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In this lockdown, if there is one thing that I have missed the most, it has to be samosas. While my mother experimented with everything else at home, the samosa was the only thing left. I am a die-hard samosa fan and the basic aloo samosa is all I wanted to eat. A few months into the lockdown, I realized how grave the situation was and the future looked bleak too. We had stopped eating out or even ordering food from outside. Amidst this, the list of my cravings kept getting accumulated and satisfied too. The only thing I yearned for was a samosa.
A friend of mine who had donned the chef hat during this time, sent me pictures of mini samosas she made at home and I can’t express how jealous I felt. After much ado and pleading, ultimately my mother gave in. It was decided that she would make it on my birthday which was only a few weeks away then. Since it was a time-consuming job, my grandmother and mother got together to prepare the mixture and the dough. I also contributed a little while stuffing the dough and giving it shape. The final outcome was golden-brown samosas with a crispy outer layer and a spicy potato filling.
Now that they had mastered the art of samosas, I thought to myself that it would be an easy task. However, that wasn’t the case. While making them, several tips and tricks need to be kept in mind to make the perfect savoury conical pastry.
1. Dough It The Right Way
If you have been cooking a lot or are aware of the process, you would know that mastering the dough is the key to most dishes. In case of a samosa too, the dough needs to be tight yet smooth. To achieve that kind of texture, you need to ensure that you don’t add too much water to the flour. Balancing the flour with the water is extremely important to get thicker dough and a crunchier samosa. Also, make sure that you give the dough a resting period of 20-30 minutes so that it can gain the elasticity.
2. A Pinch Of Oil Or More
A pinch of oil or ghee can be enough to make a hard samosa, that is even harder to break. However, for a crunchy exterior, it is important that you don’t be a miser when it comes to ghee. The addition of ghee to the dough ensures that it is flaky. Add it while mixing flour and water and allow it to reach all parts of the dough.
3. Roll The Samosa
This is a samosa that you are making and not a chapatti. If you roll out thin dough, chances are that the samosa might break while frying. Too thick dough would result in an undercooked samosa. Therefore, you need to find the right thickness so that it turns out crusty and flaky.
4. Not Too Hot To Fry
In a hurry, people tend to think that frying the samosas in hot oil or on a high flame will allow them to cook quickly. Little do they know that it would only result in a crispy outer layer and an undercooked interior. Also, these samosas wouldn't retain the texture for long then.
