Instructions

1. Soak dried chickpeas for at least four hours, or preferably overnight. Drain them, then simmer them in fresh water for two to three hours until they're completely tender and then drain them. If you're in a hurry, drain and rinse canned chickpeas instead.

2. Heat a small quantity of butter or oil in a heavy skillet. Add finely chopped onion and freshly grated ginger, and cook them gently until the onions are translucent and the ginger is aromatic.

3. Add garam masala, chana masala or your own personal mixture of spices to the hot oil. If you're making your own mixture, cumin, coriander, ground fenugreek, black cardamom and chili paste or crushed hot chilies are all traditional choices of ingredients. Stir until the spices smell toasted and highly aromatic.

4. Add the cooked chickpeas, stirring them so they're well coated with the spice mixture. Mash a few of the chickpeas to thicken the mixture, and stir in a small amount of water or tomato puree to moisten it. Stir for another minute or two, then remove the pan from your burner and let the filling cool.

5. Fill the wedges of samosa dough with approximately 1 tablespoon each of your chickpea filling.