Destination
Ipoh
The story
Samosas in Malaysia are the classic mamak (Indian-Muslim restaurant) snack: triangular pastries with a crackly wheat-flour shell filled with a spiced mash of potato, peas, onion, mustard seeds and garam masala, deep-fried until deep gold and served hot with a small dish of mint chutney or tamarind sauce. Sold at every mamak from 3pm onwards as afternoon tea, at every Little India shop as street food, and at every buka puasa (Ramadan breaking-fast) market during the fasting month. Half of every Malaysian childhood was fuelled by mamak samosas after school.
Method
Boil the cubed potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes until fork-tender. Drain and mash roughly (leave some texture).
Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the cumin and mustard seeds; toast 30 seconds until they pop. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli; cook 1 minute. Add the garam masala, ground coriander, turmeric, salt and sugar. Cook 30 seconds. Add the mashed potato, peas and amchur (or lime juice). Toss well to combine. Off the heat, stir in the fresh coriander. Cool completely.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the oil and rub in with your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. Slowly add the warm water, mixing to a firm dough (samosa dough is stiffer than most bread doughs). Knead 3 minutes until smooth. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.
Blend all the chutney ingredients until smooth. Chill.
Divide the rested dough into 8 equal balls.
Working one at a time: roll a dough ball into an oval about 15cm long and 10cm wide. Cut in half across the middle, so you have two semi-circles. Take one semi-circle; brush the flat edge with a little water. Fold in half to form a cone (with the flat edge sealed). Fill the cone with 2 tablespoons of cold filling. Brush the top edge with water and pinch closed. Repeat until you have 16 samosas.
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 175°C (350°F). Fry the samosas in batches of 4 or 5 for 4 to 5 minutes, turning gently, until deep gold and crackly all over.
Lift onto kitchen paper. Serve immediately with the mint chutney and (if desired) tamarind chutney. Hot teh tarik alongside.
Tips
- Firm, slightly stiff dough. Samosa dough should be firmer than bread dough; too soft and it puffs and splits in the oil. Add water in small increments and stop when the dough feels like Play-Doh.
- Cool the filling before wrapping. Warm filling melts through the dough and makes it soggy. Room temperature or fully cool.
- The half-moon-into-cone shape. This is the classic samosa fold: cut a rolled oval in half, then fold each semicircle into a cone with the straight edge sealed, fill, and pinch closed. It takes a couple of tries to get right.
- 175°C, not hotter. Above 180°C the outside colours before the inside heats; at 175°C the pastry stays gold and crisp while the filling warms through.
- Freeze extras raw. Uncooked shaped samosas freeze perfectly on a lined tray, then transfer to a bag. Fry from frozen (add 2 extra minutes) whenever you want them.
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