Making traditional samosas from scratch can be quite a challenge - all that pastry, rolling, and folding. These pinwheel samosas give you the same spiced samosa flavour without any fiddly shaping, and they're ideal as an easy party snack. Ready-rolled shortcrust pastry is spread with a simple samosa-style filling, rolled up, sliced into spirals, and cooked until golden. Think of them as samosas for beginners: all the taste, much less faff.
Why You'll Love These Pinwheel Samosa
- Classic samosa ingredients and taste, in an easy-to-make spiral pastry shape.
- Baked, not fried, so healthier.
- Great party food idea.
- Perfect with chutneys and dips. Try my coriander chutney!
- These pinwheel samosas are vegan, but everyone will love them.
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Pinwheel Samosa Ingredients
- Shortcrust pastry - We aim for a lovely flaky pastry; shortcrust is best and similar to samosa pastry.
- Mashed potato & Peas - Both mashed potatoes and peas are classic samosa ingredients.
- Ginger, cumin seeds, green chilli, fresh coriander, turmeric powder - classic samosa spices and herbs.
- Amchur powder (dry mango powder) - adds a sour note to help balance the flavours.
- Kala namak - also known as black salt, has a unique "eggy" flavour and is lower in sodium than regular salt. In Ayurvedic medicine, it holds medicinal properties.
- Asafoetida powder - substitutes the flavour of garlic and onion.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Pinwheel Samosa
- Remove the peas from the freezer and leave them to defrost.
- Peel the potatoes, and cut them in half, and cut each half in half again. Boil the potatoes in a saucepan of water with a little salt until cooked. They will be ready when you can easily pass a knife through them.
- While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the samosa ingredients: Finely chop the ginger, chillies and coriander. Chop both the leaves and stems of the coriander.
- When the potatoes have cooked, drain the water from the saucepan, then mash the potatoes. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and asafoetida and cook for about thirty seconds until fragrant. They should gently sizzle and darken in colour.
- Add the ginger and chillies and fry for about two minutes. Add the turmeric and give the mix a good stir.
- Add the mashed potatoes and combine together.
- Next, add the defrosted peas and Kala namak, then mix again. Cook the contents for about five minutes. Stir the mixture constantly so nothing gets stuck to the pot
- Finally, add the amchur powder and mix together.
- Set it aside to cool down.
- Remove the shortcrust pastry from the fridge and let it sit until it reaches room temperature.
- Gently unroll the pastry sheets. Leave the butter paper in place. This will help you transfer the pinwheel log to the fridge for chilling.
- Spoon the cooled filling mixture onto the pastry sheet and spread it evenly.
- Leave a half-centimetre gap on the sides and a one-centimetre gap at the top edge.
- Mix a pinch of turmeric with the plant-based milk.
- Brush the exposed edges of the pastry with it.
- Gently roll the pastry into a log. Keep it as tight as possible.
- Brush the top edge of the pastry with the plant-based milk/turmeric mix, and seal the log when you reach the top.
- Press the pastry along this edge to ensure the seal is complete.
- Brush the entire log with the plant-based milk/turmeric mix. Now put it in the fridge to chill (about fifteen minutes). Chilling will help when you cut the log into portions to make the pinwheels.
- Remove the log from the fridge, then cut it into 1-inch-wide portions. Use a sharp knife and a sawing motion; don't press down, or the pinwheels will lose their shape.
- Place the pinwheels on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, then return them to the fridge while the oven warms up.
- Heat the oven to 190ยบC (fan-assisted oven).
- Remove the pinwheels from the fridge, place them in the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. The pinwheels are cooked when the pastry has turned golden brown. Turn the tray halfway through cooking so that each pinwheel has an even colour.
- Once cooked, remove them from the oven and cool down for five minutes before serving.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are some options to modify this basic recipe:
- Vegetable swaps: Samosa filling is traditionally potato and peas; however, you can replace the potatoes with sweet potatoes (slightly sweeter than potatoes) and add different vegetables like carrots or finely chopped cauliflower if you prefer. Remember to keep the samosa filling relatively dry; otherwise, the pastry can become soggy.
- Spice swaps: If you don't have Amchur powder (dried mango powder), you can use chat masala. The function of amchur is to give a sour taste without adding further moisture. If you have neither amchur nor chat masala, use lemon or lime juice to balance all the flavours. For some warmth, add some paprika.
- Milder pinwheel samosa: You can exclude the green chilli and reduce the chilli powder.
- Add more heat: Increase the amount of chilli powder.
- Pastry swaps: Use puff pastry for a lighter, flakier pinwheel samosa.
Equipment
Digital scales and measuring spoons help to give exact quantities for the recipe. I would highly recommend using them.
Usually, I prefer to use a silicone mat for baking as it is reusable. If you buy a pre-rolled pastry, they typically come with parchment paper - use that.
