Spicy Habibti

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

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

Masoor Daal- Red Lentil Soup

>> Wednesday, April 14, 2010 – Recipe

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

Simple Basmati Rice

>> Tuesday, March 30, 2010 – Recipe

Rice is a staple in any South Asian cuisine. It is cheap and versatile. The following recipe is a very basic rice recipe. It is easy to make, fragrant and most of all delicious. Later on, in this blog, I will show variations of this rice recipe.

Simple Basmati Rice
Serves: 2-3 Prep: 25 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes

~1 cup Basmati rice*
~1 small onion
~2 cups of warm water
~1/2 stick cinnamon
~3-4 whole cloves
~pinch of salt

*You can usually find basmati rice in your local grocery store, in the ethnic aisle. If not, be sure to visit your local Indian/Pakistani store.

1.) Wash the rice under cold water and than let it soak in a bowl of water, for about 20 minutes.

2.) While the rice is soaking, you can dice the onion and place into a lightly oiled pan. (I use a ~3 quart saute pan)

3.) After the rice is soaked, go ahead and lightly brown the onions on medium heat.

4.) After browning the onions, add the 2 cups of warm water. Also add the cinnamon, cloves and salt. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat.

5.) Once water has boiled, drain the rice from the bowl and add to the pan. Again bring the water to a boil. Boil for one minute. Immediately turn the heat down to a low simmer. Cover the pan.

6.) After 10-15 minutes, turn off the stove. Let rice stand for five minutes. Fluff the rice a bit, serve and enjoy.

Aisha

South Asian Cooking Basics: Garam Masala

>> Wednesday, March 10, 2010 – Basics

Garam Masala means "hot spice" in Hindi & Urdu. Hot being because the spices are actually roasted before they are ground together.

Garam Masala is a very basic spice mix. It is so easy to make and is very versatile. You can add this spice to almost any Indian/Pakistani dish. A little bit goes a long way.

Garam Masala
yield- 1/4 cup Time:15 minutes

-1 Tb Cumin seeds
-1/2 Stick Cinnamon (broken into tiny pieces)
-1Tb whole black Peppercorn
-1Tb Coriander seeds
-1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger

1.) Measure first 4 ingredients into a skillet.
2.) Turn heat to medium, and roast spices for 5-7 minutes. They will turn a golden-brown color.
3.) Let spices cool.
4.) Add the roasted spices to your spice grinder. Add the ginger and grind all the spices together into a fine powder.
5.) Voila, you have your mix. You can store this in a container, in a cool and dark place. I store mine in a cabinet on the bottom shelf. This should last you about 3 months.