Frozen Pastry & Samosa Leaves

Samosa leaves, also sold as samosa pastry or samosa pads, are thin, lightly cooked wheat sheets cut into strips or rounds. They are folded into a cone, filled and sealed with a paste of flour and water, then fried or baked. The same leaves wrap spring rolls and cigar shaped kebab rolls, and they crisp up far more evenly than a home rolled dough. Puff pastry squares are layered with fat so they rise into flaky layers in the oven, the base for vegetable puffs, chicken patties, egg puffs and sweet turnovers of the kind sold in bakeries across India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Choose leaves by the number in the pack and pastry squares by size: smaller squares make bite sized party puffs, larger ones a filling snack. Thaw them in the fridge or at room temperature as the pack directs and keep the sheets covered with a damp cloth while you work so the edges do not dry and crack.

For samosas, fill with a spiced potato and pea mix flavoured with cumin seeds and garam masala, or with minced meat, then fry until golden. For puffs, fill, brush with egg or milk and bake in a hot oven until risen and crisp. Keep unused pastry frozen at -18°C. Ready made frozen samosas and spring rolls are there when there is no time to fold, and the rest of the range is in frozen snacks and sides.