Mutton Keema Cocktail Samosas... Non Veg Samosas

Samosas....

Probably the most identified of all the Indian snacks...

Crisp and yummy...

Every one just loves Samosas.Whatever they are stuffed with...they taste just yum yum yum!

Long back in 2003,2004 when I taught maths in a school called Goodley Public School in Shalimar Bagh Delhi, I used to avoid samosas like the plague.
This name still intrigues me...Good Lay was it??? Or was it just a simple spelling error...
Don't know why I never asked then.

Reason...they pile on the calories and the layers of subcutaneous fat. Best explained by the lady who used to supply them to the staff room...she never called them samosas...just SAMASYAS..समस्या literally translated to be...many problems!

That was where I fell in love with the samosa. Sweet child and hubby dear absolutely ADORE the samosa...in any form....so I am often besieged with requests to make some.

No, not for them the regular ones with a potato stuffing...they want chicken and lamb in their samosas.
My samosas never came out the right shape...I could make empanada type samosas, triangle shaped samosa and even little potli/sacs...but my samosas never sat so pretty on the plate.
So this time round I called a local cook who makes cocktail samosa by the dozen.But baby,was he upset when I stood next to him and told him I wanted to learn!
Not all people are as generous as yours truly...especially when it comes to teaching!
 I stood resolutely by...and learnt a few tricks. Also that people try a very quick hand movement to un coordinate the eyes...but then this is me they are tackling here!
So I live to reveal some secrets.

for about 40 bite sized

Mutton Keema Cocktail Samosas...Non Veg Samosas...

you need

Prepared keema/mince of Lamb the spicier the better

2 cups plain flour
1/8 cup refined vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ajwain/carrom seeds
Hot water to knead
Oil to deep fry

Lets start with the filling.
This is 250 gms of minced meat...that was all I had catered for, as all they had wanted for lunch was keema meat(you can check the recipe here)
So when someone suddenly saw samosas on the telly...the menu changed.
So lunch was keema samosas.

I prefer to cook the mince in a pressure cooker, any open pan will do otherwise.
A teaspoon of Mustard Oil ,into which I threw in a spoon full of cumin/jeera and half a large onion diced fine.

Into this went the mince and the spices-salt,red chili powder ,turmeric and coriander powder,sauteed with a bit of tomato puree and then pressure cooked.

Drying out the mince...one does not want a wet filling for the samosas...a bit of fresh coriander for the flavour punch!Dry and cool is the buzz word...you cannot stuff the samosas with hot filling.

Now for the dough....The dry stuff and the dough is to be kneaded with hot...yes HOT water. This way,with lesser oil in the dough you get a crisper pastry.This I managed to wrangle out from uncle _ the cook.

Small balls ,the size of a bog marble...

Rolled out thin in an oblong dish.....with flour to prevent the dough sticking.

Sliced into two, and then piles made...

On the knife cut,just apply a bit of water and stick the clean cuts to get a cone.

Clear??

Stuffed with the filling...1/2 to 3/4 tsp of the stuffing.

Now lovingly pinch its butt...

And fold its once over....a little pleat on the butt.And something else that brought back the nuns from school instantly. "Neatly, with your hands behind your back,tuck your skirt under you before sit down", so said Sister Anne....same way fold the overhang of the samosa-before you do so WET the edges lightly with water and seal the edges together.

Like so, so now the samosa will sit.

Like it is doing so on my hand...

Start the oil heating when you start the samosas...by the time you have finished 10 odd samosas, the oil will be hot enough.Once you put the samosas in, reduce the heat after a few minutes and let them cook till they are light brown and crisp.

Straight to your tummy...one by one...served with a side of tamarind chutney or green chutney.

Hot!Hot!lots...

Sweet child and hubby dear made a meal of them..and were still asking for more.
You can also serve them with chilled beer or a desi glass of red wine.
Cheers!

Next time we try  baking the pastry and making fancy schmany samosas....

So what are you baking today???