Irani Patti Cocktail Samosas

Just mention the word ‘Samosa’ & the taste buds come alive! Everyone is familiar with the most famous Indian snack. There are so many varieties of samosas with so many types of fillings to choose from. It is such a wonderful snack but looked down upon by weight watchers & those who are in favor of a healthy diet. According to me, if you eat within limits & prepare in the comfort of your home then it is fine. At home, everyone uses fresh oil for deep frying so it should not be a problem. Besides, one does not deep fry every day. Today’s post is the ever popular Irani samosas which are also called patti samosas. These samosas are triangular in shape, crispy & crunchy…

In Pune we have Irani restaurants & bakeries at every corner serving these awesome flavorful & crunchy samosas which have a perfect triangular shape.  Naaz Restaurant in Pune was very popular for their Irani Chai & Patti Samosas. I have pleasant memories of Naaz when I was a little child. It was situated at the beginning of the very famous M.G.Road. It was a lovely garden restaurant & they served a dozen hot samosas on a plate with genuine Kissan Tomato Sauce/Ketchup. They had both vegetarian & non vegetarian samosas. You would be charged for the number of samosas you consumed. They would taste awesome with their aromatic Irani Chai.

Irani restaurants always cater to the middle class & the lower middle class but the upper class sometimes could not resist them!  At that time the population of Pune was small; mostly retired pensioners. You almost knew everyone! You could comfortably walk in the middle of the road… you would hardly see many vehicles pass by. Most of Pune is Cantonment & Southern Command area. Major part of Pune had Army Bungalows, out houses, guest houses, etc. & was very clean. We frequented Naaz because it was close to my home in the Southern Command area.  Besides, the famous West End movie theatre was just a hop, skip & jump to Naaz.

Another restaurant was Café Delite which was a bungalow & very spacious; just opposite  Wadia College. Imperial Bakery which is near Pool Gate, still sells Irani cocktail samosas with onion filling. Naaz just faded away with time as Sterling Centre came up in its place & then they were given both the corners for their restaurants. They continued for some time & then leased out to Coffee Day & Nike showrooms. Naaz now operates in a very small place. There are quite a few Irani restaurants still in Pune. But the memories of Naaz & Café Delite will always be there imprinted on my mind for their  Irani Patti Samosas & Chai is a perfect combination at tea time & an irresistible any time snack.

As I said earlier, no one can resist the delicious, crispy & crunchy Irani Patti Samosa! The aroma captivates you especially when its raining heavily in the monsoons & when it is cold & gloomy in the winter months. Enjoying hot samosas with your favorite spicy & tangy chutney with hot cups of aromatic tea is something to be experienced. The samosa is a great show stopper at parties especially at a child’s party! … Not to forget kitty parties & all celebratory parties…

The joy of making your very own samosa even though it may be a little tricky & time consuming is to give your fingers an opportunity to display your skill. With a little practice you will realize you have mastered it & you may want to create them quite often!

So how about relishing these fresh & hot samosas straight from the wok! Come join me on the samosa trip while your taste buds do the tango…. 😀

Ingredients for the Samosa Pastry Wrappers:

• 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour (Atta)
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour (Maida)
• 3 tbsp. Corn Flour/Rice Flour
• 3 tsp. Vegetable Oil
• Water as required

Combine whole wheat flour, maida, salt & 2 tsp. oil in a sufficiently large bowl.

Add water gradually & make a soft dough (like chapatti dough).

Coat the dough with 1 tsp. oil & let it rest for about 20 mins.

Generously flour your rolling board.

Roll out the dough into small lemon sized balls & roll them out very thin , making sure that it does not tear apart.

Roll the dough into a rectangle.

Roll out all the dough in rectangles & stack them together by generously applying dry flour in between the rectangles.

Repeat the process till you use up all the dough.

Heat a tawa/griddle on med. heat.

Dry roast each dough rectangle for a few seconds on each side. Do not overcook the rotis/chapattis. This process is to give it strength & flexibility.

Stack the partially cooked rotis on a tray lined with paper towels.

Cover with a moist kitchen towel so that they do not dry out.

When all the rotis are done, cut them into rectangular strips (about 6 inches by 3 inches).

Cover with a moist towel until you are ready to use them.

Ingredients for the Filling :

• 250 gms. Mince (Chicken, Mutton, Beef)washed lightly.
• 3 med. Onions (peeled & finely chopped)
• 2 med. Tomatoes (chopped finely)
• 2 tbsps. fresh Garlic paste or garlic cloves finely minced
• 1 tbsp. fresh Ginger paste or grated ginger
• 1 tsp. Turmeric pwd.
• 1 tbsp. Coriander pwd.
• 1 tsp. Maida
• 1 tsp. Red Chilli pwd. or to taste
• ½ tsp. Garam Masala pwd.
• ½ tsp. Green Cardamom
• 1/3 tsp. Nutmeg pwd. (optional)
• 1 tbsp. Lime Juice
• A pinch of Sugar or to taste
• A dash of Vinegar
• Salt to taste
• 5 tbsps. Vegetable Oil
• ¼ cup Water
• A handful fresh Coriander Leaves (chopped)

Procedure :
Heat a kadhai/wok/pan with oil till hot.

Add in the chopped onions & sauté till soft.

Add ginger garlic pastes, turmeric pwd., chilli pwd., coriander pwd. & sauté on low heat  till rawness disappears.

Add in the mince & sauté well making sure there are no lumps.

Add in the tomatoes & cook till the tomatoes are cooked through.

Add garam masala, cardamom & nutmeg powders. Stir well.

Add in sugar, vinegar & salt to taste. Give it a good stir once again.

Add water; stir & let it come to a boil. Cover & let it simmer.

Cook till the mince is dry. Switch off the flame & add coriander leaves.

Stir & let it cool completely.

You samosa filling is ready.

Procedure for Filling & Moulding the Samosa :
First prepare the glue to seal the samosa by mixing 2 tbsps. of maida with 1 tbsp. of water in a small bowl.

Take one of the prepared strips of dough & apply this glue on one side; along the length of the strip.

Place the filling on one edge; enclose by lifting the strip & enclosing the filling in such a way that it forms a triangle.

Keep following the lead of the triangle & fold till you reach the end of the strip.

Apply some glue on the open end & fold over to seal & form a perfect triangle.

Use all the strips of dough in this way to make samosas.

Place on a tray or on a plate. Chill the samosas until frying time…

Meanwhile, heat sufficient oil in a kadhai/wok till hot.

Reduce heat & gently slide few samosas at a time in the hot oil.

Deep fry in hot oil. Reduce heat to med. if the samosas are browning too quickly.

Fry on both sides evenly by turning the samosas carefully from time to time till the samosas are deep golden brown.

Drain completely using a slotted spoon.

Transfer on to absorbent kitchen towels/tissue paper.

Serve the hot samosas with your favorite chutney, sauce, ketchup.

Tips & Variations :

1. You can freeze the samosa strips if you like. Just sprinkle flour generously between the strips & pack them in cling film or aluminium foil. Place the foil packet in a ziploc or plastic bag & freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
2. You may use your favorite filling for the samosa.
3. The samosas are darker in color than the regular samosas.
4. Deep fry on med. heat to get crispy & crunchy samosas.
5. Samosas will turn soggy if you over crowd the wok/kadhai or if the oil is not sufficiently hot. So fry in small batches & maintain the temperature of the hot oil.
6. You may use ready to use samosa strips if you so prefer which are easily available in the stores.

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