Samosas are served for breakfast, dinner, afternoon tea, at street stalls, and as a late-night snack.

Samosas, a curry-flavoured filling wrapped in a dough crust, fried in triangles, and then dipped in mint or sweet and sour sauce, are a popular snack. They are served for breakfast, meals, afternoons with coffee and tea, at street stalls, and as late-night snacks. Because many Indians are vegetarian, samosas are typically filled with potatoes and peas and can be flavoured with diced onions and green chillies.

The South Asian samosa is believed to have been derived from a medieval precursor from Central Asia. The earliest mention of a samosa precursor was by Abbasid-era poet Ishaq al-Mawsili, who praised the sanbusaj. Recipes for this dish can be found in 10th–13th-century Arab cookery books, under the names sanbusak, sanbusaq, and sanbusaj, all deriving from the Persian word sanbosag. In Iran, the dish was popular until the 16th century, but by the 20th century, its popularity was restricted to certain provinces, such as the sambusas of Larestan. Abolfazl Beyhaqi (995–1077), an Iranian historian, mentioned it in his history, Tarikh-e Beyhaghi.

The Indian curry Samosa is different from the Malaysian curry puff, which is commonly eaten in Malaysia and is filled with meat. The Portuguese Empanada and the English Cornish are close relatives.

INGREDIENTS:

About 3 potatoes

Peas about 1/4cup

Yellow curry powder

Salt

Box of puff pastry (defrost for 40 minutes - 1 hour before making)

Step 1: Steam and peel the potatoes, then press them into a puree (you don't need to press them very finely. Just have coarse grains of potato cubes)

Step 2: Heat the oil in a pan and turn the heat to medium-low, add the garlic and green beans and stir fry for a few seconds.

Step 3: Add the curry powder and stir fry for a few minutes to get the aroma (keep the heat low, it is easy to make the curry powder paste if the heat is high).

Step 4: Add the potatoes, stir fry well and add salt to taste. Taste and add more curry powder if the curry taste is weak.

Step 5: The puff pastry you buy has 2 sheets of skin inside. Each sheet is about 9 x 9 inches. Thaw out the skin and roll it out slightly with a rolling pin to 12 x 12 inches.

Step 6: Divide each crust into 9 portions.

Step 7: Place 2 tablespoons of filling on top of the crust, dip all sides in water and cover along the diagonal and pinch to form a triangle, then press a fork around the edges to make a few marks and brush the surface with egg wash.

Step 8: Bake in a 350F (175C) oven for 18-20 minutes.

Step 9: Bake until the top is browned and coloured. Freshly baked, bulging samosas.