Chicken Samosas- A great addition to the office potluck
A couple of weeks back, the office potluck showcased a very diverse range of food from my coworkers. While there was the usual store bought sloppie joes. banana cream pie and ice cream, there was also roasted beetroot hummus , pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread) and spanakopitas ( Greek spinach pies). My contribution was the Chicken Samosa. The Indian snack that is usually made with a stuffing of potatoes and vegetables was instead a minced chicken and peas recipe.
For the uninitiated, a samosa is a fried pastry dough usually filled with potatoes and peas. It is also called singara in Bengali. I learned making singara from my dad who was very particular about the consistency of the dough and the various folds that went into making one. And using store bought pastry dough is a big no no in my opinion. It doesn't taste the same.The filling is a mix of ground chicken with onions, ginger, garlic and tomato along with sweet peas.
Ingredients for the filling
Note:This post was written last year. The context at the beginning was the spring of 2013.
For the uninitiated, a samosa is a fried pastry dough usually filled with potatoes and peas. It is also called singara in Bengali. I learned making singara from my dad who was very particular about the consistency of the dough and the various folds that went into making one. And using store bought pastry dough is a big no no in my opinion. It doesn't taste the same.The filling is a mix of ground chicken with onions, ginger, garlic and tomato along with sweet peas.
- Ground chicken -1 lb
- Onions -1 finely chopped
- Garlic paste1 tbsp.
- Ginger paste-1tbsp
- Green peas-1 cup
- Tomato-1 chopped
- Chilli powder- 1tbsp
- Turmeric- 1tsp
- Garam Masala- 1 tsp
- Salt-to taste
- Raisins- 1/2 cup
- Oil-2 tbsp
- All purpose flour(maida)- 4 cups
- Canola or vegetable oil -1/2 cup
- Salt- to taste
- Oil for Frying
- Soak the raisins in a cup of water.
- In a wok, fry the onions till they are translucent.
- Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for another minute.
- Add the chilli powder, salt and turmeric and tomatoes and fry for another minute.
- Add the ground chicken and cook till the chicken is completely cooked.
- Add the garam masala and the green peas and cook till the peas are soft.
- Fold in the raisins and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, mix the ingredients of the dough and add water and make it into a stiff pastry like dough.
- Divide the dough into half the size of golf balls.
- Roll the dough and follow the steps below to construct the samosa.
- In another wok heat the oil for frying. Drop 2 or 3 samosas and fry them till they are golden brown.
- Serve with spicy ketchup or a date and tamarind chutney.
Note:This post was written last year. The context at the beginning was the spring of 2013.
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