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Samosa soup
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 45g dried split pigeon peas
- 2tbsp oil
- 1tsp cumin seeds
- 3 dried red chillies
- 1 green chilli, stem removed and slit in half
- 140g red onion, thinly sliced
- ¼tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1tbsp ground coriander
- ½tsp ground turmeric
- 2tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1tsp garam masala
- 1.2 litres vegetable stock
- 100g cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed
- 2tsp tamarind purée (see recipe, below) or fresh lime juice
- 20g coriander, chopped
- 12 frozen cocktail-sized samosas or 4 homemade (see recipe linked)
- 50g spring onions, chopped, to garnish
For the tamarind purée
- 750ml hot water
- 160g tamarind pulp
Method
Wash the pigeon peas under cold, running water three times, then rinse and transfer to a pressure cooker with 240ml water. Secure the lid and cook under full pressure for 20–25 minutes. Allow the pressure cooker to decompress before safely removing the lid, then set aside. Alternatively, put the rinsed peas in a deep pan and cover with 1-1.4 litres hot water and leave to soak for 4 hours. Bring the peas and soaking water to the boil, skimming off froth as needed. Cover and cook over a medium heat for 1½ hours until very mushy.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds. Once they begin to crackle, add the dried red chillies, green chilli and red onion and cook for 12–15 minutes over a medium-low heat until the onions soften and caramelise. Add the black pepper along with the ground coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala. Mix well and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in the stock and add the chickpeas, the pigeon pea dhal and the tamarind purée or lime juice. Cook over a medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Add salt to taste and half the chopped coriander and cook for a further 2–3 minutes.
Reheat the samosas or, if using frozen, cook according to the pack instructions. See recipe for homemade samosas here. Divide among 4 warmed soup bowls, then ladle the soup into the bowls garnished with the remaining coriander and the spring onions.
Tamarind purée
Bring the water up to the boil in a small saucepan, then turn off the heat and soak the tamarind in the hot water for around 1 hour, covering the pan. Using your hands, press the mixture through a sieve and discard the fibrous part.
This will make more purée than you need for the samosa soup recipe (left), so store any leftover in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze in a sealed bag for up to 3 months, to use in other recipes. If frozen, be sure to thaw before using.
This recipe was taken from the October 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.
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