These simple samosa pinwheels, with spirals of crispy puff pastry and a soft and fragrant spiced vegetable and potato filling, are a useful lunchbox filler, great for picnics, and make a delicious canapé. They can easily be made vegan too.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the grated carrot and peas for a couple of minutes, stirring often.
Add the mashed potato and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the ground coriander, ground cumin, ground turmeric, garam masala, onion powder, chilli powder, if using, and salt. Stir well. Take off the heat and leave to cool for 20 minutes.
Using a hand blender, blend until smooth (although a few lumps of pea can remain).It will be very thick and sticky, but that it ok.
Make the puff pastry pinwheels
Preheat the oven to 190˚C fan/ 210˚C/ 374˚F convection / 410˚F.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Spread the spicy potato mixture evenly over the puff pastry sheet – you may need to use your fingers as it can be quite thick.
Taking one side, carefully and tightly roll.
If using the nigella seeds, sprinkle them in an even layer over your chopping board, then gently roll the puff pastry roll in them to get an even coating all the way around.
Optional step: place in the fridge for 15 minutes this will make the pinwheels easier to cut.
Using a sharp knife, cut into 1 cm / .4" thick slices and lay them cut side down on the tray.
Place in the oven and cook for 18-20 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Best served on the day they are made but can keep, covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
Baby Led Weaning Pinwheels: You can half the amount of spices, or just use half the ground cumin and half the ground coriander if you prefer.Pinwheels for Toddler: leave out chilli powder.Spices: The potato mixture can smell quite fragrant when cooking in the pan, but the pastry absorbs some of this flavour and so the samosa filling isn’t overpowering.Making Ahead: Although best eaten on the day they are made, you can keep these pinwheels in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.You can reheat them in a moderate oven (180˚C/ 356˚F) for 5-7 minutes, until heated through.Puff pastry – I use bought puff pastry sheets to make these scrolls. Pampas or Borg’s work well in this recipe if you are in Australia. If you use block puff pastry such as Jus-Roll, use a third of the block and roll it out with a rolling pin to a thickness of ½ cm (.2″)Potatoes – a medium cooked mashed potato. You can use leftover mashed potato in this recipe, as long as it isn’t very creamy as that can cause the filling to leak from the spirals when cooking.Vegetables – green peas are a common addition in samosas, and frozen green peas are a handy addition. Just defrost before mixing with the remaining ingredients. Carrots are a budget friendly vegetable I always have in the fridge. You can use a little cooked broccoli or cauliflower instead, but not too much to avoid the filling becoming watery.Spices – ground coriander, ground cumin ( you can use cumin seeds if you prefer), ground turmeric and garam masala.Dried onion powder – I like to use this to save having to cook an onion. If you don’t have onion powder you can grate half a small onion and fry it in a little oil until soft before adding the carrot to cook.Chilli powder – optionalThe nigella seeds on the outside of the pinwheels (see photo below) are optional. I personally love their warm toasty flavour, and toddler Mini Jones does too! But leave them off if you don’t, or can’t find them in the shops.Make sure you line your baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone mat, otherwise the filling can stick to the tin during baking.Don’t try rolling your frozen puff pastry sheets until fully thawed, otherwise it will crack.Once rolled with the filling, place your puff pastry sausage into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.Make sure the samosa filling is cold before spreading it on the puff pastry sheet, otherwise, if it is hot, it will start to melt the pastry, and you’ll end up in a sticky mess.Use a sharp knife to cut the pastry. A dull one will drag the pastry and result in scruffy pinwheels. Using a sawing motion, carefully cut down through the pinwheel.