Dish 3: Chicken Samosas
SUMMARY
Chicken samosas are an Indian dish that can vary between sizes and portions. Samosas have been around since as early as the 10th century and are a traditional food. Samosas are a very common Indian dish, and very representative of Indian cuisine and culture. It also can be served during Ramadan. It is a crispy pastry dough that is fried and then filled with spiced and flavored chicken and other ingredients, shaped into triangles. Wrapping it in dough instead of just eating the filling on its own adds to the flavorful experience by being able to fry the portions to make the individual samosas taste even more delicious.
PHOTOS
These are my samosas after they've been filled and folded. The left is before being cooked and the right is the final product.
These are the example samosas that mine were based off of, included in the recipe I used.
This is the filling I made before I put it in the dough, right after it finished cooking.
RECIPE
Ingredients: 2 tsp canola oil, ½ tsp ginger paste or finely grated fresh peeled ginger, ½ teaspoon garlic paste or finely grated fresh garlic, 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted, 1 teaspoon ground red chile, ½ teaspoon coriander powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 pound ground chicken, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, ½ teaspoon distilled white vinegar, ½ teaspoon garam masala, 2 to 3 fresh Thai green chiles, stemmed and chopped, 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, 14 spring roll wrappers, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, Canola oil for frying
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For the filling:
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Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat
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Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until the raw smell disappears, about 2 minutes
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Add the onions and cook until translucent, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes
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Add the cumin seeds, ground chile, coriander and turmeric
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Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant but not burned, 30 seconds to 1 minute
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Add the chicken, salt and vinegar, and raise the heat to medium-high
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Cook, stirring to break up the chicken, until all the liquid has evaporated and the chicken is cooked through but still retains some moisture, 10 to 15 minutes
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Add the garam masala and fresh chiles, and stir for 30 seconds to 1 minute
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Turn off the heat and add the cilantro. Stir until well mixed and let stand until cool enough to handle
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To assemble the samosas:
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Line a sheet pan with wax paper or plastic wrap
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Stack the wrappers and cut evenly in thirds to create 42 rectangles, 8 inches long by 2 2/3 inches wide
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If your wrappers are not 8 inches square, aim to cut 42 rectangular shapes in a 3-to-1 ratio
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Place a damp clean cloth over your pastry sheets to prevent them from drying
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Place the flour in a small bowl and add enough water (about 3 tablespoons) to make a smooth paste that’s the consistency of craft glue
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Take a pastry rectangle and place it with the long side facing you on a flat work surface. Replace the damp cloth over the remaining pastry sheets to keep them from drying out
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Take the bottom-right corner of the rectangle and fold it over the top, with the short side extending 1 to 2 inches past the top. The overlapping pastry at the bottom right of the sheet will form an equilateral triangle with sides that are about 3 inches long.
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This triangle will be the final shape and size of the samosa. Fold the triangle so its right outer edge is aligned with the horizontal bottom edge of the sheet
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There should now be a triangular pocket with two flaps sticking out to the left. Pick up the pocket so it is open and upright like a cone
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Fill the cone with 2 teaspoons of the filling. Using the back of a small spoon, spread the flour paste in a thin layer over the remaining strip of pastry. Fold it over the stuffed triangle to seal the samosa
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If the corners of the samosa have any gaps, fill them with the flour paste and pinch them to seal. Repeat with the remaining filling and rectangles (you may have leftover wrappers) and lay on the lined sheet pan, spacing apart
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To bake the samosas:
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Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 1-inch-deep sheet pan with foil and add a thin layer of oil to the pan (about 1/4 inch)
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Coat the samosas with the oil in the sheet pan and arrange them on the pan in a single layer in rows
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Bake, turning once halfway through, until evenly golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes per side
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Transfer to a cooling rack or plate lined with a paper towel to prevent them from getting soggy
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REFLECTION
Overall, these samosas turned out really well. This was the most challenging out of all the dishes I made, and it definitely took me the longest. There was a lot of preparation involved to get the ingredients ready and then I had to cook the filling. Once I had cooked that I spent a long time filling and folding the samosas, which there were a lot of. After that, I still had to bake them, but finally after that the samosas were ready. It felt very good to be able to enjoy the samosas after dedicating so much effort into making them, more rewarding than the other dishes felt to eat. It had a really good flavor, and I love that they have traditional Indian spices that make it taste so good and add so much to the flavor. Ultimately, although it took a long time I would definitely eat this dish and make this again because it was a very interesting experiences and a way to learn more about Indian culture.