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    Oh My Veggies » Vegetarian Recipes » Vegetarian Side Dishes

    Samosa Cakes with Apple Chutney

    Published: Oct 9, 2014 · by Nicole · Updated: Sep 15, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Photos by Emily Caruso

    I love to cook. (I’m sure you've figured that out. I probably wouldn't be writing for this blog if playing around in the kitchen wasn’t my idea of a good time.) Like many who love to cook, though, I have my kitchen inhibitions. There are two things that might make me a little reluctant to prepare any given meatless dish: 1) It’s loaded with calories, or 2) There's some step involved that’s a royal pain.

    Unfortunately, one of my favorite Indian snacks hits these two criteria right on the nose: veggie samosas (a.k.a., little pockets of spiced culinary comfort). Samosas are delicious Indian dumplings filled with spicy veggies—usually potatoes and peas, all wrapped up in dough and fried to a crisp. Obviously, with the potatoes and the frying and all, they’re pretty calorically dense. Then there’s the preparation. Frying with anything more than a coating of oil is a pain if you ask me, and that crispy fried exterior is a dough that you’d normally have to devote time to mixing, rolling and wrapping. And so, my beloved samosas end up right in my “foods to avoid making” category.

    Samosas are incredibly delicious though, so these issues were worth solving. How could that be done? The answer turned out to be quite simple: ditch the wrapper!

    Spices for Samosa Cakes

    Without the wrapper you’re left with just that spicy veggie filling that I mentioned, and since that filling is primarily made from potatoes, it shapes into patties easily. I used traditional samosa spices in this recipe, and added some roasted peanuts, which you’ll occasionally find in samosas when dining out—and which give these samosa cakes a bit of crunch. Samosas are usually served with a chutney, and since apples are bountiful and delicious this time of year, I went with a tangy apple chutney.

    These were quite fun to make, and pretty painless. They’re fun to eat, too; you can pile a couple on a plate as a main course, throw one or two on a bun and eat as a burger, chutney atop, or serve them to your dinner guests as a snack or appetizer, chutney on the side.

    Recipe

    Samosa Cakes with Apple Chutney

    Samosa Cakes with Apple Chutney

    Tender Indian-spiced potato cakes, lightly browned and served with a kicky chutney. All the flavors of samosas, made easy right at home. And they're vegan too!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Email Recipe
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Course: Main Course, Side Dish
    Cuisine: American, Indian
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Keyword: potato cakes, potato cakes recipe, Samosa Cakes, Samosa Cakes with Apple Chutney, Samosas recipe
    Servings: 8 cakes
    Calories: 253kcal
    Author: Oh My Veggies

    Ingredients

    For the Apple Chutney:

    • 1 large tart apple such as Granny Smith, peeled and finely diced (about 2 cups)
    • 2 serrano peppers seeds and ribs removed and minced
    • ½ tablespoon fresh grated ginger
    • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
    • ¼ cup brown sugar
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

    For the Samosa Cakes:

    • 1 ½ pounds russet potatoes about 3 medium, diced into 1-inch cubes
    • 2 ½ tablespoons grapeseed oil or other neutral-flavored cooking oil, divided
    • 1 small onion diced
    • 2 garlic cloves minced
    • ½ tablespoon grated fresh ginger
    • ½ cup roasted and salted peanuts coarsely chopped
    • ½ cup frozen peas thawed (or cooked fresh peas)
    • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    • 1 ½ tablespoons ground flax seeds
    • 1 tablespoon garam masala
    • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
    • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • ½ cup vegetable broth
    • ½ cup panko bread crumbs
    • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

    Instructions

    Make the Apple Chutney:

    • Combine the apple, chilies, ginger, vinegar, brown sugar and salt in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer, uncovered, until the apple is tender and most of the liquid has cooked off, about 20 minutes, while you begin working on the samosa cakes. Once the chutney is finished cooking, let it cool and then stir in the cilantro.

    Make the Samosa Cakes:

    • Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
    • Place 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and sauté another minute, until fragrant, and then add the cooked potatoes, peanuts and peas. Sauté until the outsides of the potatoes begin to form a crust in spots, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour, flax seeds, garam masala, turmeric, coriander, chili powder, salt, pepper, broth, panko, cilantro and lemon juice. Remove from heat.
    • Allow the mixture to sit for at least 10 minutes, until cool enough to handle.
    • Use a potato masher to break up any large chunks of potatoes. Shape the mixture into 8 patties, about 3 inches in diameter, pressing firmly into shape.
    • Wipe the skillet clean, then set it over medium-high heat and coat it with ½ tablespoon of oil.
    • Arrange patties in the skillet and cook until lightly browned on the bottoms, about 3 minutes. During cooking, use a spatula to gently press down on the top of each patty. If this causes the patty to spread out, use the spatula to draw the sides back in. Gently flip and cook until lightly browned on other side, about 3 minutes more.
    • Serve with Apple Chutney.

