Indian Potato Samosas

I love Indian restaurant food, especially those tender, flaky pastry pockets filled with savory filling called Samosas. Most restaurants deep-fry these little treats, but I prefer them baked at home without that all that oil.

I do not enjoy fussing around with from-scratch pastry dough, so I thawed some frozen whole wheat piecrust I had hanging around from the holidays. It was easy to just cut out the circles, fill and bake.

This recipe is a tasty complement to a curry stew and the filling is delicious as a side dish on its own.

Potato Samosa Filling

Recipe courtesy The Captious Vegetarian http://www.captious.wordpress.com

4 medium-sized potatoes
2 – 4 Tbs. oil
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and minced
1 cup defrosted frozen peas
1 Tbs. peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 fresh hot green chili, minced
3 Tbs. finely minced cilantro
2 Tbs. water
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. ground roasted cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tbs. lemon juice
Instructions:
Boil the potates unpeeled and whole. Meanwhile, chop and measure out all the other ingredients. When the potatoes are tender, drain and let cool.
While the potatoes cool, heat the oil in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over a medium flame. Add the onion, stirring and frying until it turns a light-brown color.
Add the ginger, green chili, cilantro, and water, and simmer gently for a few minutes, until the skillet starts to dry out.

Dice the cooked potatoes into roughly 1/4-inch pieces. Add them to the skillet, along with the salt, coriander, garam masala, cumin, cayenne, amchoor, and lemon juice. Keep heat on low and mix the spices with the potatoes. Continue cooking gently, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes.

 

Taste before serving, and add more salt or lemon juice if needed.

Cut out pastry circles and drop a large teaspoon of filling in the center. Brush edges with soy milk then top with another circle and press together with a fork to seal.

Bake on lightly greased cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes until edges are golden brown.