Puff Pastry Samosa Pinwheels

These tempting pinwheels are one of the most versatile appetizers that can match any occasion and complement your passion for offering lip-smacking snacks to your guests every time you have them over!

These easy-to-pick and munch-away delicacies are a smashing hit at a party or a potluck for their convenience and deliciousness.

These golden munchies with the savory filling and crispy puff make a beautiful sight, tempting your guests to drool over them completely!

And that is exactly what you wanted. Didn’t you?

But consider yourself warned, no one can stop at one as these Puff Pastry Samosa Pinwheels are very addictive, and your guests will come back for seconds or maybe thirds!

Reasons You’ll ♡ Puff Pastry Samosa Pinwheels

No doubt these gorgeous little savory swirls are super delicious, but they have some unique features to their credit too!

• One-of-its-kind, terrific, make-ahead snacks.
• A perfect crowd-pleaser.
• Can be prepared with a handful of readily available ingredients.
• Can be made in a big batch to be stored for later munching.
• Versatile and can be customized according to your preference.
• Purely vegetarian.
• Kids-friendly and will please everyone’s palates!

What is Samosa

Samosa is a deep-fried stuffed savory snack with a distinctly conical shape. It is a quintessential part of Indian snacks and is commonly found in big Indian cities and even small towns.

Samosa is omnipresent, from college canteens to street vendors, railway platforms to airport lounges, movie halls, and food courts.

However, it is pretty surprising to know that a snack so deeply rooted in Indian cuisine is not of an Indian origin. Some of the earliest mentions state that samosa originated from the Middle East and Central Asia regions. The term samosa is derived from the Persian word: sanbosag, meaning crescent.

Over the years, samosa traveled across many cultures and regions and finally made its way to the Indian continent (in the 13th century).

On this journey, every region added its flair and alterations to this simple pastry and transformed it into a delicious triangle-shaped deep-fried pastry that we all love today.

Samosa is a versatile recipe and can be varied according to one’s taste and liking. However, the filling/ stuffing creates all the differences. You can opt for an entire vegetable filling, meat filling, or even a lentil or paneer filling!

If you want to explore further, try —

• The Chinese way of noodle stuffing,
• The Mac and Cheese stuffing is so yummy!
• You can even delight your little ones with the kid-friendly chocolate Samosa or Pizza Samosa!

Whatever the variations may be, the vegetable samosa with potato and peas filling remains the most loved version among food lovers!

Puff Pastry Samosa Pinwheels Ingredient list

Our flavorful, flaky, and super delicious puff pastry samosa pinwheels are a delight to prepare any day, any time! With just a handful of ingredients available in the pantry, they result in a yummy appetizer.

Boiled Potatoes — Boiled and mashed potatoes form the base ingredient for the delicious filling of the samosa pinwheels.

Peas — Boiled and lightly mashed peas add an appealing green color to the pinwheels.

Cilantro leaves — Freshly chopped Cilantro leaves add a dash of vibrant green color and a hint of citrusy taste to the potato filling.

Fennel seeds — They add sweet and aromatic magic to the filling.

Cumin powder — Adds a nutty and warm flavor to the filling.

Paprika/ red chili powder — Lends the recipe its needed hotness.

Coriander Powder — Added to the potato filling for its citrusy and floral flavor.

Turmeric Powder — Adds a rich yellow color to the filling, which otherwise would give a bland look.

Garam Masala Powder — Adds a spicy punch to the potato filling.

Dried Mint Leaves — They are added to the filling to lend it a subtle fresh taste.

Raw Mango Powder — Adds tanginess to the filling.

Salt — For seasoning our puff pastry pinwheel samosas.

Puff Pastry Sheets — Store-bought puff pastry sheets may be used for the outer covering of our samosa pinwheel recipe.

Shredded cheese — This is entirely optional to use. The low-fat shredded cheese adds more flavor to the samosa pinwheels.

Butter — Butter is used to brush the pinwheels.

How to make the best Puff Pastry Samosa Pinwheels

This recipe is relatively easy and requires simple steps to prepare!

Thaw the sheets — Thaw the puff pastry sheets in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours, or follow the instructions on the box.

Prepare the filling — While the sheets are getting thawed, let’s get started with the filling. Heat oil in a  heavy-bottomed pan. Add mashed potatoes, boiled peas, and spices to the pan. Mix until all the ingredients are well blended. Take the pan off the heat and set it aside to cool completely. 

Preheat the oven — Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease/spray a  baking sheet with oil and set it aside. 

Prepare the pinwheels — Once the sheets are thawed, roll out the puff pastry sheets onto a dusted surface. Top the puff pastry sheets with the cooled samosa filling. Spread the filling evenly and then top this filling with shredded cheese in a single layer.

PROTIP — Work with one puff pastry sheet at a time. 

Chill the dough — Roll up each sheet from the long side until you reach the other side. Secure the ends. Apply a little water at the edges and seal the ends.

The rolled puff pastry will look like logs. Wrap each log with a plastic wrap and chill the sheets for 30 minutes to an hour.

Slice — Once the rest time in the fridge is over, slice the dough logs into even pieces when ready to bake and transfer them to the prepared greased baking sheet. Leave enough room between each piece so that they can spread. You should get around 40-50 samosa pinwheels. 

Bake — All that is left is: to bake these yummy pinwheels in a preheated oven until golden brown. Bake the pinwheels for about 12 minutes or until golden.

