Crispy Punjabi Samosa

Spiced Potato • Flaky Crust — Punjab, India

The tea-time king: a shattering, blistered crust around cumin-potato filling. Two rules make it work — fat rubbed into the flour until it holds its shape, and frying that starts in warm oil, never hot.

Ingredients

• 300 g — All-purpose flour (2½ cups)
• 60 g — Ghee or oil, for the dough (¼ cup)
• 3 g — Carom seeds / ajwain (1 tsp)
• 450 g — Potatoes, boiled & crumbled (1 lb)
• 75 g — Green peas (½ cup)
• 3 g — Cumin seeds (1 tsp)
• 12 g — Ginger, grated (1 Tbsp)
• 4 g — Amchur / dry mango powder (1 tsp)
• 4 g — Garam masala (1 tsp)
• 700 ml — Oil, for deep frying (3 cups)

Step-by-Step Method

1. Rub the fat in (moyan). Flour, salt, ajwain and ghee rubbed between your palms until the mix holds a fist shape. This is what makes the crust flaky and blistered, not hard. Knead a stiff dough with cold water; rest 30 minutes.
2. Make the filling. Temper cumin and ginger in oil, add peas, spices and crumbled potato. The filling must be completely dry and completely cool — wet or warm filling bursts samosas.
3. Shape the cones. Roll an oval, cut in half, form a cone sealing the straight edge with water. Fill, then seal the base firmly, pinching a small pleat so the samosa sits flat.
4. Fry low to high. Start the samosas in warm (not hot) oil and raise the heat slowly. 12–15 minutes to deep golden — starting in hot oil gives a raw crust inside and blisters that burn.

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