Teatime Treats Blogging Challenge -December 'Festive Mince Pie Somosas'

I have my entry ready for this fun Blogging Challenge 'Teatime Treats' hosted by Kate at 'What Kate Baked' and Karen at 'Lavender and Lovage'.  This month the theme is 'Christmas'.
My Festive little offering is a newly invented creation by moi and let me tell you they have gone down a storm in this house.  Let me reveal...in true Willy Wonka genius style (apart from there is no Chocolate!)
'Mince Pie Somosas.'  Yeah Baby Yeah!
These are a cheeky little twist on the old Festive favourite.  If you are greedy then can be eaten in one substantial mouthful, if you are more demure, you can have two tasty little bites, or just go how the mood takes you!  They are delicious hot or cold.
Ingredients
250g of Plain Flour
1 egg (from your bestest clucky friends)  Separate the egg.
2tbls of vegetable oil
Water to make a dough
1tsp of ground mixed spice


Filling
1 Jar of Mincemeat

Method
Add the egg yolk, oil and spice to the flour, mix quickly to make a breadcrumb like mixture.  Add enough water to make a smooth dough.  Roll out onto a floured surface, to about 3mm thickness.  Cut out Circles and cut each circle in half.  Using the egg white to seal the Somosas wrap the semi circle into a cone, place 1tsp of the Mincemeat inside the cone and use more egg white to seal the edge by pinching.  Deep fry in small batches until golden.  Drain on Kitchen Paper and sprinkle with Caster Sugar.

Happy Pie Day Friday (2) - Tasty Vegetable Somosas

I was delighted to find a 'Hairy Biker' Somosa Recipe in my New Bible of Pie Making.  I will take the opportunity to just flash you another picture of the 'Sacred Text' here:

Oops!  Sorry wrong Picture....

Aaah, that's the one...this is a truly spiffing book.

I would be delighted over the festivities to find Authentic Indian Food on offer.  In fact I would cheerfully eat these Somosas in place of much of the 'traditional' Christmas foods.  Supermarkets do sell ready made Somosas but they are disappointing imposters.  I always though 'Somosa' making was out of my league, until I discovered this recipe (Which as usual, I have adapted a wee bitty bit!).  I can't believe how simple these are to make.

Ingredients

For the Pastry

250g of Plain Flour

1 egg ( from your bestest Clucky Friends) Separated in to the Yolk and the white.

1 tsp of salt

2 tbls of vegetable oil

75 - 150 mls of warm water

For the Filling

1 Onion finely chopped

2 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped

1 Medium Potato (diced)

1 Sweet Potato (diced)

50g of Frozen Peas

2tsp of Garam Masala

1 tsp of Chillie Flakes

50ml water

The Juice of 1 Lemon

Salt and pepper

fresh Coriander

Method

Gently fry the onion until it is soft.  Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute.   Add the potato, Sweet potato and the spices and fry gently for five minutes.  Add the water, lemon juice and peas, cook gently until the potatoes are tender.  Season with salt and pepper.  Leave to cool.  When Cool stir in chopped fresh coriander.

    The pastry is very easy to make.  Put the egg yolk, flour, oil and salt into a bowl.  Mix lightly until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Add enough water to make a ball of 'pastry dough'.   Roll out the pastry so it is approximately 3mm thick.  Cut into rounds (I used a tea plate).  Cut the rounds in to semi circles.  To fill, fold the semi circles in to cones, half fill with the filling and use the egg white as 'glue' to seal each somosa.  Deep Fry the Somosas in small batches for 4-5 minutes and drain on Kitchen paper. 

I enjoyed mine dipped in Home made 'Tamarind Sauce'.  I will definitely be making these again and will experiment with Aloo Chana Chaat (Chick pea and Potato Curry as a filling).  I will let you experiment with whatever filling you like.  I am thinking of making my 'Mince Pies' Somosa style today.  

Garbanzos!

