Traditional Indian Samosas
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Samosas are one of the few Indian fried treats that I just can’t get enough of. They are savory, puff pastry packets of heaven: spicy and sweet, with a great crispy crust surrounding a piping hot filling. When made well, they aren’t too oily and are just fried to perfection.
I don’t usually make samosas at home, because honestly if I did, I would eat them all. They’re mainly a treat for me when we go out to Indian restaurants for dinner.
The husband is somewhat of a samosa connoisseur – he loves them even more than I do. It’s pretty much guaranteed that if we go to an Indian restaurant that no matter what the other appetizer options are available, he will order samosas every time. This actually works out well for me, because then I can nibble on the crispy pastry crust of more than one samosa without my fellow diners getting annoyed with me 🙂 Because honestly, the crust is SO good.
When making samosas at home, I would probably bake them in the oven versus frying them. This recipe below gives you the instructions to fry them if you so choose, but you can also bake them in the oven using these directions from Aarti on the Food Network.
Today’s recipe for samosas comes courtesy of the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council, who contacted me with the idea of adding split peas into samosas to amp up the protein & fiber in traditional recipes. I thought it was a great addition to the traditional samosa filling, since it goes really well with the potatoes and other Indian flavors in this dish.
Note: Makes about 24 samosas. These little turnovers contain yogurt in the dough and a curried vegetable filling. Serve them with chutney or a good tomato ketchup.
The Ingredients: Filling
- 1 cup dry USA green or yellow split peas, rinsed
- 2.5 cups water
- 2 medium potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1.5 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander (with a few whole coriander seeds sprinkled in)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- Chutney or tomato ketchup, for dipping
The Ingredients: Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour preferred)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 cup plain yogurt
- 1⁄4 cup canola oil
Variation: If you are short of time, use potsticker wrappers in place of the traditional dough.
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The Directions
- In a medium saucepan, combine split peas and water. Bring them to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until peas are tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Drain peas, and set aside.
- Boil potatoes with 1 teaspoon salt until they are tender. Drain, and mash the potatoes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the dough. Combine flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center and add yogurt and canola oil. Mix ingredients until they form a ball.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cover dough, and set it aside for 30 minutes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a heavy skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they are translucent. Add ginger, and continue stirring for another minute. Add coriander, garam masala, and salt, and cook, stirring, for about a half minute more. Add potatoes and peas, and mix well. Set filling aside.
- On lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle measuring about 12 x 18 inches. Cut dough into 3-inch squares.
- Place 1 scant tablespoon of filling on each square. Use your fingers to moisten edges of dough with water, and fold dough diagonally in half to make a triangle. Press edges firmly together to seal in the filling.
- Heat 1 inch oil in a heavy skillet until it is hot but not smoking, about 350° to 380°. Fry samosas until golden, turning once. Drain samosas on paper towels, and keep them hot.
- Transfer samosas to a heated serving dish, and serve them with chutney or tomato ketchup.
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Red and green chutney are the traditional options for serving with Samosas. The red chutney is usually sweet and a tiny bit spicy, and the green chutney is almost always very spicy. I buy my chutneys from the Indian store, I haven’t ventured out into making them from scratch yet!
If you don’t already love samosas, you will after trying this recipe!
Nutritional Info: For 1 Samosa
- Calories: 82
- Protein: 3 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Total Fat: 2 g; Saturated Fat: 0 g
Indian Samosa Recipe (Traditional)
A healthier, Indian samosa recipe that's lightened up but just as flavorful as the traditional version! These savory puff pastry packets of heaven are spicy and sweet, with a crispy crust surrounding a piping hot filling of potatoes, onion, and peas!
Servings: 24 samosas
Calories: 82kcal
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1 cup dry USA green or yellow split peas rinsed
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 medium potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander with a few whole coriander seeds sprinkled in
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
- Chutney or tomato ketchup for dipping
Dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour whole wheat flour preferred
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup canola oil
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine split peas and water. Bring them to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until peas are tender, about 35 to 45 minutes. Drain peas, and set aside.
- Boil potatoes with 1 teaspoon salt until they are tender. Drain, and mash the potatoes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the dough. Combine flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Make a well in the center and add yogurt and canola oil. Mix ingredients until they form a ball.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it is smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cover dough, and set it aside for 30 minutes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a heavy skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they are translucent. Add ginger, and continue stirring for another minute. Add coriander, garam masala, and salt, and cook, stirring, for about a half minute more. Add potatoes and peas, and mix well. Set filling aside.
