Shingara
Bengal's cone-shaped samosa with nigella pastry and a potato, cauliflower and peanut filling. Makes 12
Shingara is Bengal's samosa, and every Kolkata sweet shop fries a batch for the evening tea crowd. It differs from the North Indian kind in small, important ways: the pastry is flecked with nigella seeds, the potatoes are diced rather than mashed, and in winter the filling gets cauliflower florets, fried peanuts and a few raisins, all tempered with panch phoron. The shape is a tall cone with a tight pleated top, so it stands upright on the plate. Chef's tip: dice the potato small (1 cm) and cook it only until just tender; mushy potato turns the filling into mash and loses that Bengali bite.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
To seal and fry
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Mix 9 oz plain flour (maida), ½ tsp nigella seeds (kalonji) and ¾ tsp salt, then rub in ¼ cup vegetable oil with your fingertips for 3–4 minutes until it clumps when squeezed. Add ½ cup cold water gradually and bring together into a firm, smooth-ish dough. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
4 minStep 2: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and fry 1 ⅜ oz raw peanuts for 2–3 minutes until golden and crackly. Lift out with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
3 minStep 3: In the same oil, add 1 tsp panch phoron (Bengali five-spice) and 1 dried red chilli and let them pop for 20–30 seconds until the fenugreek seeds in the mix turn reddish. Add 1 tbsp fresh ginger and 2 green chillies and stir for a few seconds.
1 minStep 4: Add 14 oz potatoes and 7 oz cauliflower and toss for 3 minutes until the edges catch a little colour. Add ½ tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar, stir well, then add 4 tbsp water, cover and cook on a low heat for 8–10 minutes until the potatoes are just tender when pierced but still hold their shape.
13 minStep 5: Uncover and cook for 2 minutes more to dry off any moisture. Stir in the fried peanuts, 1 tsp roasted cumin powder, ½ tsp garam masala, and 1 tbsp raisins and 2 tbsp fresh coriander if using. Spread out to cool completely.
2 minStep 6: Divide the dough into 6 balls. Roll each into an oval about 16 × 12 cm and 2 mm thick, then cut across the middle to make 2 half-moons.
Step 7: Brush the straight edge of a half-moon with 1 tbsp plain flour mixed with 2 tbsp water. Fold it into a cone, overlapping the pasted edge by 5 mm, and press firmly along the seam.
Step 8: Hold the cone and fill it with about 2 tablespoons of filling, pressing down gently, leaving 1.5 cm of pastry at the top. Paste the inside of the opening, then pinch it shut and crimp it into a tight pleated ridge, so the shingara has a flat base and stands up. Repeat with the rest.
Step 9: Heat 1 litre vegetable oil over a low heat to about 275°F; a piece of pastry should rise slowly with small bubbles. Fry 4–5 at a time for 12–15 minutes, turning, until crisp, firm and light golden. Low heat gives the blistered, crunchy crust; hot oil makes bubbles that turn soft.
15 minStep 10: Drain on a rack and serve hot with tea, ketchup or a tamarind chutney.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does shingara take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of plain flour (maida)?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of dried red chilli?
- ½ tsp chilli flakes per chilli.
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