Like many of you, going out to our favorite restaurants has been off-limits for us for the past few months. So instead, I have used the time to experiment with new recipes and to replicate our favorite dishes with alternate ingredients which I already have on hand. I have been thinking of the Indian cuisine lately; specifically, samosas, those irresistible crispy appetizers filled with a variety of savory filings. My favorites are the vegetarian samosas—a delicious combination of potatoes, ginger, garlic, bright herbs, and warm spices.
Traditional samosa wrappers are made from a certain dough which—to me at least—is a bit laborious to make. Spring roll wrappers are also often used instead. Since I did not have the time to make the dough, nor did I have any spring roll wrappers handy, I decided to make my alternative samosas using filo pastry instead. As you all know, I always have at least one package of it in my fridge!
Ingredients for the vegetarian samosas
The main ingredients for the samosas are potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, and peas. What makes them really delicious is a wonderful combination of spices that are mixed in the filling, and, the refreshing cilantro-yogurt dipping sauce that accompanies them.
Layering the filo and placing the filling
Good quality filo is very easy to work with: to form the little samosas, I layer two sheets of filo pastry on a clean surface, one on top of the other. I cut them into eight strips and then place a tablespoon of the filling at the end of each one.
How to fold the samosas
To fold these vegetarian samosas, start from one corner, lift the filo pastry and fold it over the filling to form a small triangle. Continue folding the triangles all the way to the top of the strip.
How to cook them
The traditional way of cooking samosas is deep-frying them. For this recipe, I decided to go a little lighter and bake them instead. When the filo triangles are ready, I place them on a baking sheet and bake them until crispy and golden brown.
Forming the little triangles is a fun activity and one that you can share with your friends and family. If there are any willing hands around, why not enroll them? This way, the assembly of the samosas will be even faster.
To save some time, you can make both the filling and the dipping sauce ahead of time and save them in the refrigerator! You can also bake one tray (about 25 samosas) and freeze the contents of the second one for later use. These tasty morsels of Indian-Greek fusion were very popular in my house when I made them today; a whole platter of these crispy treats disappeared in no time!
The recipe for the vegetarian samosas
- For the Samosas:
- 2 medium baking potatoes (like russet), peeled, cubed into ½” cubes
- 2 TBSP. sunflower (or vegetable) oil
- 1 small red or yellow onion, minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 TBSP. fresh ginger, grated
- ½ tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. coriander, ground
- ½ tsp. garam masala
- ½ tsp. ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup warm water
- ½ cup green peas, frozen and thawed
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 box (16oz) filo pastry (I used Fillo Factory), defrosted
- --- melted butter
- For the cilantro-ginger sauce:
- 1½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, packed
- 1 TBSP. fresh lemon juice
- 1 TBSP. grated ginger
- ¼ - ½ cup plain, strained yogurt
- ¼ tsp. cumin
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. sugar
- Remove the package of thawed filo from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature while you work on the filling.
- Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Place them in a pot with boiling water over medium high heat and cook the potatoes for about 5 minutes, or until they are fork tender. Drain them, reserve a little of the cooking water, and set aside.
- While the potatoes are cooking, set a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add the vegetable oil and sauté the onion until translucent, about four minutes. Then add the garlic and the ginger, and cook for a few more minutes until caramelized and fragrant. To the skillet, add the cumin seeds, the coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. This step is important—it will allow the spices to bloom and give the mixture a deep flavor.
- Next, add the potatoes to the skillet and season everything with salt. With the back of a wooden spoon, mash the potatoes gently and add about ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water to loosen up the mixture. Gently fold in the peas, cover the skillet and turn off the heat.
- To make the dipping sauce, place all ingredients in the bowl of a small food processor or a small blender and mix until the sauce is smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Melt about ⅓ cup of butter and let it cool. Place one filo sheet on a clean surface. With a pastry brush, brush the filo with some butter. Top with a second filo sheet and brush it with some butter again. Cut the filo vertically into 8 strips. Place a spoonful of the filling in the bottom right corner of the pastry strip. Fold the pastry into a triangle, rolling it all the way to the top. Repeat with the rest of the filo until the entire filling is used.
- Place the samosa triangles on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with some of the melted butter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crisp and lightly brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool. Serve warm or at room temperature with the dipping sauce.
This recipe is a collaboration with the Fillo Factory, a company that makes great quality filo pastry, puff pastry, and kataifi, among many other products.
THANK YOU FOR READING AND FOLLOWING ALONG
If you are not already following my blog, you can subscribe to Marilena’s Kitchen to have every new post delivered right to your inbox!
I love hearing from you, please leave me a comment below.
This recipe looks wonderful. Can it be made using thinly rolled out puff pastry and is it crucial to use bar Garamond masala if I can’t find it?
Thank you
Rita Brown
Thank you Rita! You can certainly try it with puff pastry – they will puff up of course while baking, but the flavor should be same! As far as the garam masala is concerned, you can certainly leave that out!
Marilena this recipe looks so easy I’m going to try it this weekend with my farm share. So many veggies, so little time.:)
It is really easy, Lauren…. Once you have the filling ready, the assembly is not difficult at all! I hope you and you family like it as much as we do!
These samosas are amazing! I make them regularly, my partner loves them too and he always requests more:) thank you very much for this recipe, a true gem!!
That’s wonderful, Hanna! Such a flavorful recipe – so glad you like them so much!