I noticed I have not given you readers many appetizer recipes, and wanted to begin the new year, and celebrate my THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY with Examiner.com by turning over a new leaf, so here goes...and I promise lots more stuff this year for entertaining too!
I love Indian foods and even more so, I love puffed pastry.
Combining both of those features yields one of the most delicious and most filling appetizers I have tasted.
Samosas, popular in South India, are a rarity on American menus for some reason, despite their ease of preparation.
These are especially simple to make because they do not even involve waiting ahead for potatoes to boil, skipping an entire step!
Samosas
Ingredients:
1-2 packages puffed pastry shells, thawed
4-5 med potatoes, shredded
1 small onion, shredded
1 clove garlic, minced
.25 t red pepper flakes
.25 t black pepper
.5 t curry powder
.25 t turmeric
.5 t ground cumin
.5 t sea salt
.25 t ground allspice
Instructions:
In 3 QT saucepan, combine all ingredients and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until mixture forms a paste similar to mashed potatoes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool to touch ( you will be working with this with bare hands, so this is key!) this can be done in the refrigerator if necessary.
Place puff pastry shells 2" apart on greased sheet pan.
Bake @ 350* for 25 minutes, or until golden-brown and doubled in size.
remove from oven, cool to touch.
Make mint chutney.
When both pastry shells, and filling are cool to the touch, peel off first half-inch of pastry shell top, and fill inside with 2-3 T of filling.
Replace top and press firmly but gently, to secure top so it stays atop your samosa.
Place filled samosas onto sheet pan and warm for 14 minutes at 350*, or until slightly more browned and until filling is hot inside(pull apart a test one and try it...this is the fun part since you get to eat the ones that aren't ready yet! careful this is addictive and can lead to you having too few samosas to serve your guests!)
Serve with mint chutney (below).
MINT CHUTNEY
2 C chopped cilantro, stems included since this gets puree'd
1 C chopped mint, stems included also gets puree'd
4 T water
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1/4 t sea salt
1-2 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced, and seeded if you want a less spicy chutney, leave them in if you like it hot!
Place in food processor or mixer for four minutes on high speed/puree'.
Place in serving dish with spoon or small ladle for dipping.
Serve with Samosas as a condiment.
While I like keeping it local there is nothing in this recipe you cannot buy at Kroger or Giant Eagle, so for this one, just enjoy the dang food!
Thanks for stopping by to see what's cooking!
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