Monday, January 3, 2011

Vegetable Samosas: a Perfect Start to a New Year!

Vegetable Samosas with Coconut Mint Chutney


These delectable stuffed pastries, filled with fragrant potato and pea filling, were actually the FIRST Indian dish I ever tried.  I remember, skeptically, going to the original India Restaurant on the East Side of Providence with an old friend, wondering what the heck I was going to order.  "Try these, I know you'll love them" she said.  When they arrived (only two) I remember being sad that they only came (2) to an order, and that we didn't order at least six... A PEICE!  And so, the humble samosa will forever be my inauguration into the wonderful world of Indian cuisine, and for that I am truly thankful.
For my small, yet tasteful New Year’s Eve party this year I wanted to have a selection of tasty appetizers for my friends, none of whom are vegan.  In my zeal to be Betty Crocker, and the fact that I had two days off prior, I decided make samosas from scratch.  Plus, I had been eyeing the samosa recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance (VWAV) for quite some time.
What makes this recipe nice is that the samosas are not deep fried, but rather, brushed with a bit of olive oil and baked in the oven.  The pastry dough is easy to make too, and I got to use my Kitchen Aid mixer, which helped with the kneading immensely (10 minutes)!


I will say this:  These guys are time consuming little buggers, but are SO worth the effort.  And please, if you have VWAV, do yourself a favor and make the Coconut-Mint Chutney recipe that follows for dipping.  This recipe is so quick and simple and (magically) mirrors the mint chutney dipping sauce they serve at India Restaurant.  In fact, I think it’s even BETTER! ^_^

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