Oven Baked Indian Samosas

So I had a  random hunger for some authentic Indian samosas. I have always adored those spicy triangles of crispy goodness. The sad looking soft samosas you find in certain grocery stores just never do it for me though. The best thing you can do is bake them for a while in your oven and hope they eventually crisp up, and the flavours are never as satisfying as an authentic Indian samosa in the end.

With that in mind I put together a fairly guilt free, yet authentically pleasing vegetable samosa recipe for you all to try out. Instead of frying them to death in lots of oil I decided to bake my little babies in the oven as a healthier alternative. They are just as tasty and bursting with eastern flavours and that oh-so heavenly aroma!

Ingredients

Filling

•     1 cup green peas
•     ¼ cup chopped carrots
•     2 ½ cups water
•     3 medium russet potatoes
•     1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
•     1 tablespoon sea salt / kosher salt
•     1 medium red onion, chopped
•     1  teaspoons minced fresh ginger
•     2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds
•     1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
•     1 teaspoon garam masala
•     ½ teaspoon paprika
•     1 teaspoon turmeric
•     ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 
•      coriander/cilantro leaves, chopped
•      soya milk / diary milk
       1 egg, for egg wash

Dough

•     2 cups all-purpose flour
•    ½ teaspoon sea salt
•    ½ cup plain organic yogurt
•    ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

* If you don't have time or the needed ingredients you can use spring roll / potsticker pastry instead.

Method

In a medium saucepan add your peas and water. Bring them to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until peas are tender, about 45 minutes. Drain peas in a colander, and set aside.
Peel potatoes and boil with 1 teaspoon salt until softened. Now drain your potatoes and mash them thoroughly. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy pan and add your chopped onions. Cook until translucent, then add your ginger and stir briefly. Add your ground and whole coriander seeds and leaves, garam masala, paprika, turmeric and salt stirring just under a minute, allowing the flavours to combine. Add your mashed potatoes, peas, chopped carrots, ground black pepper, a dash of soya milk and mix evenly. Set filling aside.

If making the dough, combine ingredients and mix until dough is firm and non-sticky. On a lightly floured surface roll out your dough into a large rectangle and cut into strips. Fold over into a triangle shape and seal down the ends with a flour and water based paste with your fingers. Scoop some of the filling into your triangle and fold over again and seal withe the flour paste. Cut away any excess dough if needed.
Here is a short, but good video I found showing how to fill your samosas if my directions aren't too clear for you... Folding and Filling Samosas.
If You have bought spring roll wrappers, use the same method mentioned.

Get a large baking tray and lightly grease with olive oil or olive oil spray oil.
Place your samosas evenly in the tray and brush the tops with egg wash made with 1 part egg, one part water. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 218°C ( 425°F / Gas mark 7) for roughly 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn your samosas over and lightly brush the underside with egg wash, turning  the heat down to 190°C ( 375°F / Gas mark 5). Cook for roughly another 10 minutes.
Serve alone or with a good Indian chutney.

notes

"If you like you can add some chicken to the filling mixture while cooking the onions for a meaty samosa!"