Samosas Moosewood Food

SAMOSAS (MOOSEWOOD)

Steps:

• Filling:.
• Heat butter in heavy skillet.
• Add garlic, ginger, onion, salt and mustard seeds.
• Saute 6-8 minutes, or till onion is soft and clear.
• Combine all ingredients, except peas, and mix well.
• Fold in peas last, taking care not to smash them.
• Pastry:.
• Sift together flour and salt.
• Add melted butter, yogurt and enough water to make a stiff dough.
• Knead till smooth and elastic.
• Roll out very thin (1/4 inch) on a floured board and cut into 4 inch circles.
• Keep rolling and cutting till you've used all the dough.
• Place a Tablespoon of filling (approximately) in the center of each circle, leaving edges free.
• Brush edges with a little water, fold over and seal by pressing with a fork.
• Heat a 3-inch pool of oil (vegetable, canola, or peanut oil) in a heavy skillet to about 365 degrees.
• Make sure the oil is hot enough (it should bounce a drop of water on contact).
• Fry samosas till golden.
• Drain well and serve. Excellent with chutneys and raitas.

BAKED SAMOSAS (FROM THE NEW REVISED EDITION MOOSEWOOD COOKBOOK)

Steps:

• Dough.
• Mix the flour and salt together in a medium sized bowl.
• Make a well in the centre and add the buttermilk or yogurt. Mix first with a spoon and then with your hand to make a smooth dough.
• Add extra flour as needed to keep the dough from being sticky. The dough will be quite soft. Knead in the bowl for about five minutes.
• Cover tightly and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the samosas.
• Filling.
• Peel potatoes and chop them into 1-inch pieces. Place in a saucepan, cover with water and boil until very soft. Drain and transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Mash and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a heavy skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger, mustard seeds, coriander and salt. Saute over medium heat about 8 - 10 minutes, or until the onions are quite soft.
• Add the onion mixture to the potatoes, along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well but try not to smush the peas.
• Cool for at least 15 minutes.
• Assembly and baking.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F Generously oil a baking sheet, or cover with parchment paper.
• Have ready a small container of flour, a fork, a small bowl of water and a pastry brush.
• Flour a clean surface and, one by one, roll one inch balls of dough into a five inch circle.
• Place approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling in the centre of each circle.
• Brush the inside edges of the circle with a little water and fold the edges together to make a small hem. Crimp the edges firmly with a fork.
• Place each samosa as it is made on the greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375F, turning the samosas over when you do. Bake for 10 more minutes.
• Serve within 15 minutes of baking with chutney or your favourite dipping sauce.

SAMOSAS

Steps:

• Dough 1) Place the flour in a medium-sized bowl. Mix in the salt. 2) Make a well in the center, and add the buttermilk or yogurt. Mix first with a spoon and then with your hand, to make a smooth dough. 3) Add extra flour, as needed, to keep the dough from being sticky. The dough will be quite soft. knead in the bowl for about 5 minutes. Cover tightly and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the pastries.
• Filling: 1) Peel the potatoes and chop them into 1-inch pieces. Place in a saucepan, cover with water, and boil until very soft. Drain and transfer to a medium-sized bowl. Mash and set aside. 2)Melt the butter in a heavy skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger, mustard seeds, coriander, and salt. Saute over medium heat about 8 to 10 minutes, or until onions are quite soft. Add this to the mashed potatoes, along with the remaining ingredients. Mix well, but try not to smash the peas. Cool for at least 15 minutes before filling the pastries.
• To Assemble and Bake: 1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Generously oil a baking sheet. 2) Keep a small container of flour, a fork, a small bowl of water, and a pastry brush close at hand. Flour a clean surface, and, one by one, roll 1-inch balls of dough into 5-inch circles, using a rolling pin. 3) Place approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons filling in the center of each circle, and fold over, just like a turnover. Brush the inside edges of each circle with a little water, and fold the edges together to make a small hem. Crimp the edges firmly with a fork. Store in the refrigerator or freezer until baking time. 4) To bake: Place the samosas on the oiled baking sheet. Brush the tops with oil. Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees F., then reduce heat to 375 degrees F. and bake for 10 minutes more. For maximum crispness, turn the samosas over when you turn the oven down. 5) Serve within 5 minutes of baking, with Dipping Sauce. A nice way to serve the sauce is in individual saucers or tiny bowls, so each person can hold both samosa and sauce directly under his or her face while eating, and the sauce bowl can catch the drips. (It does drip, but that's one of the charms of this ritual.)
• For the dipping sauce: 1) Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir until the sugar dissolves. 2) Heat to boiling, then let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes. it will reduce slightly. 3) Serve warm or at room temperature with hot samosas.

