosa

Samosa is a popular Indian snack, triangular shaped, made with all purpose flour, stuffed with a spicy (veg/non-veg) filling and deep fried to a golden brown color. 'Deep frying', thats actually banned in my kitchen. I don't wish to give up on my favorite snacks just because its deep fried. So, i tried baking my samosas and they tasted really good. Whenever i think about samosas, i remember my school days, where in most of the evenings my dad buys me crispy vadas, bajjis and samosas, from a local guy around the corner of our house in chennai, who makes it really fresh and hot. I devour the samosa, savoring the spicy and hot filling, mmmm good ol' days. Okey-dokey, lets get to the recipe,

Ingredients:

For dough:

1 cup All purpose flour (maida)

1 pinch Ajwain seeds

1tsp Oil

Water

Salt

How to:

In a bowl, mix together the flour, ajwain, salt and oil.

Then slowly add the water(takes less than 1/2cup) and start kneading, resulting a slightly sticky dough.

Wrap it up and let rest aside.

For filling:

3 medium Potatoes

1/2tsp Cumin seeds

4-5 small Green chilli (finely chopped)

1tsp Ginger (minced)

1/2tsp Garlic (minced)

1/4tsp Turmeric powder

2tsp Coriander powder

1tsp Chilli powder

1tsp Cumin powder

1/2tsp Chaat masala powder

1tbsp Cilantro (chopped)

Salt

1tbsp Oil

How to:

Boil and peel the skin of the potatoes. Also cut'em into small cubes and keep aside.
Dissolve the coriander powder, cumin powder, chilli powder and chaat masala in 2tbsp water.
Heat oil in a skillet, add cumin seeds, followed by ginger and garlic. Saute for a min.

Add green chillies, continue sautéing, then add turmeric powder.

Now pour the masala water and cook for a min (this way, the dry masala powders won't get burnt) followed by cilantro.

Then add the cubed potatoes along with salt and cook for a couple more mins.

Switch off and let it cool.

How to stuff:

Divide the dough into for equal size balls. On a slightly flour dusted surface, place a ball and roll the dough in to a flat, thin, oval shaped chapathi. With a knife, cut the rolled dough into half.

On one moon-shaped half, apply water along the edges and make a cone out of it. Press the dough with watered edges to bind.

Now, stuff about a tbsp filling and start bringing the edges together and seal'em with a fork.

Stuff the remaining filling into each of the moon-shaped half and arrange it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with oil.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 mins, turn the other side and bake for another 5-6 mins or until browned.

Serve hot with ketchup, hot sauce or chutney.

Tips:

Brush the samosa dough with egg wash(beat 1 egg with a tsp of water) just before baking for an even brown coloring.
Bake for another 4-5 mins for extra crispier samosas.