Samosas-Potato Puff Pastries

  Although I have  never  been  to  India,  I  have  enjoyed  the food in  restaurants and  homes  all  over  the  world.  The first time I had Samosas  was in  Nairobi, Kenya. I remember standing  at  an  outdoor market where they came to me with a slice of lime to squirt on it before the crispy treat entered my mouth.  

Samosas are delicious bite size triangles of spiced potatoes, onions and peas wrapped  in  a  flaky thin crust and deep fried to perfection.  For  the  most  part they  are  served as  appetisers in  Indian restaurants, but my favorite ones are  served  at the hole in the wall taxi driver snack shops next to gas stations all over  NYC.  These over crowded 24 hour shops are great to pop  in and  out  and  grab  a  few samosas and a hot cup  of spiced tea for a couple of bucks. 

  I  had  had Indian food  before but had never cooked  it.  At age 15 my mother came home after discovering an Indian spice store.  In she came with bags of aromatic herbs and spices, vegetable, legumes, grains, flours and sauces and away we went.  What  I  loved  about  it (besides  the  obvious, cooking  alongside the master) was taking 100 different  components , combining them in 100 different ways, and producing 100 different  outcomes.  As  opposed  to producing  one main course,  we  produced 10 different  ones.  I  still  remember  the cucumbers and onions sitting in  a brine of vinegar, salt sugar, turmeric and multi color peppercorns.  What  I  learned that day  was a valuable lesson.  Experiment, mix , create, combine, invent and  use  your instinct and your possibilities  are endless.  

Samosas are great to experiment  with,  since they  are  small  you  can  chose  a  variety  of  different  combos  to  put  inside,  producing  different  results,  to  be  mixed  and  matched with several dipping  sauces.  Potatoes, peas, lamb, chicken, cheese, spinach or  any combo are always delicious.

Potato filling

2 cups chopped  up  potatoes,  peeled  and  cubed

1 cups chopped onion

1 can green  pea, strained

1 bunch cilantro

2 cloves garlic

salt

black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander seed

1 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground clove

Boil potatoes till done, strain.

In  large  frying  pan  heat oil. Add onions and garlic and spices and cook  til onions  are semi soft.  Add potatoes and peas and heat through  till  coated  in  spices.  Remove  from heat and toss  in  cilantro.  Set  aside  to  to cool  to  room  temp

To  make  triangles

1  package of egg roll wrappers  (  you can  make  the  dough  from  scratch ,  but  it  really  is  a pain and  consumes tons of  time) normally its a pack of  24

On flat surface place 2 tablespoons  of  cooled filling  in  corner, fold over and over again to make a triangle,  seal with a moist finger or towel.

In frying  pan  heat oil ,  working  in  batches fry samosas till  golden  brown on  both  sides.  Using  a  slotted  spoon remove  from  heat and place on paper towels.  Server  with  mango or tamarind chutney or  a try a  cool  cucumber yogurt  and  always  a  squirt  of  lime.