Vegan Samosas
- Rahul Mandal
- Sep 18
- 3 min read
Samosas are one of the most popular snacks in India. Growing up, we used to have at least one almost every evening.
It is difficult to find good shop bought ones in the UK. You will find samosas in the supermarket, of course, but they’re usually either soggy or too crunchy to eat. The ideal pastry for the samosa will have a bit of crunch but it should also melt in the mouth.
So, here’s my samosa recipe. They also happen to be vegan.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
225g plain flour
A good pinch of salt
1/2tsp nigella seeds
50ml sunflower oil
75ml lukewarm water
For the filling
1tbsp sunflower oil
2tbsp whole peanuts (with skin)
0.5tsp whole Bengali five spices
1small onion chopped
0.5tsp sugar
0.5tsp minced ginger
0.5tsp minced garlic
0.5tsp ground turmeric
0.25tsp chilli powder
1 small tomato chopped
3-4 cauliflower florets, diced
2small potatoes, chopped and boiled
2tbsp frozen peas
1-2tbsp raisins
1tsp salt
To Fry:
Sunflower oil
Makes: 10-12
Preparation time: 20-25mins
Method
Add the flour, nigella seeds, oil and salt into a large mixing bowl. Rub the flour mixture till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Pour in the lukewarm water, little by little, to form a dough, then knead the dough gently for 1 minute. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill it for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil in a pan over a medium heat. Toast the peanuts till fragrant and set aside. Sprinkle the Bengali five spice in the same oil followed by the chopped onions. Fry for 5–6 minutes on a medium heat until the onions are transparent. Add the sugar and increase the heat to high, frying for a further 2–3 minutes, until the onions are golden. Add all the spices and the ginger and garlic paste and fry for 1 minute to cook out the spices. If required, add a splash of water.
Then add the cauliflower and mix well with the spices. Cover and let it cook for 5mins on a low heat until tender. After that, stir in the chopped tomato. Cook for 3–4 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft. Add the cooked potato and stir well, mashing the potato slightly, but leaving the mixture chunky. Finally add raisins, frozen peas, and fried peanuts. Mix well and cook until the peas are defrosted and cooked. Transfer the filling into a shallow dish and let it cool to room temperature.
Divide the dough into six pieces. Roll each piece to make a ball. Roll each ball of dough to an oval shape. Turn the oval so the narrow end is closest to you. Cut the oval in half.
Place the half oval-shaped dough on your palm with the straight edge nearest to your wrist. Brush the straight edge with water around edges and fold the right corner to meet the left and form a cone. Pinch the open edge to seal.
Divide the filling into 12 equal portions and spoon 1 portion into the cone. Fold the rounded edge down over the filling to create a three-dimensional pocket and pinch the edges together to seal. Repeat for rest of the dough and filling.
To fry, heat the oil in a large pan or wok. The oil temp should not go above 160oC. Fry the samosas in batches of three until golden brown outside (2mins each side).
Drain them on kitchen paper and serve.