Storage
You can store the pinwheels in an airtight box at room temperature for up to three days.
Unbaked pinwheels can be individually wrapped or kept in an airtight box with parchment paper between layers and frozen for up to three months.
To bake from frozen, take them out of the freezer while the oven heats up, then arrange them on a baking tray. The cooking time will be longer for frozen food. Ideally, defrost overnight in the fridge before baking.
Chef's Tips
To get the best possible samosa pinwheels, here are some handy tips:
- Be sure to chill the pastry before cutting the pinwheels from the log. Chilling will firm up the pastry and make it much easier to cut. Use a sharp knife and cut with a sawing motion. Pressing down to cut will distort the pinwheel shape.
- Keep the filling on the dry side so that the pastry does not become soggy.
- When rolling the pastry, use the parchment paper as a barrier between your hands and the pastry to help prevent the heat of your hands from softening it, which would make it harder to roll.
- Make sure you seal the log completely with the turmeric/plant-based milk wash after you finish rolling it, so it does not come apart while cooking.
- Rotate the baking tray halfway through cooking to ensure even colour.
Related Recipes
Here are some other party food ideas:
FAQs
A basic samosa filling consists of mashed potatoes, peas, fresh ginger and garlic, green chillies, and spices: coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and turmeric. This recipe adds amchur powder, asafoetida, kala namak and fresh coriander for flavour. This is how it is made in my family. Like many Indian dishes, variations occur region to region and family to family.
Yes, you could make the pinwheel log the day before without baking, and then refrigerate it. If you do this, don't brush the log with the turmeric/plant-based milk mix and slice it into pinwheels until ready to cook.
Shortcrust pastry works best for these pinwheel samosas because it is similar to the Indian samosa pastry with a similar amount of fat. These pinwheel samosas are all about the samosa experience in a beginner-friendly pastry form. Puff pastry does work, though it is flakier.
Like classic samosas, these pinwheel samosas are delicious with chutneys. I have some chutneys you can make: coriander and chilli chutney, sonth ki chutney, and wild garlic sauce.
๐ Recipe
Pinwheel Samosa
Equipment
- Digital scales
Ingredients
- 525 g Potato
- 125 g Green peas Frozen
- 15 g Ginger
- 2 Green chilli
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- ยฝ teaspoon Turmeric
- ยผ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 2 teaspoon Amchur powder
- 1 teaspoon Kala namak
- 15 g Fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 tablespoon Plant-based Milk
- 320 g Pre-rolled shortcrust pastry 1 sheet
Instructions
- Peel and cut the potatoes in half, and then quarters. Transfer the peeled potatoes to a pot with water and a little salt and boil until cooked.
- Defrost the peas.
- Finely chop the ginger, chillies and coriander.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and mash.
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida. Allow them to bloom (cook in the oil) for 30 seconds.
- Add the ginger and chillies and fry for a minute or two.
- Add the turmeric (reserve a pinch for the plant-based milk wash) and mix.
- Add the mashed potatoes and mix together.
- Add the peas and kala namak and mix to combine. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring continuously, to ensure nothing gets stuck to the pot.
- Add the Amchur powder and chopped coriander. Mix to combine.
- Take the pinwheel samosa filling off the heat and transfer onto a large plate or tray to cool.
- Remove the shortcrust pastry from the fridge to allow it to come up to room temperature.
- Gently unroll the pastry on the countertop, leaving the butter paper in place (it will come in handy when transferring the log into the fridge). Spoon the cooled pinwheel samosa mix onto the pastry and spread it evenly, leaving ยฝ a cm on the sides and 1 cm at the top end (see photographs)
- Mix turmeric with the plant-based milk and brush the edges of the pastry.
- Gently start rolling from the bottom end towards the top end. Attempt to roll as tight as possible. Once you reach the top end, brush with the plant-based milk/turmeric wash and seal the end. Press the pastry to ensure a tight seal.
- Brush the log with the plant-based milk/turmeric wash and transfer to the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes. When the pastry is firm it is easier to cut it into the pinwheel portions.
- Once chilled, cut the log into one-inch width portions with a sharp knife. Cut using a sawing motion. Pressing down the knife will ruin the shape of the pinwheels. You will have about nine pinwheels.
- Transfer the pinwheels onto a tray lined with parchment paper and return back to the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 190ยบC. (fan assisted)
- Remove the pinwheels from the fridge and transfer them into the oven. They have cooked when the pastry is golden. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, turning the tray midway. They have cooked when the pastry is golden.
- Once baked, leave on the counter to cool for five minutes. Serve with a side of coriander and mint chutney or ketchup.
Nutrition
NOTES
Food Safety
- Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food.
- Wipe down countertops and high-contact points regularly.
- If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
- Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 ยฐF (74 ยฐC).
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours).
- Store food correctly.
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