Samosas

Samosas have been on my "Must-make" list for years now. I suppose one big hinderance that kept me from making these for so long was finding nigella seeds for the dough. But thanks to Costas Halavrezos and Epices de Cru I now have a wealthy stock of them in my spice drawer.
The recipe I used was from Epicurious and although seemed to have generally good reviews many reviewers complained that they were bland. Considering that the recipe suggests that they be served with yogurt (as opposed chutney which is what I eat samosas with) I wasn't too concerned.

Well after rolling out the dough, folding and filling them, we fried up two right away and froze the rest. We ate them with my peach chutney and loved every single bite.

Adapted from Epicurious

For the dough:
2 cups all purpose flour (next time I'm going to swap 1/2 of this for whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus a few cups for frying)

For the filling:

3 medium potatoes (about 2 pounds)*

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 jalepeno, minced (optional)

Combine the flour, nigella seeds and salt in a bowl. Add the oil and using your fingers mix ingredients until mixture resemble fine bread crumbs. Add 3/4 cup warm water to flour and mix with fork until dough comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rest for 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile cover potatoes in a large pot with cold water. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer until potatoes are tender. Drain, cool and then finely dice.
In a large bowl combine potatoes with remaining ingredients and mix well.
Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Roll out each portion into about a 6 inch circle. Fold circle in half, then fold each side onto it self. The dough should be slightly triangular in shape with an opening at the top. Place a tablespoon or two of filling into the opening and then fold top piece of dough down to seal.
In a heavy deep skillet heat 2 inches of oil to 360F. Fry samosas one at a time (let oil come back to temp in between) until golden about 1-2 minutes per side. Serve warm with chutney.

*This ends up making more filling than you'll need. Next time I'll scale it back, but for now I'm quite content to find ways to use up the delicious filling.