Shingara is my absolute favorite since I was a little girl. I will not try to find an english translation for the word “Shingara” because whatever word I try, it falls short of the fascinating allure that the word shingara brings. You can call it samosas but there is a subtle difference. I might add a post if I make a samosa one day! Keeping it simple, I will define Shingara as a savory Indian snack that goes very well with Indian milk tea or chai. There are a variety of stuffing that you can use for the shingara, but when it is a cool winter evening, nothing compares to the “Fulkopi” or cauliflower stuffing cooked with peanuts, peas and potatoes. To appreciate the mouthwatering taste of shingaras, you will just have to make it and try it for yourself. Without further ado, sharing the recipe that I use. Please let me know how your turns out, after you try it.

Ingredients:
For the outer shell –
2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoon of clarified butter (ghee)
Lukewarm water (3/4th of a cup)

For the Filling –
2 large potatoes
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 tablespoon mustard oil
1 dried red chilli
1 green chilli (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon paanch phoron
2 tablespoons peanuts
1/2 teaspoon each of spices – turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, amchur (mango) powder
Salt to taste, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, pinch of black salt (optional)

2 cups oil (vegetable/canola) for frying

Directions –
Making the dough:
1. In a mixing bowl, add maida, salt and sugar, and ghee. Distribute the ghee evenly until the mixture acquires a breadcrumb-like texture. This step is important for flaky pastry, so take your time.
2. Add water. This is a tight dough, so it may seem dry at first, but resist the urge to add more water. The dough will hydrate further when rested. Also, don’t over-knead, as we don’t want too much gluten-formation, which will make the crust chewy.
3. Just when all the loose crumbs have been incorporated, cover the dough and let it rest for 60 minutes.

Preparing the Filling –
1. Peel the potatoes, cut them in about 1″ cubes. If you have new potatoes (notun aloo), then you can keep the skin on. The skin provides an flavor and texture.
2. Heat mustard oil in a pan until it smokes gently and changes color to a pale yellow. Fry the peanuts until golden. Set aside.
3. Add the cauliflower florets. Fry on medium-high heat until golden (~4 minutes). Lightly browning the cauliflower will bring out its flavors. Once brown, set aside.
4. Temper the same oil with dried red chillies and panch phoron.
5. Add potatoes, and fry them on medium heat until golden
6. Add chopped chillis and spices. . Fry for 2 minutes.
7. Keep cooking until the potatoes are nearly done. Add the fried cauliflower and peanuts. Also add in the salt, sugar and black salt.
8. Mix everything and continue cooking until the juices dry up and potatoes are fully cooked. Let this filling cool completely.

Making the Shingaras:
1. Divide the dough in balls (tennis ball size). Each portion will yield 2 shingaras.
2. Roll each ball into an oval shape (about 12″ × 6.5″) of 2 mm thickness.
3. Cut the rolled-out oval along the shorter diameter, dividing the pastry into two semi-circles.
4. Form a cone by joining the straight edges. Seal using water.
5. With the seam resting on your thumb, fill the cone with about 50 g of the potato and cauliflower mixture. Remember not to overfill (it will be difficult to seal) or under fill (empty pockets will ruin the shape) the pastry.
6. Apply water along the open mouth. First, bring the side opposite to the seam towards the seam. Then, bring the two conical ends towards each other, and press to seal. This should give you double-fold base, which will allow the shingaras to sit upright.

Frying the Shingaras:
1. In a deep pan, add the oil for frying.
2. Start the shingaras in lukewarm oil – At this stage you should be able to dip your fingers in the oil without flinching.
3. Fry on low to medium-low heat of the oil, such that the oil is never boiling. You should see little bubbles in the oil but not vigorous activity. If you fry at a higher temperature, the outside of the shingara will brown while the inside remains doughy.
4. Turn every 5 minutes until shingaras are evenly golden. Each batch should take around 30 minutes.
5. Once golden, remove from the oil. Let the shingaras rest for at least 15 minutes before taking a bite. Enjoy with chai.

If you try this recipe, please let me know how it turned out. And if you found ways to make it better, I would love to know that too.