Samooosaaaaass!

I am lucky to have a lot of really cool friends that I have made on Twitter. One of them, Shaheen, the delightful @PurpleFoodie has agreed to the be the guest blogger for samosas! So here she is!

Hot Samosas and Friendship

I’ve known Luna for a few months over twitter now and it’s been lovely knowing her. On one such occasion over a twitter chatter, Luna asked me if I had a nice samosa recipe. Now here in Bombay (Mumbai), samosas are found at the corner of every other street. I just have to walk down my lane for a minute and I can get some delicious, piping hot samosas. That’s the reason why I hardly ever make them at home. But since it’s Luna, I just had to make it for her. :)

If you’re not already following her on twitter, then go do that right now! You will then know what thoughtful she is. I especially remember the time she gave me all the moral support I needed to venture out in alone in New York City when I went there a few months ago. Thanks, sweetie!


So back to the samosas - when I made them they took a lot lesser tie than I had anticipated so the long list of ingredients shouldn't stop you! Everyone at home loved them. The samosa was flaky and crunchy all at once and the flavour of the spicy potato filling was kicked up a knotch with the addition of fennel seeds. Try it, you will love it


Samosa recipe

Yield: 6-8

For the dough

1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup ghee or vegetable shortening
2 Tbs. plain yogurt, stirred well

1/4 cup water (or as required)

In a wide, shallow bowl, mix the flour with the salt and baking soda.

Rub in the ghee or shortening, whichever you’re using into the flour.

Rub the fat and the flour together until the flour is evenly coated; there shouldn’t be any lumps.
Add the yogurt-water mixture a little at a time. Add just enough liquid until the dough comes together in a mass.

Knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic. The dough is ready when it's no longer sticky and feels nice and supple (after about 5 minutes of kneading).

Wrap it in plastic, and let it rest for about 15 minutes.




For Potato and Peas Filling

1 tbs. cooking oil

3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped

½ tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. coriander powder

1/2 tsp. dry mango powder or amchoor

½ tsp turmeric

¼-1/2 tsp. chilli powder (depending on how hot you want it to be)

1 cups very coarsely mashed potatoes

½ cup peas, boiled

Salt to taste


Canola oil or any flavourless oil for deep frying


Heat 1 tbsp oil and add the garlic. Cook until fragrant. About 2 minutes.

Next add in the whole seeds – mustard, cumin and fennel and cook until they sizzle. Another 1 minute.

Now add all the powdered spices, coriander, dry mango, turmeric, chilli.

Once it is all incorporated, add the potatoes and peas and mix well. Add the salt.

Let this potato mixture cool.



Assembling the samosa

Divide the dough into about 6-8 portions.

Roll them out into strips of 1/8th inch thickness.

Place the potato filling in the middle and seal the sides as shown in the photo.

Heat the oil for deep frying the samosas.

Drop 2-3 in at a time and dry till they are golden brown.

Drain on paper towel and serve hot!


http://purplefoodie.com/

Luna's Kitchen Magic talks the Sandwich!

I love a good sandwich. Flavorful, fresh warm bread and the right ingredients make for an unbeatable combo.

If you want to know what it takes to make a sandwich good, well, that's too bad, because I want you to make them great!

Join me as I talk the best ingredients, eating seasonaly & by color, even when you have to be on the go. Being busy is no reason to sacrifice flavor and quality. Luna's Kitchen Magic will help you break down the fundamentals of a delicious and underrated food, the sandwich!

podcast

Luna's Kitchen Magic airs 7 pm EST, 4 pm PST on Radio Dentata

Well, everyone knows what a vegetarian is….right?

As a pastry chef, food lover and writer, I take it for granted that people I encounter have the same knowledge that I do. So when I ended up in a conversation (yet again) with someone who was unclear on the rules of vegetarianism, let alone veganism, I thought it was time to have a chat.

On this as yet to be named new show for Radiodentata, Stephanie Stiavetti of Wasabimon, and I sit down and have frank talk for those who honestly don’t know what any of that means.

Stephanie is a former vegan and I am former vegetarian. On today’s show, we talk about why we were and why we aren’t now, what the terminology means and how you can incorporate more vegetables, fruits and other healthy foods into your life. Even if you aren’t ready to make the vegetarian leap.

Join us today at 4 pm PST and 7pm EST for an open discussion about vegetarianism!

Listen!
Wasabimon
Luna’s Kitchen Magic
Bryant Terry
Ani Phyo

Featured Article on Bryant Terry

woot! I wrote on article on dynamic Eco Chef Bryant Terry, so go check it out!

http://www.cuisinenoirmag.com/theme/chef-bryant-terry-delicious-food-and-justice-for-all

A Carnivore Speaks

This past week, Becky @ChefReinvented, wrote a reflective piece on the ducks she served at a dinner. Our intrepid Chef Becky chose to participate in the butchering of the ducks from start to finish. Her post made me think, and I was a bit shocked by my own reaction.

When Becky spoke of the actual moment the final cut is made, my initial reaction was something like “augh!” followed by a swear word. My secondary reaction was the same swear word, utter less aggressively.

I am not really big on butchery. Having worked the grill, I have had to portion out meats, make sausage patties & hamburger patties and it’s not what I call fun. Yet in my mind I always thought I didn’t care for it because I would never want to kill something.

Chef Becky made me realize I just don’t like to get dirty.

I have known many a female chef who can butcher with no problems, yet I have worked with male chefs who hated it. What I wonder is, if we did have to hunt and kill our own food, who would survive? Who would be the best at hunting? It seems to me that it could be just as instinctual for women as men if not more so.

Add to that the fact that my dad grew up on a farm during the depression, I guess that though I am squeamish, perhaps not as much as I originally thought.

I was a vegetarian for a few years, once as a child and once in my late teens/early twenties. Trust me when I say it wasn’t a fad. A vegetarian in my hometown is like a vegetarian at a barbecue: out of place. Bryant Terry asked me what made me give it up the second time and I was honest: the burgers my family ate finally wore me down.

I think that you have do what is best for you in the end, whatever you are comfortable with. I try to eat at least one vegetarian meal a day and sometimes get in two. I eat meat, though we now favor organic meats with no hormones.

I guess the lesson here is, we really don’t know how certain actions make us feel until we try them. Tanks to Chef Becky for offering an honest and heartfelt post on such a personal life moment.