Stuffed. Chris Fennimore

twin and I would visit my great-grandfather in Bombay (now called Mumbai) he would take us to the beach and indulge us with our favorite street foods.

      Samosa chaat (lightly crushed samosas topped with spiced chickpeas, fried vermicelli, green and tamarind chutneys and yogurt) and freshly squeezed sugarcane juice redolent with ginger were always on top of that list.

      Homemade samosas were a rare treat when I was growing up in southern India because for one we could always buy it from the snack shop around the corner. Secondly, making them meant that my mother had to spend hours in the kitchen because no one in my family would stop at one or two or three.

      My siblings and I would swoop down on them at tiffin (a light meal in the afternoon) and keep asking for more like there was no tomorrow.

      INGREDIENTS

      DOUGH:

       3 cups all-purpose flour

       ¼ cup rice flour

       1 teaspoon salt

       ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons canola oil

       1 cup water plus 1 tablespoon, at room temperature

      FILLING:

       1 tablespoon canola oil

       1 medium yellow or white onion, finely chopped

       1 serrano chili, finely chopped

       1 teaspoon turmeric powder

       1 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

       ½ teaspoon ground cumin

       ½ teaspoon ground coriander

       ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

       ¼ teaspoon garam masala

       ½ cup frozen peas, thawed

       Salt to taste

       2 russet potatoes, cut into quarters, boiled with skin on and then peeled (should have some texture)

       2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

       1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

       Canola oil for frying samosas

      STEPS

      1. In a large bowl, add all-purpose flour, rice flour and salt and mix with fingers.

      2. Add oil gradually and mix dough with hand until flour mixture becomes slightly crumbly.

      3. Add water gradually and knead dough with hand for at least 10 minutes until it is smooth. If dough is hard, add a little more oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 30 minutes.

      4. For the filling: In a sauté pan, warm oil over medium heat. Add onion and chili and cook until onion is slightly opaque and soft. Add turmeric, fennel, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and garam masala, and cook for 2 minutes. Add peas and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off flame, add salt and mix well. Remove pan from fire. Crumble boiled and peeled potatoes with hands and add to onion. Add cilantro and lemon juice and mix well. Set aside filling to cool.

      To assemble:

      1. Divide dough into 18 balls and cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. With rolling pin, roll out each ball into 6-inch circle without using any extra flour. Then, using a pizza cutter or knife, divide the circle exactly in half to make 2 semicircles.

      2. Fold 1 semicircle to create a cone by taking one edge and placing it to the other edge. Dip finger in water and moisten edges of round sides and gently press the sides together to seal them.

      3. Stuff cone with potato-pea filling, making sure to push it down. Wet finger again and moisten the open inside edges of cone and press to seal them together. Make sure all the edges are sealed well; otherwise the filling will spill out when the samosa is fried.

      4. Place samosa on a big plate and cover with a plastic wrap. Repeat steps for remaining semicircles. As you get to the 20th samosa, heat oil in a wok or 3-quart saucepan. Once oil is hot, fry samosas until they are golden brown.

      5. Serve hot with fresh cilantro chutney and/or tamarind chutney.

Cilantro Chutney

      My mom usually served samosas with a green chutney (made with cilantro and mint) and a sour-sweet tamarind chutney that had a spicy bite. But if she ran out of time, we would have them with her homemade ketchup.

      These days when I make samosas, I follow my mother’s recipe for the potato-pea filling but with a few tweaks. I use less garam masala and add crushed fennel and ground cinnamon. If I am on a time crunch, I use puff pastry sheets instead of making dough from scratch. And yes, I too bring out the ketchup.

      INGREDIENTS

       2 cups cilantro, including leaves and stalks, coarsely chopped

       ½ cup mint leaves

       ½ serrano chili, chopped

       1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

       1 teaspoon salt

       ½ teaspoon ground cumin

      STEPS

      1. Blend all ingredients with a little water to a smooth chutney.

Tamarind Chutney

      INGREDIENTS

       4 teaspoons tamarind paste

       ⅔ cup water

       ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar or jaggery

       ⅛ teaspoon chili powder

       1½ teaspoons ground cumin

       ½ teaspoon salt