Cauliflower Samosa – a delicious winter snack. Image Courtesy – eatreadandcook.blogspot.in
Samosa is known to be an Indian food, especially referring to a well-known snack. This food is available all the time in India. In Bengal, it is called ‘Singara’. It is a very popular snack in Bengal.
But, in the winter season, the demand for this fast food increased to the optimum level with a little change in its ingredients. It is then called ‘Phulkopir Singara’ – which means ‘samosa’ with Cauliflower. The reason is very simple – Cauliflower is mainly produced in the winter season, so it gets added into the ingredients of the normal ‘Samosa’.
People of Bengal love to eat this food with ‘Puffed Rice’ or ‘Mustard Sauce’ or ‘Sauce’ made of Tamarind/Tomato. Food lovers of Bengal know how delicious it is to have in the evening.
Generally, in the ingredients of ‘Phulkopir Singara’, onion and garlic are not used; only ginger is used to maintain the taste. Vegetable oil is generally used to fry this food.
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil 2and1/2 tablespoons
Peanuts 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Cauliflower cut into bite-sized pieces 2 cups
Potato cut into small pieces 2 cups
Chopped green chillies
Green peas 1/2 cup
Ginger paste 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seed powder, Coriander seed powder, Aromatic leaf of Curry tree (4-leafs), Red chilli powder, Fennel, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods – 2 tablespoons heaped
Salt to taste
These ingredients are needed to prepare the inner pulp of ‘Samosa’.
Read: Why Curry Laksa is different to food lovers?
Covering ingredients:
Flour 2 cups
3 tablespoons of Ghee
Salt 1/2 teaspoon
Sodium bicarbonate 1 pinch
Water to make the dough
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Preparation of the inner Mixture:
1) Heat 2and1/2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan – fry peanuts until they turn golden. Take out all the peanuts from the pan and keep them aside.
2) Pour cumin seeds into the heated oil, wait a minute and add chopped potatoes into it and then cauliflower pieces. Add green peas, ginger paste, chopped green chillies after the potato and cauliflower look fried enough.
3) Cover the pan after adding turmeric powder and salt, and let it boil on medium heat. When the mixture gets cooked enough, add previously fried peanuts and 2 tablespoons of heaped spices kept ready previously. Mix them well and off the burner.
Preparation of the Cover:
1) Take 2 cups of Flour and 1 pinch of Sodium bicarbonate, and melted ghee in a large bowl and mix them very well. Make a stiff dough by adding water gradually and very little in quantity, simultaneously kneading the mixture.
2) Make the dough spongy but stiff. Now make 7-8 balls from the dough. Take one ball and press on a flat surface to make a thin circular shape.
3) Cut the circle from the middle with a sharp knife, and make it into four parts. Take one part and join the edges to make it a cone shape.
4) Similarly, apply the process to all the balls and make 32 cones out of 8 balls.
5) Now, take one cone shape and fill it with a potato with cauliflower mixture and seal the open mouth of the cone. Do it carefully so that the potato-cauliflower mixture remains inside. Fill the rest of the cones like this.
6) Take a deep bowl and take vegetable oil in it, heat the oil and put 4-5 cones filled with the mixture. Fry them on low heat until they become golden brown in colour.
7) Your ‘Samosa’ is ready. Complete frying the rest of the cones filled with the mixture and serve hot with chutney or tomato sauce.
