Vegetarian Samosas with Sweet Potato + Cauliflower

These vegetarian samosas are made with a simple yogurt and spelt flour dough and spiced sweet potato cauliflower filling. They’re paired with cranberry mango chutney for a delicious and nourishing side dish. 

Up until this summer, I had never ventured to make samosas from scratch. But a recipe in the original Moosewood Restaurant Cookbook caught my eye, and I had an afternoon to while away in the kitchen. I used the original recipe for dough, swapping out all purpose flour for light spelt flour, and created a filling of my own with sweet potato and cauliflower in place of potato and peas. I was surprised at how easy to make they actually were!

The only mildly challenging aspect of this recipe is the time that it takes to make them. I wouldn’t categorize samosas as a quick and easy weeknight dish, since they take an hour and a half to two hours from start to finish. But if you have some time to spare some afternoon in the near future, and you want to make something special and delicious, I recommend giving them a try. You will be rewarded with delicious samosas that are a thousand times tastier and healthier than store-bought! This recipe also makes 15-16 samosas, so depending on how many people you’re cooking for, you could end up with delicious leftovers for days. 🙂

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

• FOR THE DOUGH: Light spelt flour (or a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour), yogurt, and sea salt. For the yogurt, I used organic whole milk yogurt. If you want to try making a vegan dough, I recommend coconut yogurt.
• FOR THE FILLING: Sweet potato, cauliflower, oil, onion, garlic, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, ginger, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and lemon juice. 
• FOR THE CHUTNEY: Coconut oil, onion, cinnamon stick, ginger, sea salt, cardamom, cranberries, maple syrup, water, apple cider, vinegar, and mango. 

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1. MAKE THE DOUGH: Stir together the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the yogurt. Mix with a spoon and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes. The dough will be quite soft, but not sticky. Add more flour as needed to form a smooth, elastic dough. Cover tightly (I recommend covering with a reusable food wrap such as Abeego rather than plastic wrap) and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the samosas. 
2. MAKE THE FILLING: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the diced sweet potato and cauliflower to a bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and toss to coat. Transfer to the baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, or until the sweet potato and cauliflower are tender and lightly browned around the edges. Leave the oven on. 
3. Meanwhile, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the pepper, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook for a couple more minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Once the sweet potato and cauliflower are ready, add that to the skillet, too. Stir to combine. Cool for 15 minutes before you assemble the samosas. 
4. ASSEMBLE THE SAMOSAS: Divide the dough into 16 equal balls. Lightly flour your countertop and roll one of the balls into a 5-inch circle. Add a scant 2 tablespoons of filling to one side of the circle, leaving some space around the edge. As you can tell from the photos, I didn’t make them into the traditional shape, but you can if you wish! Lightly wet a fork and crimp the edges tightly, if desired. Or, simple pinch tightly closed with your fingers. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
5. Bake for a total of 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through to ensure even browning. 
6. MAKE THE CHUTNEY: Warm the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the salt, cardamom, and cinnamon stick and cook for a couple of minutes to allow the spices to open up. Next, add the cranberries, maple syrup, water, and apple cider vinegar. Loosely cover and simmer over medium heat. The cranberries will make popping sounds. Cook until the cranberries have burst and the mixture has thickened, about 15 minutes. Finally, stir in the mango. Cook for three more minutes, then remove the cinnamon stick and remove from the heat. Let it cool completely before transferring to a glass jar. 

MORE COZY FALL RECIPES

• Vegan Biscuit Pot Pie with White Beans and Mushrooms
• Cauliflower, Turmeric, and Potato Soup
• Vegan Tempeh Mushroom Stroganoff

A FEW FINAL THOUGHTS

• I usually make the mango cranberry chutney ahead of time. It keeps in a glass jar in the fridge for five days. 
• No sweet potatoes or cauliflower? Feel free to use any combination of hearty vegetables that you like, to total 3 cups. Potatoes, peas, broccoli, kale… all will work. If using peas or kale, add them to the sautéed onion and garlic rather than roasting them. 
• If you end up with any extra vegetable filling, cover and refrigerate, and enjoy it for lunch with some chickpeas, rice, and some chutney. 

I hope that you love these vegetarian samosas with sweet potato and cauliflower! They are one of my all-time favourite things to make, and I hope you enjoy them as much as my family and I do. If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below the post! And if you share a photo on Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen so that I can see. 

Enjoy! 

Vegetarian Samosas with Sweet Potato + Cauliflower

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• Author: Allison
• Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Yield: 16 samosas 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

These vegetarian samosas are made with a simple yogurt and spelt flour dough and spiced sweet potato cauliflower filling. They’re paired with cranberry mango chutney for a delicious and nourishing side dish.

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Ingredients

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DOUGH

• 2 ½ cups light spelt flour, plus more as needed (or 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour and 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour)
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 cup whole milk organic yogurt*

SWEET POTATO CAULIFLOWER FILLING

• 1 cup sweet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes (from 1 small sweet potato)
• ½ of a medium head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets (about 2 cups)
• 2 tbsp oil, divided (coconut, olive, or avocado oil)
• 1 cup finely diced onion
• 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp finely minced or grated fresh ginger
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• Pinch of cayenne or chili flakes
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

MANGO CRANBERRY CHUTNEY

• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• ½ cup finely diced yellow onion
• 1 ½ tsp finely minced or grated fresh ginger
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 ½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 large ripe mango, peeled and chopped into ½-inch cubes

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Instructions

1. MAKE THE DOUGH: Stir together the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the yogurt. Mix with a spoon and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes. The dough will be quite soft, but not sticky. Add more flour as needed to form a smooth, elastic dough. Cover tightly (I recommend covering with a reusable food wrap such as Abeego rather than plastic wrap) and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the samosas.
2. MAKE THE FILLING: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the diced sweet potato and cauliflower to a bowl and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and toss to coat. Transfer to the baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, or until the sweet potato and cauliflower are tender and lightly browned around the edges. Leave the oven on.
3. Meanwhile, warm the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. Add the pepper, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook for a couple more minutes. Stir in the lemon juice. Once the sweet potato and cauliflower are ready, add that to the skillet, too. Stir to combine. Cool for 15 minutes before you assemble the samosas.
4. ASSEMBLE THE SAMOSAS: Divide the dough into 16 equal balls. Lightly flour your countertop and roll one of the balls into a 5-inch circle. Add a scant 2 tablespoons of filling to the centre of each circle and fold over. As you can tell from the photos, I didn’t make them into the traditional shape, but you can if you wish! Lightly wet a fork and crimp the edges tightly, if desired. Or, simple pinch tightly closed with your fingers. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
5. Bake for a total of 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through to ensure even browning.
6. MAKE THE CHUTNEY: Warm the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the salt, cardamom, and cinnamon stick and cook for a couple of minutes to allow the spices to open up. Next, add the cranberries, maple syrup, water, and apple cider vinegar. Loosely cover and simmer over medium heat. The cranberries will make popping sounds. Cook until the cranberries have burst and the mixture has thickened, about 15 minutes. Finally, stir in the mango. Cook for three more minutes, then remove the cinnamon stick and remove from the heat. Let it cool completely before transferring to a glass jar.

Notes

To make the samosas vegan, you can probably use coconut yogurt instead of dairy yogurt.

You’ll be left with slightly more cauliflower and sweet potato filling than you need for the samosas. Serve it alongside the samosas for extra veggie power, or save it in an airtight container in the fridge and toss it into the next stew, soup, or curry you make.

• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Side Dish, Lunch, Supper, Appetizer
• Cuisine: Indian