My friend was very proud of this little plant and sent me the photograph.  It is a 'Chickpea' plant complete with cute little pods.  I did not know you can grow these in the UK.  I love the fat little pods.  I also love chickpeas.  I buy the dried variety as this works out more economical than the canned and use my 'Slowpot' / 'crockpot' to prepare them in bulk.  When they are tender I then put them in to little bags in the freezer, so they are ready to drop in to soups, curries, stews, and salads.  I will also have to have a go at 'falafels'.  I love the Blog 'Alia's Creative Life' and really enjoyed the photographs that accompanied this recipe here Masala Garbanzos.  Garbanzos are good on 'Healthy Eating Plans'!  Inspired by Alia's recipe, I tweaked it a little to make 'Aloo Chana Chaat' in my trusty old 'Slowpot'.  I think this is a great healthy, tasty and thrifty recipe.


Aloo Chana Chaat

Garbanzos, (Chick Peas) 2 Cups (You can use them straight from the can or just boil Chickpeas)
Onions, 3, finely sliced
Tomato, 3, finely chopped
2tsp Garam Masala
2 red chilies finely chopped
six cloves of garlic finely chopped
Boiled Potato, 3 Medium, Peeled and Cubed
Coriander Leaves/Cilantro, 2 Tsp, Chopped
Oil
Salt

Method:
1) Heat some oil in a sauce pan or a wok.( I used that spray oil honest Guv!)
2) Saute the onion it becomes tender.  Put it into a slowpot on the hot setting.
3) Add the Garlic, chilies, Garam Masala, Chopped tomatoes and Potatoes.
4) Add the Garbanzos (Boiled Chickpeas) and stir well.
5) Cook on hot for 3 hours then turn it low until ready to eat.   Garnish with Coriander Leaves!
6) Serve Hot, with Tamarind Sauce or Chutney.


I also had a block of dried 'Tamarind' at the back of the cupboard.  I have never used Tamarind at all.  The same friend with the 'Chickpea' plant said her Hubby bought a block too and wondered what you do with 200g of the stuff.  I 'googled' and found a recipe for a sauce, the sauce apparently keeps really well.  Again I tweaked the recipe to suit my store cupboard.  


Tamarind Sauce
200g of Dried Tamarind
500ml of hot water
1tsp of chilli powder
2tsp Garam Masala
1tsp Salt
75g of sugar
1 large dessert spoon of Black Treacle


Put all the ingredients together and soak for 30 minutes.   Using a liquidizer or hand blender whizz until smooth.  Now for the labour intensive bit...rub the mixture through a sieve.   Bottle and store in the fridge.  This makes a delicious tangy sauce to add to curries or to eat as an condiment.  

Aloo Chana Chaat served with Homemade Tamarind Sauce

Mimi's Mommy, Medha's Delicious Indian 'Potato Recipes' (Vegetarian)

I enjoyed reading Medha's Blog about daily life and her young son in Bangalore.  http://mimismommy.wordpress.com/  I find it fascinating that we can share each other's cultures without leaving our own homes, we also have things in common with women around the globe, Motherhood, Cooking, Crochet and Ravelry, to name a few!  Medha posts some delicious recipes, I must try her Cashew Nut sweets, but will wait for Diwali.  I love cooking and eating authentic Indian food.  I requested some potato recipes and these are the ones Medha posted.
        The recipes are as Medha wrote them, I will note any alterations I made with a photograph of my finished dish.  Medha has posted additional photographs that help explain what it is you need to be doing. (well worth popping to her website)
 