When done, remove from the oven; some pinwheels may stick to the tray because of the melted cheese. No worries, run a butter knife under the pinwheels, and you are good to go.

Serve and enjoy! These pinwheels will impress your guests and their taste buds!

Puff Pastry Sheets Tips 

Below I have unfolded a few of my favorite tips that will help you get the absolute PERFECT pinwheels every time you make them!

Even though the puff pastry dough is a thick sheet of dough, working with it at times can be very tricky. Therefore, to get better results, one needs to understand how to work with puff pastry. 

Thaw the pastry sheets before unfolding them — Fully thawed pastry sheets are easier to unfold. If you do not thaw the pastry sheets completely, they might tear and fall apart on being forcefully extended. So, give it its needed time.

Work with one sheet at a time —  Take out one thawed sheet at a time and chill the unused ones (wrapped in a plastic bag) in the refrigerator. This is done to avoid it from getting spoilt from heat.

Work quickly — Puff pastry sheets are easy to handle when cold. So, keep the fillings ready. Once the sheets are thawed, roll them out and spread the filling. If the dough becomes sticky while working, return it to the fridge and chill again.

Cool the filling —  The filling should be at room temperature before spreading over the pastry sheets. If it is left warm/ hot, it will loosen the pastry sheets and start melting them. So, the sheets will fail to rise and puff to a crispy, flaky covering.

Flour the surface — Sprinkle some flour over the surface to avoid the dough from sticking to the board.

A helpful tip — Dough tends to stick to the rolling pin and the board if the weather is hot and humid. Chill the rolling board and the rolling pin in the refrigerator to prevent the dough from sticking to them.

The edges — Seal the edges of the sheets with lukewarm water. This will prevent the stuffing from sneaking out.

Use a sharp knife to slice — Always use a sharp knife to cut the log cleanly. A dull blade will make the layers stick together, and the sheets may fail to rise.

Puff pastry bakes well when cold — Preheat the oven before tossing the pinwheels in it. While the oven is heating, chill the covered puff pastry pinwheels in the refrigerator, as the puff pastry bakes well into a crispy and flaky covering when it is cold.

For deep golden color — To create a beautiful golden hue that looks tempting, brush the cut puff pastry sheets with egg wash. The vegetarian option would be to brush the top of the sheets with melted butter. However, the results may differ.

Remove the bubbles — During baking, if bubbles start to appear on the surface of the sheets, prick it with a fork and allow the steam to escape.

What makes Puff Pastry sheets different from Phyllo sheets?

People often enquire if the puff pastry and phyllo dough are the same. The answer to this query is simple: They are not the same. Though both result in flaky and delicious recipes, they differ in their properties. Let’s have a look at them.

Phyllo or Fillo (pronounced FEE-low) is a Greek word that means a “leaf,” and it refers to dough sheets that are as thin as a leaf. These sheets are flour and water, so there is no fat in these tissue-like thin sheets of dough.

Being so light, they can dry out rapidly if left exposed to air, and as they are delicate, they can be a little challenging to deal with.

To prevent this, each sheet of phyllo is kept covered with a damp towel and then smeared with butter just before baking. These butter-coated phyllo sheets result in flaky and crispy textured recipes when baked.

Puff Pastry sheets are known to be comparatively sturdier than the Phyllo sheets, with layers of butter wrapped in between their thin sheets of dough. The process of making these sheets includes folding and refolding layers of dough with butter generously being smeared in-between them.

When baked, these layers puff up separately due to the butter in between them, giving way to flaky and layered pastries.

How does this happen? Well, when the liquid evaporates during baking, the steam expands the dough, and the expanding air that’s formed in-between the dough sheets produces crispiness in the puffs.

As the buttery richness melts into the dough, it delivers the snack a lovely golden color that is just fascinating.

The result is that Phyllo sheets are flaky and the puff pastry is rich, light and airy in their character. As such, the two can’t be used interchangeably in any recipe unless specified.

Both Puff Pastry and Phyllo sheets are sold in the freezer section of your local grocery store.

Variations

These puff pastries are surprisingly versatile and can be transformed into a new recipe with a variation in its stuffing. You can opt for both veg and non-veg variations to keep exploring. However, try these flavors and see what works the best for you.

• Assemble some scrambled tofu, diced red bell peppers, and shredded cheese for the stuffing and create some protein-rich samosa pinwheels.
• A combo of spinach, artichokes, and cheese is another variation for a completely new avatar of samosa pinwheels!
• Try taco pinwheels for an enthralling variation! 
• For those big paneer fans, Paneer tikka (Indian cottage cheese) pinwheels will be an out-of-the-world experience for sure!
• For those who insanely love pizza, the Pizza flavored pinwheels will be a thrilling surprise!
• The sundried tomato pesto pinwheels are sure to tantalize your taste buds and keep your heart asking for more.
• The most luscious simple 3-cheese with seasonings pinwheels is a must-try. 
• Quick and Easy garlic herb butter pinwheels give you reasons to love this recipe all the more!
• Like pinwheels for breakfast? Try scrambled eggs with your favorite veggies. Yumminess is guaranteed!

Let me know what you think!

Having so much said about this mouth-watering recipe, you must be craving these puff pastry samosa pinwheels by now. Aren’t you?

So why wait? Let’s get straight to the recipe and bake these magical little treats that our taste buds have waited for! Put together a big batch of this crowd-pleasing pinwheels and watch it disappear. 

Should you make this recipe, please let me know your thoughts by sharing your comment below. And don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.

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