Vegetable Samosa Pie – Everything you love about Samosas…in giant pie form! Oh – and with handy store bought puff pastry and loads of extra veg. 😂 Excellent centrepiece vegetarian dinner recipe. Something different yet familiar, totally delicious with a bit of (rustic) wow factor.
Those who tried the Eggplant Curry I shared last week will love the common ingredients in this!
Vegetable Samosa Pie
I don’t hold this vegetarian pie to be in anyway authentic Indian in its construct (BIG), the filling (VEG loaded!) and the use of puff pastry instead of homemade samosa pastry (handy!).
But I do hope those of Indian background can recognise that I’ve stayed respectable of traditional Samosas by using authentic Samosa filling spices.
And while this might look a far cry from those little hand held, deep fried Samosa pastries we all know and love so much, just one bite is all it will take for you to think Ah! NOW I get why she calls it a Samosa pie!
You can substitute all the vegetables except potato and onion. Potato is used to bind the filling. Onion is for essential flavour!
What you need – Vegetables for the Filling
The ingredients list for this Vegetable Samosa Pie is fairly extensive, but that’s partly because I’ve put in a decent variety of vegetables. But in fact, other than potato and onion, all the vegetables are customisable. I could’ve just made a zucchini and potato filling to make it look far simpler! 😂
So here are the vegetables I’ve used:
If you tried the Eggplant Curry I recently shared, you’ll have all the necessary spices!
What you need – Filling Spices
And here are the flavourings for the filling. Don’t be alarmed if you don’t recognise some of these – I’ve got options for you!
Black mustard seeds – they look like poppyseeds but have a slight wasabi-like bite to them. And they smell Indian, not Japanese!
Not spicy, more a fresh zing. It’s about $1.50 in small packs at Indian grocery stores – I go to Indian Emporium in Dee Why on the Northern Beaches, Sydney. Also sold in the Indian food section at some Woolworths (Australia) $1.70, and online! Used in an Eggplant Curry I shared last week (big hit!), more recently Goan Fish Curry, and meatless wonder-dish Dal. Curry leaves – imagine curry powder, in fresh curry leaf form! Adds incredible curry perfume into anything it’s used in. Fairly accessible nowadays for Sydney-siders, sold at Harris Farms, most Coles and Woolworths. Keeps for several weeks in the fridge. This too is used in Eggplant Curry and Dal. Throw in 10 or so when cooking Curried Rice, or into this Indian Chickpea Curry or Vegetable Curry – it will really take it to a new level! Substitute: dried curry leaves (not quite the same, but it’s the best sub) or Garam Masala powder;
The other spices – nothing out of the ordinary here, everything you find at local grocery stores; and
Tomato paste – for a little flavour and help thicken the liquid.
Puff pastry
I’ve taken the path of least resistance with this Vegetable Samosa Pie and used store bought puff pastry – for both the base and lid. Store bought shortcrust / pie crust pastry will also work a treat.
I don’t blind bake the base in this recipe, the filling is so juicy it will be soggy regardless. But if you’re cooking to impress and want a crispy base, use store bought or homemade pie crust/shortcrust pastry for the base, blind bake it (per that recipe), then top with puff pastry.
How to make Vegetable Samosa Pie
The vegetables are simmered with the spices until soft and fragrant, then it’s all mixed up with mashed potato to make a big pot of juicy, heavenly smelling filling. Then we simply pile this into a pastry lined pie dish (I like to use a big one), top with pastry then bake until puffed and golden!
OK, I realise that summary is VERY condensed, this pie does take time to come together.
But BOY is it worth it. Just look at what comes out of the oven! ↓↓↓
Ugh, that flaky puff pastry. I swear, puff pastry and its relative filo can make anything good. (Case in point: Chicken Pot Pie, Spinach Ricotta Rolls, Aussie Meat Pies, Sausage Rolls, Spanakopita. See? All good stuff!)
I like to serve it with a dollop of plain yogurt, just to add an extra dimension to the dish.
