Samosas for GCSE

I never made samosas in the 1970s – I was too busy teaching traditional British recipes like soused herrings and getting them to starch pillowcases for the GCSE- ugh.

But in the 21st century we’ve got glorious recipes from everywhere, so here’s mine!

It’s been tested and adapted and tested and adapted for classroom use! This recipe is baked – it’s traditional to deep fry samosas, but this is too dangerous in a busy classroom.

Makes 6 samosas or 8 smaller ones.

Samosa recipe

Pastry

150 g plain flour

large pinch salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 tablespoons oil (45  g)

cold water to mix ( about 3 tbs – 45 g)

Filling

1 small potato

1 tbs oil

Masala mixture – 1 teaspoon mixture of cinnamon, cumin and chilli powder

1 cm finely grated ginger

1/2 small chilli finely chopped

1/2 onion very finely chopped (60 g)

1/2 carrot peeled and grated

1 tbs frozen peas – you can use cauliflower, spring onions, and other vegetables

50 g feta or paneer

small bunch coriander finely chopped

Oil to brush on pastry

Method

1. Put the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and work in the oil with your fingers.
2. Add the cold water bit by bit to make to a stiff dough.
3. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth then cover in cling film and rest for 20 minutes.
4. Prepare the filling – Wash and chop the unpeeled potato into small chunks and boil in salted water for 10 minutes. Drain when cooked.
5. Heat the oil in a pan and cook the masala mixture until it smells spicy (2 minutes) and add the ginger and chilli.
6. Add the onion and fry until until soft (5 minutes) then add the carrot and other vegetables such as frozen peas. Stir in the cooked potato and feta cheese or paneer.
7. Add the coriander to the filling mixture.
8. Preheat the oven 180 C Fan.
9. Divide the pastry into 6 or 8 balls of equal weight.
10. Roll out one ball at a time to a 10-12 cm circle, keeping the rest under a damp cloth.
11. Wet round one edge with water and make into a cone shape.
12.  Spoon in the filling into the cone, wet the edge and seal to make the samosa. Repeat for remaining dough balls and place on a baking tray.
13. Brush the samosas with oil and bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is firm and lightly golden. Serve warm with relish.

Serve with cucumber relish

Ingredients

1/2 cucumber peeled and cut into fine dice

1 spring onion finely chopped

2 tsp vinegar

salt and pepper and a sprinkling of sugar

Method

1. Mix together all the ingredients and taste to add more seasoning if needed.