Nitya Jain, the founder of Beyond Curry, first made spiced aloo (potato) samosas with spinach dough a few years ago as a way to add more greens into her son’s diet. Since then these portable pockets have become a family favorite in her home. 

After she taught me how to make samosas in her kitchen last April, Nitya sent me home with an entire sheet pan full of them. Life was extra delicious that week— I ate spinach and potato samosas heated in the toaster oven and dipped in ketchup every day for breakfast until they were all gone. 

Potato-filled pockets are generally not my favorite, because I tend to find the potato and dough situation extra on the carbs and often lacking in flavor, but Nitya’s samosas are far from the potatodough situation I would like to avoid. Here, mild potatoes serve as a perfect canvas for some of the key the spices that make Indian food so delicious, all wrapped up into a beautiful emerald-hued dough with a little extra nutritional oomph from the spinach. Cumin and bay leaf are fried in ghee with onion, shallot and garlic, then spiced with ginger, chili and chaat masala, and finished with a big squeeze of lime juice.

Nitya recommends serving these with chutney, ketchup, or both. I never got around to making chutney before I devoured them, but when I make these again, chutney is a must.

Nitya Jain’s Spinach and Potato Samosas

Samosa Ingredients

 FILLING

•  4 medium-sized potatoes, boiled

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

• 1 bayleaf

• 1 shallot, finely chopped

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 2 teaspoons ginger, finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon chili powder

• ½ teaspoon chaat masala (optional)

DOUGH

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup fine semolina

• 8 oz frozen spinach

• 2 tablespoons ghee

• 5 tablespoons canola oil

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

Samosa Directions

FOR THE DOUGH

In a skillet, add half a cup of boiling water to frozen spinach, salt and 1 tablespoon of ghee. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.

Drain all the water. Pulse in blender and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, sift flour, semolina, salt, and sugar. Add the shortening/ghee, and oil and crumble till the dough looks like loosely bound bread crumbs.

Add spinach mixture to the dough and knead together lightly. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to bring the dough together, soft to touch. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside for 20 minutes.

FOR THE FILLING

In a skillet, heat oil and add the cumin seeds and bay leaf. When the seeds start to splutter, add the onion, shallot, and garlic. Saute until the mixture is golden brown, about 7-10 minutes

Add remaining spices except chaat masala and saute for another 2-3 minutes.

Add boiled potatoes, mashing them with the back of a spoon to thoroughly mix with the spices. Cook for 2 minutes on medium-high.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add lime juice and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil so that the water is absorbed and the mixture comes together.

Check for seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Turn off heat. Mix in chaat masala, taste, and add salt if needed. Set aside.

ASSEMBLY

Divide dough into 12 -15 portions and roll out the dough in 4-inch circles.

Take 1/12 tsp of the filling and place it in the center.

Wet the edges of the circle and fold into crescent shapes.

Make sure the edges are sealed well. 

In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil for frying.

Once oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium-high and fry the samosas.

Serve hot, or warm slightly in the oven for ten minutes at 300F (150C).