- On lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle measuring about 12 x 18 inches. Cut dough into 3-inch squares.
- Place 1 scant tablespoon of filling on each square. Use your fingers to moisten edges of dough with water, and fold dough diagonally in half to make a triangle. Press edges firmly together to seal in the filling.
- Heat 1 inch oil in a heavy skillet until it is hot but not smoking, about 350° to 380°. Fry samosas until golden, turning once. Drain samosas on paper towels, and keep them hot.
- Transfer samosas to a heated serving dish, and serve them with chutney or tomato ketchup.
Notes
Variation: If you are short of time, use potsticker wrappers in place of the traditional dough.
Nutrition
Calories: 82kcal | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Fiber: 2g
Great recipe! Tasted so good and was very easy to follow.
A couple changes I made while making was I added a teaspoon of curry powder and a little cayenne to the filling. So good! I definitely will making again!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Megan, and I love the additions you made too!
Hi Anjali! I would love to make these! But I can’t tolerate spicy hot food 🙁 what would be the spice that I can eliminate for me to be able to enjoy this delish plate!!
Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! It depends on how you define “spicy” food — none of the spices in this recipe are actually “hot” spicy the way you’d think of hot sauce or chili peppers, but both ginger and garam masala can have a bit of a warm spice kick. So if you’re really concerned you can eliminate both of those spices, but that would dramatically change how these samosas taste so I can’t guarantee they’d taste as good without those spices added! Hope that helps!
Seems easy enough
It really is! Enjoy!
Hi! I am making these for my roommates but hoping there might be an alternative for yogurt since one of them is vegan. Any suggestions for dairy free in the dough? Could coconut milk be an option?
Hi Kelsey! I haven’t tried an alternative to yogurt in the dough, but I think a coconut milk yogurt could theoretically work! If you try it, let me know how that substitution turns out!
How can you increase the spice to make it a bit hotter?
I would add cayenne pepper into the filling mixture when you’re cooking it – you can start with 1/8-1/4 teaspoon and work your way up from there depending on how hot you want it!
Can you make them ahead of time , then cook them just before company arrives
Absolutely! 🙂
Thank you for this great recipe. I will def. deep fry them, as this is traditional and I find, if the oil is at the right temp. they soak up very little oil. I find baking just does not give the right texture. Also, use a healthy oil.
Frying these samosas would also work! I’m glad you’re choosing a healthier oil to fry them in!
Have not made them yet, but def. plan to. Could I use frozen peas instead of split peas? And also, could I just cube (small) the potatoes instead of mashing them?
Hi Yes! You can use frozen peas (you’d just have to defrost them first) and you can cube the potatoes if you’re ok with a chunkier consistency for the filling!
The dough did not turn out right but I fixed it with some water and a mixture of white/wheat flour. (I did anything to save the dough.) But the stuffing was delicious, not spicy at all, which I prefer but still very easy recipe and I’m definitely making this again but a bit more chilies! Everybody loved it thought. Thank you so much! !
Hooray! I’m so happy to hear that Sabina!
Do you have some guide lines for baking, prepared pan? temp to bake at for what length of time? Thank you
Hi Joanie! You should be able to bake these at 425F for 15-20 minutes, and then turn the heat down to 375F and bake for another 10 minutes until the crust is cooked through.
Could I use red or yellow lentils instead of split peas?
Absolutely! Either type of lentil would work!
hi anjali, i know this recipe is a few years old so i hope you see this! do you think i could make a batch of these and freeze some to be reheated later? if so, should they be frozen before or after we fry them?
thank you!
Hi Bethany! Yes you can absolutely freeze these! I’d recommend freezing them after you make them, and then reheating them in the oven. Hope that helps, let me know how they turn out! 🙂
Is there a substitute for potatoes that you know works well, like cauliflower or yams?
Hi Becky! Yams or sweet potatoes would work great, or you could do half sweet potatoes/yams and half cauliflower! Hope that helps!
Indian samosa is probably the most known starter after the tikka masala. Your recipe is very clear – seems easy to make! Wishes from the Indian Garden Brussels in Belgium!
Thanks Andrew! Enjoy!