Singara Recipe | Bengali Shingara
Singara, also recognized as Shingara, stands as a beloved tea-time delicacy hailing from Bengal. In its vegetarian rendition, this delectable snack features a filling crafted from a combination of potatoes, cauliflower, and green peas.
Ingredients
For The Vegetable Stuffing
- 150 grams cauliflower or 1.5 cups chopped tiny cauliflower florets
- 225 grams potatoes or 3 medium potatoes or 1.25 cups chopped small potato cubes
- 1 cup green peas – fresh, 135 grams
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon Panch Phoron
- ⅓ cup onions – finely chopped, 60 grams or 1 medium-sized
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste or 1 inch ginger, crushed to a fine paste in mortar-pestle
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- 4 to 5 tablespoons water or add as required
- salt as required
- ¼ teaspoon sugar or add as required
- 3 tablespoons roasted peanuts or salted peanuts
For Singara Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon salt or add as required
- ½ to ⅔ cup water or add as required
Other Ingredient
- oil as required for deep frying
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse and then cauliflower in tiny or small florets. You will need 1.5 cups chopped small cauliflower florets.
- Rinse fresh green peas with water a few times and keep aside.
- Rinse, peel and chop the potatoes in small cubes. You will need 1.25 cups chopped small potato cubes.
Making Vegetable Filling
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add ½ teaspoon panch phoron.
- On a low heat, let the spices become aromatic and splutter.
- Now add finely chopped onions. Stir and saute till the onions soften and turn translucent.
- Then add ginger paste. Mix and sauté fo a few seconds or till the raw aroma of ginger goes away.
- Then add turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Mix very well and saute for a few seconds on low heat.
- Add the chopped potatoes. Mix and sauté for 1 minute.
- Then add the chopped cauliflower and green peas. Season with salt as per taste. Mix very well.
- Add 4 to 5 tablespoons water and mix again.
- Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the veggies on a low to medium-low heat.
- In between do check and if the veggies start sticking to the pan, then add a few more tablespoons of water.
- Simmer till the veggies are tender and cooked. Then turn off the heat. Just cook the veggies till fork tender. Do not make them mushy or overcook them.
- Then add roasted peanuts or salted peanuts. Also add sugar.
- Mix well and let this aloo phulkopir stuffing cool at room temperature.
Making Singara Dough
- In a large parat (plate) or a bowl take all-purpose flour (maida). Add 4 tablespoons oil and 1 teaspoon salt or add as required.
- Mix the oil in the flour with your fingertips till you get a bread crumb like consistency in the flour.
- When you press a portion of the mixture in your palm, it should hold together and not crumble.
- Now add ½ to ⅔ cup water or add as required. Add water in parts.
- Knead to a smooth dough. The dough should be smooth but firm or tight. It should not be soft.
- Cover the dough with a moist cloth or kitchen napkin and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, lightly knead the dough again and make a log. Cut the dough log in 7 equal pieces.
- Cover the pieces with a moist cloth or kitchen napkin.
Stuffing And Shaping Singara
- Take one dough piece and roll in a ball. Flatten and keep on the rolling board.
- With a rolling pin roll to a 7 to 8 inches round.
- Cut the rolled dough from the center. Now with your fingertip or with a small brush spread water on the edges of one of the cut dough.
- Bring together the straight edge with one of its end overlapping a bit the other end. Press and seal the edges.Press the edges well, so that they get sealed. It will look like a cone.
- Now with a small spoon, stuff the potato filling in the samosa cone.
- Pinch a part in the edge and press both the sides. This helps the singara to stand when placed on a tray.
- Make sure there are no cracks. The edges should be joined very well.
- Make all singara this way. Cover them with a moist cloth or kitchen napkin before you begin to fry them.
Frying Singara
- Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai on medium flame. Add a small piece of the dough and it should come up gradually and steadily.
- Now gently add the singara in the moderately hot oil. Add 2 to 3 or 4 shingara depending on the size of the kadai.
- Once all the singaras are added, then lower the heat. Begin to fry them on a low to medium-low heat.
- When one side is light golden then turn over each singara.
- Continue to fry and when the second side is light golden, turn over again.
- This way keep on turning them and fry till they have a nice golden crust.
- Remove with a slotted spoon draining the extra oil.
- Place them on kitchen paper towels to absorb extra oil. While frying other batches of shingara, slightly increase the heat. Add singara and again reduce the heat.
- Serve Aloo Phulkopir Singara hot or warm with some fried salted green chilis, tamarind chutney or coriander chutney or mint chutney or green chutney.
Nutrition
Calories: 191kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 272mgPotassium: 168mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 100IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 2mg
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