    Notes

    Handle the cakes gently, as they're vegan and don't contain eggs, which act as binders in many similar non-vegan recipes. The flax and flour, along with the starchiness of the potato, helps with that, but you'll still want to use some caution, particularly when flipping them.
    You may want to cook your cakes in batches, depending on the size of your skillet. Be sure to give yourself plenty of room to flip the cakes. If your oil dries up, coat the skillet with another ½ tablespoon between batches.
    For a milder version of the chutney, cut back to 1 serrano pepper, or omit the peppers for a no-heat version.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 253kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 6gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 502mgPotassium: 564mgFiber: 4gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 271IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 50mgIron: 2mg
    Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!
    « Quinoa Sushi Rolls with Miso-Sesame Dipping Sauce
    This Week's Meatless Meal Plan | 10.13.14 »

    Snack Recipes, Vegan Appetizers, Vegan Recipes, Vegan Side Dishes, Vegan Snacks, Vegetarian Appetizers, Vegetarian Recipes, Vegetarian Side Dishes appetizers, fall, potato, potatoes, vegan, vegetarian

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Millie | Add A Little says

      October 09, 2014 at 1:19 pm

      This looks wonderful, and perfect for a party appetiser - pinned!

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        October 09, 2014 at 9:17 pm

        These would be a great appetizer! Thanks for the pin!

        Reply
    2. Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says

      October 09, 2014 at 4:55 pm

      i love samosas in general and these look delightful!!

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        October 09, 2014 at 9:18 pm

        Thanks so much Dixya!

        Reply
    3. Joana | my gut feeling says

      October 10, 2014 at 5:11 am

      Oh I just love Samosas!! Thank you so much for sharing!! I´ll just have to make some minor changes for it to be low FODMAP friendly. (the diet for sensitive guts 😉

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        October 12, 2014 at 6:41 pm

        Thanks Joana! I hope you enjoy them!!

        Reply
    4. Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says

      October 10, 2014 at 6:13 am

      These are amazing!!! Love the idea of making a healthier samosa (I'm also averse to deep frying...) and the apple chutney looks awesome!

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        October 12, 2014 at 6:43 pm

        Thanks Becca! The chutney was sooooo good!

        Reply
    5. Janet says

      October 11, 2014 at 10:55 am

      I make something similar and use it to stuff portabello mushrooms. Very delicious!

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        October 12, 2014 at 6:44 pm

        Ohhhh...I have to try that! Sounds like an awesome main course. 🙂

        Reply
    6. Joanne says

      October 11, 2014 at 7:36 pm

      I've never made samoas either because HOT OIL = SCARY. I love that these aren't crazy deep fried but still have all that great samosa flavor!

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        October 12, 2014 at 6:45 pm

        Haha! My feelings exactly! These were so not scary to make, and delicious without the frying! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Georgina says

      October 20, 2014 at 5:07 pm

      These look deliciosa and health y. Do you think they could be baked on parcamente paper?

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        October 21, 2014 at 9:17 pm

        Hi Georgina! It could work, but I haven't tried baking them myself, so I can't say for sure. If you were to bake them I think using parchment would be a good idea to help prevent sticking, though you might get a little less browning on the outsides.

        Reply
    8. Carrie says

      October 28, 2014 at 8:27 pm

      I LOVED these! Thank you 🙂

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        October 29, 2014 at 8:33 pm

        Awesome!! Glad to hear it! 🙂

        Reply
    9. Julia says

      November 08, 2014 at 9:18 pm

      i think I will mash the potatoes first, omit the flax seed and press the samosa mixture into muffin tins and bake. What do you think?

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        November 09, 2014 at 8:58 pm

        Hi Julia! I can't say for sure, as I haven't tried it this way. My biggest concern is that they might break when you dig them out of the tins. I tried a few versions of this, both with and without flax seeds, and they were definitely more delicate without, so I think the risk of them breaking would be higher without the flax. If you do give it a try, please let me know how it turns out. Thanks and enjoy! 🙂

        Reply
    10. Sia says

      December 08, 2014 at 2:00 am

      You have an amazing website! I reached here trying to find a recipe using beet greens, but found a treasure of exciting vegetarian recipes. I plan to try many of your recipes and thanks for sharing your recipes!

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        December 09, 2014 at 9:10 pm

        Thanks Sia! That's pretty much how I felt when I first discovered this site (obviously back before I started writing for it). Glad to hear you like what you see! Hope you enjoy the recipes!!

        Reply
    11. Susan says

      January 16, 2015 at 9:36 pm

      Oh, yum! These are delicious and the apple chutney is divine. I made the chutney yesterday. The flavors married well, and I like it much better today. I did not miss the wrapper at all thanks to the nicely browned outsides. As always, I added more garlic, but otherwise followed the recipe as written.

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        January 17, 2015 at 4:00 pm

        Ha! Glad to hear someone is a bigger garlic fiend than me! I usually scale back a bit for blog recipes, as I seem to have more of a taste for the stuff than most people. 😉 Happy to hear you enjoyed these. Thanks so much for sharing!

        Reply
    12. Sharon Ann says

      April 20, 2016 at 8:19 am

      Hi there! I love love love the smosa cakes! I like to make large batches and eat them over the week. However, do you think they would freeze well? It would be great to always have a few on hand. Thank you kindly!!

      Reply
      • Alissa says

        April 21, 2016 at 9:53 am

        Hi Sharon! Glad you're enjoying the samosa cakes! I haven't tried freezing them myself, but I've heard that the texture of potatoes usually changes after freezing, so I'm not sure that would work.

        Reply
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    Nicole is a life long vegetarian and the author of the popular vegan cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. She loves sharing her recipes and showing the world just how easy and delicious meatless meals can be!
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