Baked Samosas

5 from 13 votes

Make your own, 100% vegan samosas at home! These little dumplings are stuffed with spiced potatoes, peas, and crunchy peanuts. The best part: they bake up golden and delicious (no frying required!).

Prep Time45

Cook Time50

Total Time1 35

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, Indian

Servings: samosas

Calories: 127kcal

Author: Alissa Saenz

Ingredients

For the Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup + 1 tablespoon water
¼ cup vegetable oil, plus more for brushing or spraying the samosas

For the Filling

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
½ serrano pepper, seeded and minced, optional
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste, optional
Pinch asafoetida, optional
⅓ cup frozen peas, thawed
⅓ cup roasted and salted peanuts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To Make the Dough

Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the water and oil to form a dough.
Lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour. Turn the dough onto the surface, then knead it for 3 to 5 minutes, until it becomes smooth and elastic.
Lightly oil a mixing bowl large enough to hold the dough. Roll the dough into a ball, then place it into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rest for at least 30 minutes, and up to 60 minutes. You can proceed to the next steps of making the filling while the dough sits.

To Make the Filling

Place the potatoes into a medium pot and cover them with water. Place the pot over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the potatoes to cook just until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes into a colander and return them to the pot.
Coat the bottom of a medium skillet with oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it becomes soft and translucent.
Add the garlic, ginger, serrano pepper, garam masala, cumin seeds, ground cumin, turmeric, coriander, cayenne pepper, and asafoetida. Continue to cook the mixture until the garlic and spices are very fragrant, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
Add the cooked potatoes to the skillet. Stir to coat the potatoes in the spices, then cook everything for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove the skillet from heat.
Lightly mash the potatoes with a potato masher, leaving some chunks.
Stir in the peas, peanuts, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Taste-test the filling and adjust any seasonings to your liking.

To Make the Samosas

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.
Lightly flour a work surface and gather a small glass or bowl of water.
Grab a 3-4 tablespoon handful of dough and roll it into a ball. Place the dough onto your work surface and roll it into a 5 to 6 inch circle (about ⅛ inch thick) with a lightly floured rolling pin. Cut the circle in half. Dip your fingers in the water, then moisten the outer edges of one of the half circles.
Place about 1½ tablespoons of filling into the center of the dough half circle. Bring the two ends of the straight edge together to form a cone, and pinch the seam to seal. Pinch the top opening of the cone closed to enclose the filling, forming a triangle. Press all the seams well to make sure they’re fully sealed and the filling won’t escape during baking.
Place the samosa on the baking sheet and repeat until all of the dough and filling are used.
Brush or spray both sides of each samosa with oil.
Bake the samosas for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve with your favorite chutney.

Notes

I served this batch of samosas with some mango and garlic chutneys that I had on hand, but the cilantro mint chutney from this samosa burrito recipe would be delicious too.

Nutrition