Veg Box Samosas
The best samosas I ever had were on the streets of the George Town, on the island of Penang in Malaysia. They would be sold from little stalls on street corners and were the most delicious samosas I’d ever had. Weirdly, I was there for a few weeks during an annual international jazz festival, so I also think of jazz music every time I eat a samosa! Enjoy this lovely recipe from Claire. It’s super flexible - a great option for using up random things from the bottom of the veg box!
Serve with Sri Lankan onion sambal and garlic yoghurt.
Makes 8
Pastry
130g plain flour
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil + oil for shallow frying
6 tbsp warm water
For the filling
50g finely chopped onion
1 thumb grated ginger
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp garam masala
½ tsp curry powder
½ tsp ground cumin
75g chopped tomato
130g waxy potato, ½ cm cubed
50g lentils, rinsed until water runs clear
150ml water
1 bay leaf
½ tsp salt
8 chard leaves, shredded
3 scallions finely chopped
Start by making the pastry. Combine the flour and salt, then add in the oil and mix until raggedy.
Pour over most of the warm water and mix with a fork or by hand. If your dough is dry add more water, bit by bit. (You want a soft, elastic, non-sticky dough.)
Once you’re happy, roll into a ball, cover with a tea towel and let it rest for 30 mins or so.
To make the filling, saute your onions with a little oil and a pinch of salt on a medium heat, until translucent.
Stir in your spices and cook off for a minute.
Then add in your potatoes, tomato, lentils, bay leaf and water. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
Once the potatoes are tender, stir through the chard and scallions, then season with the salt. Take out of the pan and set aside until cool.
To assemble the samosas quarter your pastry. Roll each quarter into a ball, then roll the ball out into a thin circle, 15cm across.
Cut the circle in half and press together the straight edges, to make a cone shape.
Open the cone and fill with 1 tbsp of your veg box filling.
Press together the top seam and set onto a lightly oiled tray.
When all 8 of your samosas are stuffed, shallow fry for 3 minutes each side. Serve with Sri Lankan onion sambal and garlic yoghurt.