As for a side salad? Na! I’ve been having a (big!) slice of this Vegetable Samosa Pie for dinner, with no side salads or anything. This is a VEGETARIAN pie. It is jam packed with vegetables – almost 12 cups, to be exact! (PS Onion counts towards your veg intake – did you know that? 😇)
However, if you were to serve this at a dinner with family or friends and you wanted to add some more to the table, I’d probably add a couple of these salads:
Lastly – I realise this recipe has a lengthier ingredients list and more steps than my typical quick ‘n easy Monday night dinner offerings. But this pie is BIG. It will serve 6 to 8. So it’s dinner today and lunch tomorrow. Worth making! – Nagi x
PS Would also be wonderful in individual form – think: ramekins, even mini in muffin tins. Share if you try!
Watch how to make it
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Vegetable Samosa Pie
Ingredients
- 700g / 1.4lb potato , cut into 2cm / 4/5″ pieces
Filling:
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1.5 tsp black mustard seeds (Note 1)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (Note 2)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds (Note 2)
- 15 curry leaves , fresh (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp garlic , finely grated
- 1 tbsp ginger , finely grated
- 1 onion , finely chopped (brown, white, yellow)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp curry powder (Note 4)
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder , adjust spiciness to taste ((pure ground, not US Chili Spice Mi, sub cayenne)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tomato * , chopped into 1.5cm / 1/2″ pieces
- 1 zucchini * , chopped into 1.5cm / 1/2" pieces
- 1 carrot * , chopped into 1.5cm / 1/2" pieces
- 1/2 cauliflower * (small), cut/broken into small florets (~ 3 cups)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup frozen green peas *
Puff pastry crust:
- 2 sheets puff pastry (Note 5)
- 1 egg , lightly whisked
Serving:
- Plain yogurt
- Coriander/cilantro leaves , option (decorative only, pictured)
* Asterisk-marked – can be substituted with any vegetables that can be cooked. Use 8 cups total.
Instructions
MASHED POTATO:
- Bring a pot of water to the boil then cook potato for 12 – 15 minutes until very soft.
- Drain, mash and set aside.
FILLING:
- Sizzling spices: Heat oil in a dutch oven or pot over high heat. Add black mustard seeds, cumin and fennel seeds. Let them sizzle for 15 seconds – careful, they might pop!
- Curry leaves: Then add curry leaves and stir for 15 seconds.
- Aromatics: Add garlic, ginger and onion. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until onion is tinged with gold.
- Tomato: Add tomato paste and tomato, cook for 30 seconds.
- Spices: Add curry powder, turmeric and chilli. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Most Veg: Add zucchini, carrot and cauliflower. Stir well to coat in the spice paste.
- Water: Add water, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer then put the lid on and reduce heat to medium low (so it's simmer gently).
- Cook & reduce: Cook for 15 minutes until vegetables are soft. Then remove lid and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce liquid a bit.
- Add mash: Remove from stove. Add peas and potato, mix through well.
- Taste: Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Cool: Place lid on and cool for at least 30 minutes (even overnight is fine).
ASSEMBLY & BAKING:
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (all oven types).
- Grease a large pie dish with butter, or oil spray (Note 6). Drape in a puff pastry sheet.(I don't blind bake here – see Note 5)
- Fill with Filling – slightly mounded is fine.
- Fold in the corners of the puff pastry sheet.
- Top with puff pastry sheet – turn 90 degrees to the base puff pastry sheet (see photo).
- Fold the overhang puff pastry under itself – no need to be neat here, this is a rustic pie!
- Egg wash: Brush with egg, cut a 2cm / 1" cross in the middle (to let steam escape).
- Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is very deep golden and flaky.
- Stand 5 minutes then slice to serve. A dollop of plain yogurt goes well with this!
Recipe Notes:
- Brown mustard seeds
- Yellow mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder*
- 1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala* (different flavour, but is intended to make up for absence)
- dried curry leaves (not quite the same, but it’s the best sub);
- 1 tsp Garam Masala powder (add it with rest of spices).
