Matar samosa is a deep-fried crispy pastry snack which is filled with aromatic and flavourful peas and dry fruit filling. The peas filling can be varied from savoury to sweet. As the winter season is still going on, these peas samosa really taste great due to the fresh and sweet taste of peas. The outer pastry is flaky and crisp and the filling inside is full of natural sweetness of peas and richness of dry fruits. These samosas are a great teatime snack. They are served with mint-coriander chutney and tamarind sauce.

Serves: 10

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Preparation time: 20-30 minutes

Cooking time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

Maida: 2 cups

Refined oil: ¼ cup

Fresh peas: 2 cups

Cashew nuts: 20

Raisins: 40

Salt to taste

Red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Coriander powder: 3 tsp

Fennel powder: 1.5 tsp

Anardana powder: ¾ tsp

Chat masala: ¾ tsp

Roasted cumin seed powder: ¾ tsp

Garam masala: ½ tsp

Oil for frying

Method

Take maida in a big mixing bowl. Add half teaspoon of salt and one-fourth cup of refined oil. Mix well. Add enough lukewarm water to make a soft and stiff dough. Knead it properly and keep it in a closed container to rest for an hour. In the meantime, prepare the stuffing. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add coarsely chopped cashew nuts and roast them golden brown on low flame. Take them out and keep aside. In the remaining oil in the same pan, add peas and raisins and saute for few seconds on low flame. You can add some more oil if you find its quantity very less after frying cashew nuts. Add salt and mix well. Cover the pan and let the peas become soft on low flame. Uncover the pan after few minutes and check if the peas are cooked properly.

When the peas are soft enough to melt in the mouth, add red chilli powder, coriander powder, fennel powder, anardana powder, cumin powder and chat masala. Give a good stir. Keep stirring the masala frequently over low flame for five minutes. Add garam masala and roasted cashew nuts. Mix well. Turn off the flame and let the peas stuffing cool.

Make lemon-size balls out of the maida dough. Roll them round like a thin chapatti applying some oil on the rolling board. Cut it into two equal parts from the centre with the help of a sharp knife. Lift one semi-circle and place it in your palm. Dissolve two teaspoons of maida in half cup of water and mix well. Apply this paste on the edges of the semi-circular chapatti in your palm with the help of your index finger. Now place one teaspoon of peas and dry fruit stuffing in the centre.

Close the edges overlapping on one another and giving a triangular shape like a samosa. Press the edges to seal the samosa properly. Heat oil for frying. When it is appropriately hot, fry samosas in small badges until golden brown from both sides. Take them out on a kitchen towel to drain excess oil. Serve hot with mint-coriander chutney and tamarind sauce.

These samosas are more or less like regular potato samosas except for the filling and size. Taste really magical!