Puff Pastry Shahi Samosa Pinwheels are filled with spiced potato, paneer and peas filling. The addition of cashews and raisins make them extra rich and flavorful. These make an easy vegetarian appetizer for potlucks, parties and the holidays!

Samosa is one snack that needs no introduction. In north India where I am from, it is literally sold at every nook and corner on the streets, at least that’s how it was in my city. It was the one snack which mom always got from market when he had guests at home.

The crispy samosa with masala chai, I don’t think there’s a better combination. The traditional samosa is made with a crust made with flour, filled with a spiced potato filling and deep fried. If you go to India to these popular mithai/snack shops, you would find variety of samosa.

So there will obviously be the potato samosa but you will have other variations like paneer samosa, shahi samosa and many more. The shahi samosa generally means that the filling has nuts added to it. Shahi =royal so to make the filling more loyal and rich, nuts, dried fruits and raisins are often added to it.

My samosa pinwheels are based on those shahi samosa. They have a filling made of potatoes, paneer, peas, cashews and raisins! But they are much easier to make than a traditional samosa since we are using store bought puff pastry here.

These Shahi Samosa Pinwheels

• makes an easy appetizer for the holidays & potlucks & parties!
• can be prepped and made in advance.
• make a crowd pleasing appetizer!
• uses store bought puff pastry for a quick recipe.

The time taken for these samosa pinwheels mainly involves thawing the puff pastry sheet. While the puff pastry is thawing, you can work on the filling and then fill and roll. This is a great appetizer to make for parties because it’s bite-size and can be made in advance.

You can make the rolls 2 days before your party and then freeze the logs and bake them before your party. One less thing to worry about on the day of the party!

Ingredients

Puff pastry: these come in boxes with 2 sheets. I either use Pepperidge farm puff pastry which you can find at most grocery stores (in the freezer section) or Trader Joe’s puff pastry (which is only available during the holiday season). You need only 1 sheet for this recipe, the second one can stay frozen to be used later.

Potato: either use russet potatoes or gold potatoes. These potatoes varieties are what I prefer for this recipe.

Paneer: you can use homemade paneer or store bought paneer. If using store bought, soak in warm water for 20 minutes before using in the recipe. That make the paneer soft.

Green Peas: I have used frozen green peas here which I soak in warm water for 10 minutes before using in the recipe, If using fresh peas, you should boil them beforehand and then use in the recipe.

Spices & seasoning: the filling gets it’s flavor from fresh ginger, chilies and spices like coriander, amchur (dried mango powder), cumin seeds, garam masala and red chili powder!

Step by Step Instructions

Before you begin, make sure to thaw your puff pastry sheet according to instructions on the package.

1- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add 1 tablespoon chopped golden raisins and 1 tablespoon chopped cashews. Cook for around 45 seconds until cashews turn golden brown and raisins plump up. Remove on a plate.

2- To the same pan, now add 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds and 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for seconds and then add 1/4 teaspoon hing.

3- Add 1-inch chopped ginger and 1 chopped green chili (you can add more to taste). Cook for 1 minute.

4- Then add in the boiled potato (1 medium/225 grams), 6 oz/170 grams paneer (I cut it into small cubes, you can also grate it) and 1/3 cup green peas (these are frozen peas which I soaked in warm water for 5 minutes before using).

5- Turn heat to low and take a potato masher and mash until potatoes and well mashed and everything comes together.

6- Add the spices and salt- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder, 1/4 teaspoon amchur, 1/4 teaspoon garam masala, 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder, pinch of ajwain and salt (to taste, around 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon). Add back the sautéed cashews and raisins back into the pan.

7- Again take the potato masher and mix everything together until the the potato, paneer and peas and well coated with the spices. The filling is now ready. Let it cool down.

8- Unroll the thawed puff pastry sheet. I use my silicone mat to roll it, sprinkle some flour so that it doesn’t stick even though if you use silicone mat it won’t stick even without the flour. Roll it using a rolling pin so that it gets little elongated from all sides.

9- Make a smooth paste with 2 tablespoons flour and 4 tablespoons water. Apply that paste on one of the sides of the rolled sheet (the side where you will end up the rolling process).

10- Now, transfer all the prepared filling to the sheet. Spread it into a thin layer using your hands across the sheet, leaving an inch from all sides.

11- Start rolling (roll from the longer side and the side opposite to where you applied the flour-water paste).

12- Tuck the pastry as you roll and make a tight roll.

13- Roll all the way until the end where it seals. It will seal easily when you reach the other end because of the applied flour-water paste.

14- Now, lengthen it a little by rolling it between your palms. I did this because I thought my roll was quite thick, if you feel yours is already long and thin enough, then you don’t need to do this. Wrap the log with a cling sheet and place in the refrigerator for 20 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat oven to 400 F degrees.

15- Take it out of the refrigerator and cut 1/2 inch slices using a serrated knife. You can discard the ends from both sides as they don’t have the filling. You would get around 25 pinwheels.

16- Arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, you would need to do this in 2 batches if you don’t have a very large baking sheet. Bake at 400 F degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until the pinwheels are nicely browned and crisp.

Air fryer Instructions

If you want to air fry these samosa pinwheels, pre-heat your air fryer for 2 minutes and then air fry at 390 F degrees for around 10 minutes. Keep an eye after 8 minutes.

They turn crispier in the air fryer than in the oven so if that’s what you are looking for, air frying is definitely recommended. It also takes less time than the oven.

Serving Suggestions

I really love serving these samosa pinwheels with cilantro chutney and sweet tamarind chutney. Ketchup is also a good option. And of course a cup of masala chai makes it even better.

Storage & Freezing

You can prepare the log and store in the refrigerator overnight (wrap with a cling sheet) and slice and bake the next day.

The baked pinwheels can be also be stored in the refrigerator for up tp 2 days.

To freeze, wrap the log into a cling sheet and freeze for up to a month. You can also slice into pinwheels, place them on a baking sheet, freeze for 1 hours until they are solids and then transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze for a month. To bake straight from the freezer, add some extra time in the oven.

Re-heating

Re-heat in air fryer (my preferred method): I like re-heating these in the air fryer since that maintains the crispiness and they are as good as fresh once re-heated. Re-heat at 300 F degrees for 7 to 8 minutes (300 F is the default re-heating setting on my air fryer).

Re-heat in oven: at 350 F degrees for around 10 minutes.

Vegan Variation

It’s easy to make these samosa pinwheels vegan. You can do either of the 2 things!

• skip the paneer and add 1 more medium potato to the recipe. Everything remains same.
• replace the paneer with 6 oz extra-firm tofu, recipe remains same.
• make sure the puff pastry you are using is vegan (most of them are).

Notes & Tips

• Puff pastry bakes well when it’s cold and that’s why I like to chill the slices before baking them. Also, for this very reason work quickly with the puff pastry else it won’t give the desired layers and flakiness that one expects from puff pastry.
• Thaw the puff pastry either in the refrigerator or at room temperature. I usually thaw at room temperature, takes around 40 minutes or so. You can thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Make sure the sheet in completely thawed before you roll and fold it.
• If you are allergic to nuts or don’t like them, you can skip them. You can even skip the raisins. But since I am calling them shahi samosa pinwheels, I would recommend using both!
• Leftover puff pastry sheet (since we used only 1 from the box) can be used for several recipes like these gujiya bites, vegetarian tart, veg puff and more!

More Samosa Recipes

• Traditional Samosa
• Puff Pastry Samosa
• Cream Cheese & Chutney Samosa
• Samosa Chaat

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