- Puff pastry (per Chicken Pot Pies direction, in the notes): Line dish with puff pastry, place in oven at 180C/350F. After 10 min or whenever the partially cooked base starts to puff up, just push it back down. Repeat once more or as required to stop the puffing (it doesn’t take much). Then once the pastry is golden, remove from oven and let cool. Proceed with recipe.
- Shortcrust / pie crust pastry: Follow directions in this Meat Pie recipe.
- Leftovers in Fridge – 4 to 5 days. To reheat and retain crispy top – stick a strip of foil over exposed filling (so it doesn’t dry out), then bake in the oven at 180C/350F for 10 – 15 minutes until the top is crusty and the filling is hot.
- Leftovers for freezing – haven’t tried but see no reason why it wouldn’t work. Thaw then reheat per above.
- Make ahead – assemble with thawed puff pastry then either freeze (3 months) or fridge (2 days). Thaw, egg wash, bake per recipe + 10 minutes (takes longer due to chill in centre. Thawed-fridge stored / thawed-frozen-thawed puff does not rise quite as much as thawed then immediately baked, but the difference is marginal in a pie like this. Also, for those concerned, for store bought puff, thaw-freeze-thaw again poses no health issues (unlike meat).
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Dozer on site at the new RTE HQ – kitchen going in today! (PS HQ is a fancy description for my little lower ground floor to be converted into a dedicated work space 😂)
I used pizza pastry bought from a supermarket and it turned out great !!!!
Great tip Saibal!! N x
Great idea Saibal! N x
Samosa pie! Nagi you’re a genius😀! I’m sharing it with a samosa crazy friend of mine and hopefully she’ll make it and invite me over lol!
I love this idea Roopali… food tastes so much better when someone else makes it for you! 😂 N x
Hi Nagi. I made this last night for dinner, and it was lovely. As I do not like mushy filling, I cubed the potatoes and did not mash, and halved the water quantity, It still worked beautifully. I won’t mention that I accidentally added thyme leaves instead of cummin seeds (don’t ask!),
still added the cummin seeds, but it still tasted wonderful. Great effort!
Hi Nagi! I try a lot of your recipe but it’s my first comment because i’m not very good in english (i’m french from Montréal). I just want u to know that : all your recipes is a real success at home. I call you : my queen of the kitchen. This recipe is the next on my list. Thank you a lot for everything and big love for Dozer ❤️
Thank you so much Sarah, that’s so kind of you! N x
Do you think this dish could be made using Kataifi pastry?
Hi Wal, I haven’t tried to be honest. I imagine you could put it on top but it won’t be suitable as a base. N x
I made these as pot pies for dinner today and the flavour profile was spot on. I scaled up the recipe and put some in the freezer. I will definitely try the spice base with mince next time as the flavour was excellent. Thanks Nagi 🙏
This recipe is delicious, I didn’t have quite the quantity of potatoes so added mushroom, little extra cauli, and a chicken breast. As it turned out I had more than enough for the large pie dish I was using, luckily I also had a smaller pie dish for the levtovers (which I will freeze). I like short crust pastry for the base and I couldnt get pampas, so had to go with a cheaper version that was all on offer. Was stumped to find I had to use 1/3 of another sheet to fit into the base and sides (I blind baked the base). Using the Pampas Puff for the top I realised that the cheaper variety was smaller (how rude). So for the smaller pie (with the leftovers) I used shortcrust for base (didn’t blind bake this one} and puff for the top. That one is still in the oven, Cross my fingers its not too soft, as the pastry when I blind baked the first one is divine. Your recipes always deliver. Thank you Nagi 🙂 This recipe is a little fiddly with cooking the filling first, then cooking the pie itself, but so worth it, and as there is extra filling, there is a smaller pie for the freezer that will just need heating up with no cooking…….win win
Forgot to state, as another user mentioned I too use Babas Meat Curry Powder, I find it has more depth of flavour. Available at most Asian Groceries
Hi Nagi
Could you do small individual pies? If so how long would you cook them?
