Vegetarian Samosas

I'm so excited to share this recipe with you. Ever since I was a little girl, samosas have been one of my favorite snacks to eat. I would always get so excited to go to the South Asian store with my mom. She would always buy samosas and mango juice for us to eat. I loved samosas so much, that we served them as appetizers at our wedding. As you can tell,my love for them run deep.

Samosas are pastries that are filled with a potato, vegetable and spice mixture. You can than fry them in oil or bake them in the oven. I prefer them fried, because they have a nice crisp outer layer, while soft and yummy in the inside. Samosas can be served as an appetizer, or a snack with afternoon tea. My mint chutney recipe goes great with these samosas.



Vegetarian Samosas (adapted from Food Network)
Cook Time: 1 hr  Yield:  14-16

Pastry
~ 1 1/2 cups flour
~1 teaspoon salt
~1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
~7-8 Tablespoons cold water

Filling
2 large baking potatoes, russets, peeled, and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4th jalapeno pepper, minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup frozen green peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Pastry
1.) Mix flour, salt and oil in a large mixing bowl. Add water and form into a dough ball.
2.) Knead dough on a floured surface for five minutes, until firm. Place into a bowl and cover with a towel for 30 minutes.


Filling
1.) Place potato pieces into a saucepan, cover with water, and boil until tender. ~30 minutes.
2.) Place onions into an oiled large skillet/frying pan and lightly brown on medium heat.
3.) After onions have bowned, add ginger, jalapeno pepper and garlic. Lightly fry for 30 seconds. Than add garam masala, salt, turmeric, black pepper, and cayenne. Mix and fry for 30 more seconds.
4.) Add the potatoes to onion mixture, and lightly fry until spices are well incorporated.
5.) Add frozen peas, and cook for two minutes. Stir cilantro into potato mixture, and turn off the heat. Mix lemon juice into mixture.


To Make Samosas
1.) Remove pastry dough from bowl, and place onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about one minute. Separate dough into 8 equal balls.
2.) Roll out each ball out to a circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter. Cut each piece in half. You should have about 16 pieces of flattened dough at this point.
3.) Take one piece of dough, bring sides together to form a cone. Seal edges with water. Fill the cone with 1Tb of potato mixture. Fold top of dough down, and seal again with water. Repeat this step with remaining pieces of dough.
4.) Fill a deep saucepan with about 2-3 inches of vegetable oil. Warm oil on medium heat.
5.) Gently slip samosas pastries into the oil. Cook samosas until golden brown on both sides. This took me about 4-5 minutes. Cook in small batches. I cook about 3-4 samosas at a time.
6.) Serve samosas warm, and with chutney.

Alternative Directions:
Heat oven to 350F. Place uncooked pastries on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Samosas will be a very light color.

 (These were baked)

Enjoy!

Aisha

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Mint Chutney

Mint Chutney is another staple for any South Asian meal. It is a basic, yet essential condiment, that can be served with appetizers, sides, and main dishes. Not only is it delicious, but it serves as a nice cool compliment to the abundance of spicy dishes. It is very easy to make and it can be partially frozen, to save even more time for the future. Whether you're cooking South Asian food or not, try this chutney with your next meal!

Mint Chutney
Prep: 5 minutes Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

~1 Tomato, chopped
~2 jalapeno peppers, sliced
~small bunch of mint leaves (about 4 stalks worth)
~1 teaspoon salt
~1 teaspoon cumin powder
~Plain Yogurt

~juice of half lemon, optional

1.) Place chopped tomato in blender, and blend until soft and liquidy.

2.) Place jalepeno peppers, mint, cumin and salt into blender, with tomato. Blend all ingredients into a paste.

3.) Place two tablespoons of yogurt into a bowl. Place one tablespoon of blended paste into yogurt and mix. Keep adding amounts of yogurt and paste, until desired taste/spice level is achieved. The more yogurt there is, the less spicy the chutney is. The more paste there is, the more spicy the chutney. The chutney should be a little thick, due to the yogurt. You can squeeze and mix in a little lemon juice, to really enhance the flavors.

4.) Freeze the rest of the blended paste into ice cube tray(s).  To use later: Thaw one ice cube of paste, and add desired amount of yogurt.

Enjoy!


Aisha

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Masoor Daal- Red Lentil Soup

Daal, or Lentils is a another favorite in India and Pakistan. Lentils are a part of the legume family. They are easy to make, and pretty cheap to buy. Since lentils are high in protein, they tend to be a favorite dish among vegetarians. Back before we had our daughter, and were poor young 20somethings, we would eat this almost every night for dinner. Honestly, I could eat this as often as I like and not get sick of it. It sure beats Kraft and Ramen!

Red Lentil Soup
Serves: 2-3 Prep: 5 minutes Cook time:~35-40 minutes

~1 cup Masoor dal (Red Lentils)
~1/4 teaspoon tumeric
~1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
~1/4 stick cinnamon
~1 teaspoon salt
~1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
~1 teaspoon cumin powder
~1/2 onion diced

~Fresh Cilantro, optional


1.) Place first seven ingredients, together in a medium saucepan.

2.) Fill the pot with water just 1-2 inches above the mixture. (Edit ~ 4cups of water)

3.) Bring the pot to a boil, and then decrease heat to a low simmer

4.) Cover & cook until the lentils are soft and tender, and have a porridge like consistency. This takes me about 35-40 minutes.

5.) Meanwhile, lightly brown the diced onions with oil, in a small pan.

6.) After lentils have cooked, add the cooked onions to the lentil soup. Cook for one-two minutes.

7.) Salt the lentil soup to taste and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve with Basmati Rice.

Enjoy!

Aisha

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