The Bengali New Year or Poila Boishakh is just round the corner and this is a special recipe for the special occasion. Also it will complete one year of my blog. This is the first one in the series. ‘Kolkatar Singara’…. does this stir up any pleasant memory
in your mind? Well, it does for me. A Bong at heart I can never erase these wonderful gastronomic experiences in Kolkata during my younger days there. Singara is a Bong
name for samosas, a triangular Indian pastry with mainly savoury stuffing of
spiced potatoes, peas etc., but the flavour is strictly Bengali. The stuffing,
taste, texture everything is just out of the world, a class apart, incomparable
with any samosas I have tasted after that.
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| Alu-Phulkopir Singara |
‘Singaras’ are available at almost all the sweet shops of
Kolkata but Dwarik Ghosh and Balaram Mullick demand a special mention for
mastering the culinary art of making ever delightful Bong singaras. The
singaras were not much large in size, the outer coating of the patty was of
maida/ all purpose flour, the stuffing consisted of alu/potato,
phulkopi/cauliflower, peanuts, koraishunti/peas, much less spicy than the
samosas, soft yet crispy with the flavour of cauliflower and peas in every
mouthful, I could devour almost five to six at a time!! This is the most
favourite Bong snack, a signature creation you can say… and no adda is ever complete
without ‘singara’ and ‘cha’(tea) in Kolkata. Do NOT miss these if you are visiting
the city.
An humble try to recreate ‘Singara’ was worth it and a
thoroughly enjoyable experience. I was successful at replicating that same
divine taste which I had savoured so many years ago.
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| Alu-Phulkopir Singara |
How I made it:
Ingredients:
For the outer coating:
- 150 gms maida/all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- A pinch of salt
- A little white oil
For the stuffing:
- 2 large potatoes boiled
- ½ a cauliflower separated into small florets
- A fistful of green peas
- A fistful of peanuts
- ½ tsp ginger paste
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 3-4 green chilies chopped
- Salt n sugar to taste
- White oil for frying
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| Alu-Phulkopir Singara |
Process:
Step 1:
Knead the flour into a soft dough with all the ingredients
for outer coating mentioned above and water. Keep aside covered.
Step 2:
Heat oil in a wok and fry the cauliflower florets and peas.
When the cauliflowers turn brownish add the ginger paste, green chilies and
turmeric powder. Saute well.
Step 3:
Add the boiled potatoes. Mash while stirring. Add the
peanuts, salt and sugar. Mix well all of them together. The stuffing is ready.
Step 4:
Take the kneaded dough and tear a little from it. Roll it a
little thicker than and into a size a little bigger than a poori. Cut it into
half. These two halves will make two singaras.
Step 5:
Take one half and join the edges securely, applying a little
water on them. The stuffing will not spill out this way. Now make a funnel with
it placing between the thumb and index finger. Put the stuffing into the funnel
and fold the edges giving it the triangular shape of a samosa. In this way make
the rest.
Step 6:
Take sufficient oil in a big kadai/wok and put all the samosas
in it without heating the oil, the singaras will not turn brown if you do it
this way. Now heat the oil and fry them.
Step 7:
Take out straining the excess oil and serve hot with tomato
sauce or chutney of your choice accompanied with tea of course. :D
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