RECIPE 1: Aloo Paratha (Aloo = potato, Paratha = regular chapati made with a stuffing)
 Here’s what you need:
For the filling:
 *4 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
 *1-2 green chillied, finely chopped. Alternatively you could use red chilli powder (vary the quantity as per your taste)
 *Salt to taste
* A sprig of finely chopped coriander
For the chapati dough:
 *250 gms of wheat flour
 * Pinch of salt
 * 1 tablespoon of refined oil (vegetable, sunflower oil)
 * Water
To make dough, mix all ingredients well in a bowl. Slowly add water and knead the dough. Make lemon sized(or slightly larger) balls and keep aside. Mix the ingredients for the filling together. Make sure there are no lumps from the potatoes. You could squeeze in a few drops of lemon juice to this filling. A fourth of a lime will be enough.
Roll out the dough into to make a chapati. Make sure the chapati is thin. Now add a spoon full of the filling and spread it out evenly with a spoon making sure you don’t tear the chapati. Add this filling onto one half of the chapati. Fold the other half and press the edges. Slowly lift this and place it on a tawa/griddle. Sprinkle a few drops of oil and roast the paratha well on both sides.



My Chapati skills need improving, the filling was delicious, I did not have coriander and used finely chopped Spring Onion and red chilli instead.  Delicious with Lime Pickle.


RECIPE 2: Potato and Raw banana cutlets
Here’s what you need:
* 1 raw banana (cook/steam the banana, remove the peel and mash it)
* 2-3 boiled, peeled and mashed medium sized potatoes
* 2-3 green chillies / red chilli powder (depending on your taste)
* Salt to taste
* 1 finely chopped onion (0ptional)
* A sprig of finely chopped coriander
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Make sure there aren’t too many lumps from the potato or banana. Make a ball and press it into a cutlet shape between your palms. Coat with bread crumbs on either side (you can work without the bread crumbs too). Shallow fry on a griddle.
Very, very tasty…
You could completely do away with the banana and make just pototo cutlets. Or you could add boiled and mashed carrots, beans, peas and make veggie cutlets. Use your imagination to vary the veggies..



I was a little sceptical about banana and potato as a combination, but I trusted Medha and made these to the recipe, of the three dishes, that were all delicous, these were my favourites.


RECIPE 3: Aloo Mattar (Potato and Green peas curry)
Here’s what you need:
*4 medium sized potatoes, cut into cubes of about a 1 inch
* 1 cup of green peas
* 2 finely chopped onions
* 2 ripe chopped tomatoes
* 1 tea spoon of ginger and garlic paste
* 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder
* 2 teaspoons of garam masala powder
* 2 tablespoons of oil
* Salt to taste
* Pinch of sugar
In a deep pan heat oil. To this add the ginger garlic paste and onions. Once the onions are soft, add the tomatoes. Stir and cook well till the tomotoes are completely soft. Add the garam masala, chilli powder and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the peas and potatoes. Add about 2 cups of water and close the pan. Cook on medium heat till the potatoes turn soft. The peas will cook very quickly, so no need to worry about them. Keep checking once in a while to make sure the water has not evaporated. Add salt and sugar (I always add a pinch of sugar to all my dishes as I feel it balances out the spice). It’s your choice if you wish to leave out the sugar.
***Alternately you could boil the potatoes before hand and cut them to cubes. Then add them at the last stage when you feel the peas are cooked. After adding potatoes just cook the curry for a couple of minutes. ***
The consistency of the curry is how you would like it. Add more water if you want it be watery or if you wish to savour it with rice.
Serve hot with chapati or white rice.

Note: If you don’t have garam masala powder, just add the salt, chilli powder and pinch of sugar. It will taste equally good.



I followed the recipe for this curry but I included a cupful of chopped spinach.  This made a great meal with the accompaniments.  Delicious with Mango Chutney.

I am not vegetarian however I do support the idea of eating less meat as a family we have discussed vegetarianism as a family but as yet no one has made the commitment (I have been vegetarian for a number of years in the past).  We all care about animal welfare greatly and the environment so eating less meat is a positive choice.  It is also a healthy dietry option and eating a meal like the 'above' recipes is very economical.  My youngest help me with the chapatis and liked his hot with butter.  He also tucked in to all three dishes quite happily, even with my addition of red chilli.  I hope you try them and enjoy them.  Do pop over and say hello to Medha she will be pleased to see you.   :)