Roasted Lamb Samosa Pie
Crisp and Convenient
Difficulty: Medium
Cooking time: 2 hours (homemade pie crust) - 1 ½ hours (store bought)
Serves 4-5
There’s something about the concept of a little bundle of grain holding a tasty, more substantial filling that really activates my smooth brain, and you’ll see this in essentially every culture in different forms. In China, it’s dumplings, or in Central/Eastern Europe, Pierogi, and in India, samosas. But, if you’re like me and are not well practiced in a cultures unique dumpling folding skill, then you’re probably pretty slow at it. I absolutely love samosas, but besides making the dough, which can be time consuming enough, you have to cut, shape, then fold all your dough pieces before final cooking, which can take me an hour alone for a party sized batch and I can honestly eat a dozen on my own so I needed a solution. With this in mind, during one of my busy weekdays, I realize that we can circumvent this problem, and reduce the workload, by baking our filling into a pie.
By making our pastry container larger, we increase the ratio of filling to dough and essentially circumvent the folding process if you’re strapped for time like me. You lose the convenience and finger food-like quality samosas have but it gets you a delicious crust and filling in minimal time and tastes just like a baked samosa (since it basically is). We’re going to be using boiled potato with minced lamb and green chillies in a sort of shepherds pie type affair but you can easily make this vegan by removing the lamb and ghee and adding chickpeas, green peas, and more potato to compensate. I settled on an oil based pie crust in lieu of the standard butter based because I think a denser texture will work better with the hearty filling but if you like a flaky crust or are in a rush, feel free to use a standard pie crust anyway. And feel free to experiment and customize, the world is your oyster and you have a right to make your food however you love.
Food Dictionary:
Garam masala: A blend of ground spices containing coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, and a variety of others that make your kitchen smell like happiness
Ghee: A type of spiced, clarified butter made by simmering butter and skimming milk solids, leaving a nutty smelling cooking fat with a much higher smoke point than butter.
The Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 ½ - 2 lbs Ground lamb
2-3 Large russet potatoes
½ Large red onion
1 ½ Tsp coriander seeds (1 tsp ground coriander)
1 ½ Tsp cumin seeds (1 tsp ground cumin)
¾ Tsp garam masala
4-5 Large cloves garlic, minced
2 Tsp minced ginger
2 Green chillies, chopped
1 small handful of chopped greens, such as coriander or fresh mint
(Optional) 1 Tbsp ghee
(Optional) 2 pie crusts, the recipe for which is below
The Dough:
2 ½ Cups all purpose flour
⅔ Cup of vegetable oil (or other neutral flavored oil)
6 Tbsp iced water
1 Tsp salt
¾ Tsp ajwain (carraway) seeds
1 Egg, for egg wash
The Process:
The Crust (Optional):
Measure out your flour into a large bowl and add your salt, whisking to spread out, and your caraway seeds
NOTE: The oil pie crust is a totally optional step but I think the denser texture of the crust works much better with the more robust filling, but you could totally do a regular store bought pie crust or use a hot water pie crust recipe. This extra pie dough step can be done in advance and is probably not the type of thing you wanna try on a weeknight for sure
Also this step is probably best done while waiting on the water to boil or lamb to fry.
Add your oil and whisk to homogeneity and bit by bit, add your cold water mixing with a fork and eventually your hands and shaping into two very loose balls
These are going to be very crumbly but should hold a bare shape. If it’s falling apart way too much, add extra water in sparring amounts by tablespoon
Knead until generally smooth and wrap in plastic wrap to rest in the fridge for 15 minutes
When out, remove from plastic and pound out into a disk with a heavy rolling pin and roll out to a diameter a couple inches larger than your pie dish (a 9” dish) and lay your rolled dough into it, pressing to the sides
Roll out your other dough and set aside.
The Filling
Chop your vegetables and aromatics and set aside and peel your potatoes if not done already and preheat your oven to 425 degrees F (220 C)
Bring up to boil a pot of water with your potatoes already inside and boil for maybe 12 minutes or until tender and nearly well cooked. When cooled, drain and dice into small cubes
Alternatively you can save a lot of time by dicing up these chunks and using a microwave steam bag, which saves on dishes and is way faster. Would recommend to anyone who hates waiting for water to boil
In a large cast iron skillet or heavy bottom pan, heat up to medium high heat and in batches of about a half pound, sear the ground meat, breaking up the pieces into smaller chunks and soaking up excess oil and discarding after each sear, but a bit of leftover oil is fine at the end
Lower the heat to medium and add in your whole spices if you’re using them, and toast for 3-4 minutes starting with the whole coriander and black pepper and adding in the cumin seeds about a minute or two in.
If needed, add a tablespoon of ghee into the pan and add your garlic, ginger, and chiles and saute for 3-4 minutes
Add your potatoes into the fat and let develop a slight crust and color while cooking. Add your seared ground lamb and any remaining ground spices and herbs into the pan and stir around to lightly saute
Beat your egg with 2 Tbsp of water in a small cup and brush the bottom of your waiting pie crust lightly. Pour in your filling gently and pat down to even out, before laying your remaining pie crust over it and pinching the edges closed all around.
Brush the top with egg wash and cut slits into the top crust so as to allow steam to escape and bake at 425 for about 40-45 minutes or until golden brown
Let rest for 10 minutes and serve with additional herb garnish or some cut tomatoes and mint chutney.
