“Here’s a rule bender. Samosas are a very well-known traditional snack. I have created this recipe on the same principle, except it has a sweet filling as opposed to savoury.” This recipe is from the book by Anil Ashokan (Allen & Unwin, $39.95 pbk).
Saeb ka samosa
Ingredients
Pastry
Filling
Method
Main
1.To prepare the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl. Add sugar, cardamom and a pinch of salt. Rub the butter into the flour gently. Add enough water (about 1/3 cup) to form a stiff dough. It’s important here to knead the dough for 2-3 minutes to strengthen the gluten, otherwise your pastry will be too short. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside while preparing filling. Once filling is cooling, divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll into balls. Dust with a little flour and roll out into long, thin strips roughly 4mm thick x 30cm long x 6cm wide. Set aside in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
2.For the filling, peel, core and roughly dice apples into 1cm pieces. Put the sugar, apples, cinnamon stick and 1 tablespoon of water in a pan. Cook the apples over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture is absorbed (about 30 minutes). Add the almond meal and sultanas and mix well. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Add finely chopped mint leaves, then refrigerate the mix.
3.To assemble, gather the pastry strips, filling, a pastry brush and some water. Cut the strips in half widthways, to make 12 smaller pastry pieces. Take one strip in the palm of your left hand, holding the straight cut side along the index finger. Brush along the perimeter with a little water. Fold the dough inwards from both ends, overlapping each other, similar to preparing a paper piping bag (you should have a cone shape). Press the tip (which should be at the centre of the straight cut side) and along the sides to seal. Cup the cone-shaped pastry shell in your palm, keeping the opening side up. Spoon one-twelfth of the filling into this cavity. Brush water around the opening and fold over the back of the cone to seal with the front. Seal well and tidy up the edges by cutting off the extra pastry. Press down the base with a fork if necessary, or crimp.
4.Refrigerate for a few minutes before cooking then, when ready, heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer over medium heat (180C) and deep fry in batches until the pastry is golden brown. Serve with apple slices and sultanas.
