Monday, June 13, 2011

baked samosas with mint chutney


Last month I went to Texas Beer Fest- hands down the best festival I have ever been to (and I went to Margarita and Salsa Fest, so that is saying something). One of the vendors there was Nisha's Indian Food, and I picked up some sweet and tangy mango chutney. This inspired me to try my hand at samosas, or fried Indian hand pies. To lighten them up a bit, I baked them instead of frying. I think that this improved the taste and texture. Adapted from Experiments of a Housewife (which is less nefarious than it sounds). 

Pastry Crust for Samosas

4 tbsp of ghee
3 c of whole wheat pastry flour
sprinkle of cumin seeds
1/4 c ice cold water
salt

Melt ghee. Add cumin seeds while warm. Sift whole wheat pastry flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. When comfortably warm, drizzle ghee with cumin seeds into flour, rubbing between fingers to form little breadcrumbs. Then add ice cold water in dribbles until dough forms. Knead the dough until all ingredients are incorporated, and let rest at room temperature for around 30 min to an hour. When ready to work, break off golf-sized bits of dough, and roll out into 7 in rounds.See Experiments of a Housewife for easy folding and stuffing instructions and visuals.

Filling for Samosas

2 russet potatoes, peeled
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/3 c peas
1/2 c tofu, chopped
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin seeds 
1 tsp ground ginger 
salt

Boil potatoes, drain.  Saute red onion, add tofu and spices. Gently stir with potatoes and peas. Set aside. 

Mint Chutney

1 bunch of mint (probably 1.5 c)
1 bunch of cilantro (about 1 c)
3/4 of a green chile (I include the ribs because I like it spicy)
squeeze of a lime
1/4 white onion
a few splashes of water 
salt

Pulse in a food processor until viscous.

2 comments:

  1. Those samosas look great! I love samosas and baking them instead of frying is so much healthier.

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  2. Thanks! I had no clue how to fold them... thanks for the great tips! :-)

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