Every time I go to my favorite Indian restaurant, I always order the same thing: butter chicken and a side of chicken samosas. Normally I try different dishes when I find a place I like but for some reason at this restaurant, I always get the same meal. It's just too good to pass up. Even their samosas are the best that I've ever had with the perfect complementary sauces. Just thinking about the samosas made me want to try creating my own. I didn't want to make a classic version since it probably won't be as good as the restaurant's. And so, I added my own twist and made Mexican samosas with scallion lime sauce. It's different but the flavors are spot on!
Recipe
Mexican Samosas
Ingredients
Samosa dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup water + 2 tbsp
Samosa filling
- 1 medium potato
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- 1 canned chipotle in adobo sauce
- 12 ounces braised shredded pork shoulder
- ½ cup corn kernels
- salt and pepper
Scallion lime sauce
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup scallion chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- juice of ½ lime
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make the samosa dough. Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ cup olive oil. Mix the oil with the flour until crumbly. Add ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon water and mix until a dough forms. Cover the dough with a moist towel and let it rest for 45 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the samosa filling. Peel and cut 1 medium potato into medium chunks. Boil the potatoes in a medium pot until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash.
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon coriander, and 1 canned chipotle. Saute for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Add the mashed potatoes, braised pork, and corn and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Divide the dough into 7 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, roll it out into a 6-7 inch circle. Cut the circle in half. Brush water on the curved edges and seal them together to make a cone. Fill the cone with 2 tablespoon of the filling and seal the open side, pinching together the edges. Place the samosa on a baking sheet lined with parchment and cover with a moist towel. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Bake the samosas for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, make the scallion lime sauce. Blend together ½ cup Greek yogurt with ¼ cup scallions, 1 garlic clove, and the juice of ½ lime. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the Mexican samosas with scallion lime sauce.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
What makes these Mexican samosas different than Indian samosas? The pastry is the same using a simple mixture of flour, salt, water, and olive oil; however, the filling has Mexican influences. Braised pork is spiced with cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, coriander, and chipotle and combined with potatoes and corn. It's delicious if I do say so myself.
To make the flaky pastry shells for the Mexican samosas, all you have to do is combine flour with salt and olive oil. Mix in the olive oil until the flour looks crumbly. Add the water and mix until a dough comes together. No need to knead the dough until smooth. In fact, you don't want to overwork the dough, or else the pastry will be tough. As soon as it comes together, cover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes.
While the dough is resting, make the filling. I used leftover braised pork from my chipotle mojo pork tacos, but you can also use ground pork, ground beef, or even chicken. Heat oil in a saute pan and add the garlic and spices, warming them up. Add the meat, mashed potato, and corn kernels, stirring to combine. Taste the filling and season with salt and pepper. Let the filling cool completely.
Now it's time to make the actual samosas. Divide the dough into 7 equal portions. Work with one portion at a time, covering the remaining dough with a moist towel to prevent it from drying out. You won't need to dust your counter with flour; if the dough sticks, rub a little oil on the rolling pin. Roll the first portion into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Then, cut the circle in half to create two half-moons. This will make 2 samosas.
Have a small bowl of water on the side as you make the samosas. Grab the first half-circle shape and apply water on the straight edge. Now bring the ends of the straight edge together to make a cone. Pinch the pointed ends to shape it into a more perfect cone shape.
Fill the samosa with the braised pork filling, about 2 tablespoons. Apply more water around the open edge and press it together to seal the opening. And there you have your first samosa! Only 13 more to go. At this point, you can place the samosas on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze until ready to cook. Otherwise, let's get right to cooking these babies.
Normally, samosas are fried but I wanted to be healthier so I decided to bake them. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. If you want to stick to the traditional route, fry the samosas at 300 degrees F for about 10 minutes. Then increase the heat to 350 and continue to fry until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. It's important to fry them at a low temperature to get them nice and crispy.
Ahh, Mexican samosas, you were not the easiest dish to make but you sure were tasty! Even though they were baked, they were still crispy and had great texture. The filling was spot on and the scallion lime sauce just brought it home. Another new dish tackled!
For more appetizer inspiration check out these Korean spicy pork empanadas!
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