Mushroom Samosas/Vegetable Samosa

Snack time!

I was feeling bored! Bored like there was nothing to do…uninterested in everything and was stuck in a vacuum. I was just drifting through life..merely existing rather than living! If you live far North, you will know what this long terrible Winter will do to your body, spirit and emotions.

Spring has started officially but it is still snowing…Ah, this weather is too tiring! Hope nature is listening to all our sighs and will puts forth some colours into our ashen cold days!

So I made Samosas…to add a little crunch to a dull day.

Samosas remind me of my aunt and our private outings. I was around 8 years when my aunt used to take me to watch movies almost every weekend. My mother doesn’t like watching movies (I still wonder why!) but her sister, my aunt was a jolly good woman. She would leave her nagging kids with my mother to get her dose of fiction and fantasy. As she needs a side kick, she would take me. We had to walk (saving bus fare!) a good 2 km to Central Theater to watch Malayalam movies playing as morning show.

After half the show there is always an interval for 15 minutes and vendors bring in trays of hot samosas. They were stuffed with an assortment of vegetables cooked in a blend of  spices. She would invariably treat me with one, for being glued to the screen and not disturbing her with questions. The taste of those samosas still linger in my mouth. It would be oily, cooked in some crappy little tea shop, but it tasted fantastic!

The last part of the movie would turn into serious twists and I completely concentrate on the crispy, spicy delight for a long time and wouldn’t get affected by the climax or heart wrenching tragedy being enacted. I have totally forgotten most of the movies but the aroma of those Samosas still float in my memory. I love how food tastefully reconnects us to many past events.

It was back in the good old days where everything was a bit better, when we recall. Honestly, I have not eaten such tasty Samosas again in my life. I have tried Samosas at various other places in vain…nothing could match it! I think they have disappeared with things that were a lot more genuine and close to heart.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• a pinch soda bicarb (baking soda)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• vegetable oil for frying and rolling
• flour for dusting

1. Mix baking soda and salt with flour.
2. Knead flour with lemon juice and enough water to make a stiff dough.
3. Set it aside for a few minutes covered with a moist tea towel.
4. To make the samosa wrapper, make small balls out of the dough.
5. Flatten them into almost similar circular discs.
6. Spread oil on one and dust flour on it.
7. Stick the other disc on it and stretch to make it match with the other.
8. Dust flour and roll it into a larger round. (This helps thinning the wrapper.)
9. Keep it moist in a closed container and make more wrappers with the dough.
10. Heat a griddle and warm the rolled double wrappers.
11. Separate them gently when still warm.
12. Stack two wrappers and using a knife cut in the center and trim off the edges to get almost rectangular pieces.
13. Take one piece and fold it extending above for closing the pocket.
14. Fold the other side to the center to create a ‘V’ shape.
15. Flip to the other side and check to see if there are pieces extending that can close the pocket. (I realized that making the fold on the shorter side leaves a better edge to seal.)

Mushroom stuffing

• 2 medium onion
• 4 cups chopped mushroom
• 1 tomato
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt

1. Heat a pan and heat oil.
2. Add fennel seeds and sliced onion.
3. Fry until golden brown and add ginger garlic paste and saute.
4. Add chopped mushroom and saute till it is soft.
5. Chop tomatoes into tiny pieces and add to it.
6. Add salt and garam masala.
7. Saute until all water evaporates and get a dry mixture and cool it.

Frying Samosas

1. Fill the stuffing in each pocket and stick all the free edges using water and set aside for them to stick well.
2. Heat oil in a wok and put many samosas into it.
3. When blisters appear and they crisp up slightly remove them from the oil and put them in a colander to drain excess oil.
4. Do this with all the samosas. (This stops them from getting extra puffy.)
5. Heat oil to a smoking point and re-fry small batches of samosas.
6. Drain oil on a paper towel and serve them hot.  One cup flour make about 28 Samosas that are very crunchy. Fry the chopped off pieces in oil for some crispy fries.

If storing them, do it after the first quick frying. Drain excess oil and arrange them on a tray and freeze. Then put the frozen Samosas in a zip lock bag and store it in freezer to be fried later when you need them.