Thanks in advance!!!
Perfect as mini pies in the Kmart pie maker😁
Love this Michelle! N x
This was samosa heaven. We loved your recipe Nagi, the spices were spot on. I followed the recipe up to the tomato and instead of veg added 500g mince, a cup of peas and a handful of spinach. Can’t wait for leftovers for lunch today.
Hi Nagi, I’m going to make this delicious recipe into mini pies, but I am wondering if I can sub the cauliflower for chickpeas? Do you think this would work? TIA
Give Dozer a cuddle from me!
OMG What a fab idea! I’ll defo add the mince in lieu of the veg for a try next time! Thanks for sharing!
Yes definitely Peta!! Enjoy! N x
Dozer’s such a generous and patient model. Most doggies wouldn’t stay long with a hat on. He’s special for sure. Maybe one day we’ll see a baby doggie for Dozer to “show the ropes” as he is wise and gentle. …what an amazing teacher he would be.
You have an amazing house. The views are breathtaking.
Hi Riley, he is a VERY good boy – could you imagine another one running around the house though 😬
Easy to make and really tasty. My only issue was the bottom was soggy, but as you mentioned in your blog, the filling is juicy so inevitably, the bottom will be soggy. Great flavor! Will add some chicken next time just to change it up in my rotation. 😋 💕
Hi Lana, yes – but you can always use store bought or homemade pie crust/shortcrust pastry and blind bake it (per that recipe), then top with puff pastry if you prefer 🙂 N x
Your veggie Samosa pie looks mighty tasty, and I will be hope to confirming this soon. What do you think about using small butter dough squares and making baked Samosa hand pies?
It looks like a great new home for RTE is in the works. How’d you get Dozer to keep the hat on long enough to take an image??
Hi Ron, you could definitely do that! We don’t have that type of dough here so I’d love to know how it turns out! N x
I was thinking the same exactly to control my portions! You can do that I guess!
This is brilliant! Do you think it can be frozen? My daughter will give birth soon and I’d like to have this in her freezer for a lovely, easy dinner.
Hi Patricia, sure can – I mention this in the recipe notes. N x
I must give this a go! Looks delicious, Nagi, and perfect on a cold winter’s night. I always use Baba’s curry powder (green packet) which (IMO) is much more authentic than Clive’s or Keen’s. My Malaysian Punjabi in-laws and many friends use it also. The other curry powders mentioned are probably ok for good old Aussie curried egg sandwiches! 👍😄
Oh I’ll have to try it Caros – thanks so much for the tip! N x
This looks delicious..can’t wait to try it. One dumb question: I’ve been cooking Indian lately and I use similar pot that you use. I have a difficult time cleaning it afterwards…I use vinegar/baking soda etc Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve???? Thanks
Hi Lyn, I just use good old fashioned elbow grease, a little bi carb and hot water 🙂 N x
Nice to know those little hands of yours do the TRICK:)
Hi,
At what temperature do you bake the pie in the oven?
Thanks.
That would help! Thanks for picking that up – fixing it now! N x
I’ve prepared countless recipes of yours with great success – you are the most reliable source for deliciousness. So, it is with love, that I must tell you, it’s tuRmeric.
UGH! I’ve been spelling it wrong my whole life?? 😩 Thank you so much, will fix it now! N x
Hi Nagi Thanks for all your scrumptious recipes – I”m a big fan!! Here’s a tip regarding curry leaves: When you pick from the tree or buy them wash and dry them and then store them in a bottle with your curry mix – gives the curry powder an amazing flavour.
That’s SUCH a cool tip! Thanks Arlene – I’ve just done it 🙂 N x
This is the recipe I’ve been searching for! I can make the filling ahead and bake anytime. Yummmm… but the recipe was overtaken by Dozer in the boots 😂.. laughing too much to even talk about it…
He will always win over my food won’t he?! 😂