Samosas and Ramadan
So in the first post in this collection we outlined this year’s GBC Festival Feast, with our ‘12 dishes of Christmas . We’ve got three courses to cover, and 12 dishes in total, so yup you’ve guessed it, it means there are 4 starters! (our maths is impeccable). Next week, its the mains, then just before Christmas we have our dessert menu. After Salt Cod and a very Italian Christmas Eve, we turn to the Muslim festival of Eid for our next inspiration
At the end of the month long fast of ramadan, Eid is surely the mother of all celebratory feasts.

Ingredients
For the filling
100g/4oz potatoes, peeled
100g/4oz carrots, chopped
100g/4oz peas
2 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground coriander
pinch garam masala
handful of coriander leaves, chopped
For the pastry
300g/11oz wholemeal flour, plus a little extra for the ‘glue-like paste’ and a little extra for flouring
2 tsp olive oil
pinch of salt
tomato chutney or ketchup, to serve
Preparation method
1.Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2.For the filling, boil the potatoes in a pan of boiling, salted water for about 10-15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, roughly mash the potatoes and set aside.
3.Meanwhile, bring another pan of water to the boil and cook the carrots for a few minutes, drain and set aside. Bring a third pan of water to the boil and cook the peas for a few minutes, drain and set aside.
4.For the filling, heat the olive oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and after they start to splutter, add the onion and chillies. Fry for 6-7 minutes, or until softened.
5.Mix in the salt, coriander and garam masala, and stir-fry for a minute. Add the carrots and peas and fry for a couple of minutes.
6.Add the mashed potato and coriander leaves, and stir well until all the ingredients are blended together.
7.For the pastry, place the flour, oil, salt and 6-7 tablespoons of water into a bowl.
8.Using your hands, knead into a dough for 5-8 minutes.
9.Mix together a little flour and water in a small bowl to make a glue-like paste. Place this mixture to one side.
10.Divide the dough into golf-ball sized pieces and, on a floured surface, roll them out into thin circles about 7.5cm/5in diameter and 3mm thick, then cut each circle in half.
11.Apply the ‘glue’ to the straight edge of one semi-circle. Fold it to make a cone shape, sealing the pasted straight edge, then lift the cone with the tapered end at the bottom, and fill it with about one tablespoon of the vegetable mixture. Seal the samosa with a little more glue, pressing the edges firmly together. Repeat the process until all of the pastry has been used up.
12.Place the samosas on a baking tray and put in the centre of the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning them once halfway through cooking until lightly browned.
13.Serve hot with tomato chutney or ketchup.