SPICED POTATO-STUFFED PASTRIES: SAMOSAS

Steps:

• To make the dough: Mix the salt and flour in a medium bowl or a food processor. With a pastry blender, incorporate the butter until crumbs have formed. Add the water a few tablespoons at a time, until you can form a ball. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Let it rest for about 15 minutes more. You can prepare the dough in advance and refrigerate it.
• To make the filling: Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside.
• If using fresh carrots, chop and simmer in water, to cover, in a small pot. Add the corn and peas to barely cook. Set aside to cool.
• Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion until golden. Add the garlic, ginger, and chile and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garam masala, turmeric, chile powder, and salt and cook 2 minutes more.
• In a bowl combine the mashed potatoes, the onion and spice mixture, carrots, peas, corn, lemon juice, and chopped coriander. Mix well.
• To assemble the samosas: Divide the dough into 9 equal size balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a 5-inch circle. Cut each circle in half.
• Brush the straightedge side with a little water, fold it in half, and align the two straight sides so they overlap to form a cone shape. Squeeze the edges together to make a tight seal. Place approximately 1 generous tablespoon of filling inside each cone, leaving the top edge clean. Moisten the inside top rim of the cone and press the edges together to make another tight seal. Place the samosas on a tray until ready to fry. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
• Heat approximately 3 inches of vegetable oil in a deep saucepan. Fry several samosas at a time, being careful not to crowd them. When 1 side turns golden brown, flip it over to brown on the other side. Drain on paper towels. Serve with chutney.

APPLE CHUTNEY (FROM THE NEW REVISED MOOSEWOOD COOKBOOK)

Steps:

• Coarsely chop the apples, with or without peel.
• Place them in a medium sized saucepan with all remaining ingredients.
• Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer.
• Simmer uncovered about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until everything is very soft.
• Enjoy the delicious smell wafting through your house.
• Cool and transfer to a sterile jar.
• Refrigerate.
• Sometimes the apples I use are harder and still chunky at the end of cooking, so I mash them with the potato masher.

HEALTHY SAMOSA DOUGH

Steps:

• Place flour in medium sized bowl. Mix in salt.
• Make well in centre and add yoghurt. Mix first with a spoon and then with your hand.
• Add extra flour as needed. Knead for about 5 minutes.
• Cover and refrigerate until ready to use - by rolling out thinly into 5-inch circles.
• Place filling inside and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 375 degrees F and bake 10 minutes more.

SAMOSAS

Steps:

• First put the potatoes on to boil until tender, then drain and cool.
• While the potatoes are cooking, make the pastry by mixing the flour and salt in a bowl.
• Pour in the butter or ghee and rub together wtih the flour until it becomes slightly flaky.
• Pour 3/4 cup water over the flour and pull the dough together with your hands.
• You can add up to 4 tbsp more water, one spoonful at a time, until everything comes together in a bowl.
• From here you can knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes or throw it in a mixer with a dough attachment, going until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• When the dough is done, place it in a bowl, rub with oil and cover until you are ready to fill the samosas.
• Next, start making the filling by cutting your cooked potatoes into cubes.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and throw in the mustard seeds.
• Cook until they start to crackle and burst and when that happens immediately add your chopped onion and ginger.
• Cook for a few minutes until the onion softens and then add the fennel, cumin, turmeric, potatoes, peas, salt and water.
• Stir well and then reduce the heat to low and let cook for about 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle over the garam masala and hot pepper and stir again.
• Taste for seasoning and then take off the heat.
• Now it is time to start filling your samosas.
• Grab a piece of dough by pinching off a piece and rolling it thinly and into a circle.
• You can make the samosas any size you like.
• With a knife, cut the circle in half, moisten the straight edge with a finger dipped in water and then shape it into a cone, pressing the straight edges together to form a seal.
• You should now have a little ice cream cone shaped piece of dough which you can spoon filling into.
• Fill and then moisten the top edges and press closed.
• Set on a plate and cover with foil or plastic wrap until you are ready to cook (up to 2-3 hours later).
• To deep fry the samosas, pour 3 cups of vegetable oil into a 12 inch wok and heat until a piece of dough thrown into the oil bubbles.
• If you have a deep fryer, you want a temperature around 375°F.
• Brown on both sides and drain on paper towel.
• Finally, you can enjoy a samosa!

BEEF SAMOSAS

Steps:

• Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in potatoes and peas. Cook until potatoes are tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash together and set aside.
• In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil. Brown cumin seeds and bay leaf. Mix in onions and ground beef. Cook until beef is evenly brown and onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Mix in garlic, fresh ginger root. Season with black pepper, salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir in the mashed potato mixture. Remove from heat and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until cool.
• Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat.
• Mix cilantro and green chile peppers into the potato and beef mixture. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto each phyllo sheet. Fold sheets into triangles, pressing edges together with moistened fingers.
• In small batches, fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.