Rachel's Incredibly Edible Samosas

Anne's mom's Amazing Samosa--I so wish I had multiple images of these to share.

My colleague Anne came into the office the other day with possibly the most beautiful and delicious samosas I’ve ever had. This statement is no exaggeration, as I’ve eaten these little balls of starchy joy for decades, and enjoyed what I assumed were the very best ones in England when I lived there.

But turns out, Anne’s Indian Heritage—that comes through the fingertips of Rachel, her mom—producessamosa perfection.

A couple of fun facts first that will give you a sense of just how unique, and sometimes challenging, Indian cuisine is to produce at home:

1. Anne surprised me when she announced that they fry in olive oil, not corn oil as I’d suspected.

2. She also says that Rachel’s garam masala is homemade from a mixture of cinnamon cloves, cardamom pepper corns, cumin, coriander, and nutmeg, Rachel emphasizes, “Each family has their own variation; people living in North India make their masala quite differently to those living in the South. Also, each person adds their own quantity of each ingredient. Through trial and error you can find the taste you like!”

3. In addition to the recipe you read below, “…[in addition to] than the cardamom pepper corns, cayenne pepper is added to each individual samosa and also a pinch of turmeric, making it very southern Indian.”

From the Fingertips of Rachel, Anne's mom, Come the Best Samosas on the Planet

Vegetable Samosas

Ingredients:

1 c all-purpose flour

1 T butter

2 medium potatoes (diced)/ peas and carrots—optional

Salt (to taste)

1 medium onion chopped finely

¼” piece of ginger

1 piece garlic

Cilantro (optional)

1 T garam masala powder (This is where the heat may or may not come from; select a hot masala or a mild one, depending on what you prefer, from the Indian market in your neighborhood, or online.) PATEL BROTHERS IN COLLEGE PARK, MD., IS ONE SUCH SOURCE THAT ANNE AND RACHEL DEPEND ON.

Oil for frying

Eight-ish Easy Steps to the Perfect Samosa

1. Sift flour, add salt, rub in the butter and enough water to make a soft dough—knead well and set aside for about a half an hour

2. Dice potatoes

3. Chop onion finely

4. Make a paste of the ginger and garlic

5. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil—add onion. Fry until translucent, add the ginger and garlic paste, and garam masala. Fry a little then add the potatoes and enough water to cook the potatoes, add salt to taste.

6. When the potatoes are cooked and the mixture is dry–remove from heat and cool

7. Knead the dough again – divide into small potions, roll out into rounds about 3’’ in diameter – cut into half – make a cone of each piece – put the prepared filling–seal the edges well with water

8. Deep fry till light brown, but keep an eye on them. This part was Anne’s job, and there may be hell to pay, if they come out looking overcooked!

Serve hot

Coming up: Anne shows off her dessert-making skills! Stay Tuned to ALunchBoxBlog.com

- See more at: http://www.alunchboxblog.com/rachels-samosas/?preview=true&preview_id=1075&preview_nonce=53d2d667f5#sthash.fT2oMIn1.dpuf