Red kidney bean and tomato samosas

When I was a student at art college in England, I lived with 6 other girls in a rented house in my second year. We were all on the same course, (fine art), all roughly the same age and all from the UK. I don't need to illustrate the dramas that happened between us all, I'm sure you can imagine. 

One girl, Kali, was of Indian descent. She cooked authentic vegetarian Indian food with spices and ingredients that her mum had either sent through the post or packed her off with. Perhaps through her I received more education than at college. She taught us how to make chapatis with her long, green rolling pin, simple Indian curries with whole spices like cumin and coriander seeds and how to add spices to British standards like beans on toast.

Being Hindu, she had never tasted meat, something that the rest of us carnivores found quite incomprehensible. She theorised: how can you miss what you don't know. "But what about bacon"? we would shriek. She'd shrug her shoulders and continue to make her tomato and potato curry, seemingly indifferent to the aroma that makes most people drool. I don't remember her ever making samosas, but I do remember a curry she made with red kidney beans which held us transfixed not only because it smelt and tasted delectable, but also because it was the first time I had experienced red kidney beans being used for something other than chili con carne. Recipe here.

For me, samosas are all about the pastry. Fried dough is addictive, whether it be a doughnut or a Spanish churro, which both boast that slightly crispy exterior and spongy, light middle. Once fried, samosa dough seems to become flaky and floury in texture with a deep fried taste. The bubbles on the surface satisfyingly pop in your mouth and the filling, like this one, should be 'meaty', whether it includes meat or not. For most vegetarian samosas that means using potato or cauliflower with peas and fried onions for taste. Ground beef flavoured with tomatoes and chili powder produced the best samosa I've ever eaten and this recipe combines the meatiness of the beans with some greens, fried onions and tomatoes, along with lots of that chili powder to provide heat and delicious fruity taste.

Recipe : Samosas with red kidney beans and tomato

Pastry

125g (4 oz) plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

25g (1oz) ghee or butter

2 - 3 tbsp water

Filling

1 tbsp oil

1/2 small onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 chili, seeds removed and finely chopped

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 bell pepper, seeded and chopped finely

1/4 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 small baby beet, peeled and finely chopped (optional)

1/4 cup cooked red kidney beans

1 tomato, chopped finely

a small handful of greens such as kale, shredded

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp curry powder or garam masala

juice of half a lemon

For the red kidney beans, you can either use the canned variety or the dried, which will require some planning and preparation the day before or at least a few hours before. For the canned type, simply rinse well in several changes of water and they are ready to cook. The dried beans need to be soaked and cooked first which is very important as they contain a toxin raw. 

Either place the beans in a bowl, cover with water and refrigerate overnight or, place in a saucepan with water to cover and boil rapidly for 2 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to soak for 2 hours. 

Whichever way you choose, the beans will be ready to cook after their soak. Rinse thoroughly in cold water, changing it several times until it runs completely clear and place the beans into a clean saucepan with enough water to cover by an inch or two. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low - medium and simmer for about 1.5 hours until the beans are soft. You may need to skim off some scum. Once the beans are ready, remove from the heat, drain well and rinse. They are now ready to be used. 

Why go to all that bother when you can simply open a can? They are much cheaper to buy raw and most people agree they taste better and less 'chemical' than their canned counterparts which often have preservatives. It's up to you, of course and many people, myself included, often use canned. 

To cook the filling:

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, chili, bell pepper, carrot and beets and stir fry for a few minutes until softened.

Add the chili powder, curry powder or garam masala and turmeric and stir well until fragrant.

Add all other ingredients and cook until the greens have wilted and the tomato softened.

Taste, adjusting seasoning with salt and lemon juice if necessary and set aside. 

To make the pastry:

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter or ghee until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and then add the water, bringing the dough together with your hands until it leaves the bowl clean. Add a little more water or flour as needed. Remove from the bowl and knead, pulling and stretching the dough until very smooth, then cover with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for about 20 minutes. 

To make the samosas:
Divide the pastry into 8 pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece into a thin circle about 4 inches in diameter. Cut each circle in half to form 2 semi circles. Fold each of these semi circles in half to form a cone, sealing the edges with a little water. Place a tsp of filling into the cone and seal the edges firmly, (again using a little water), to form a triangle. Repeat with the rest of the dough. It's important not to overfill the samosas as they may burst while frying. You may find that you have lots of filling left over. That's fine, just freeze ready to be used for your next batch.

To fry the samosas:

Heat half a cup of peanut oil in a saucepan over medium to high heat until hot, (check with a piece of bread or a chopstick - the bread should brown in 30 seconds and the chopstick should form bubbles immediately). 

Fry the samosas in batches of three until golden brown , (just a few minutes). Remove and drain on paper towels.

You can eat the samosas straight away or let them cool. They are perfect as they are, but a little mint or mango chutney would be a really nice accompaniment.