Vegetable Samosas Recipe

I had cauliflower in the fridge that needed attention so I steamed it and chopped it up for these curry-tinged vegetable hand pies.  They are cheap to make, but my goodness,  these babies are labor intensive.  Rolling out 16 6-inch circles of dough, cutting them in half, and then filling and sealing them is definitely a labor of love.  Will I make them again?  Yummy AND cheap? You bet! They're worth it!

Vegetable Samosas

4 c flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 T oil
1 cup warm water

Vegetable Filling

1 ¼ lb waxy potatoes
6 oz cauliflower florets, chopped
2 T vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 T grated fresh ginger
2 T mild curry powder
2/3 c frozen peas
2 T lemon juice
oil, for deep-frying

1. In a food processor, process the flour and 1 tsp salt for 5 seconds. Add the combined oil and 1 cup warm water. Process in short burst until the mixture just comes together. Turn out onto a floured surface and gather into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

2. To make the vegetable filling, chop the potatoes into quarters and cook until tender, then cool and finely dice. Boil or steam the cauliflower until tender, cool and finely dice. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potato, cauliflower, peas and lemon juice and mix well. Remove from heat and cool.

3. Divide the dough into 16 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 6 inch round, cut the rounds in half and put a tablespoon of the mixture in the middle of each semi-circle. Brush the edge with a little water and fold the pastry over the mixture, pressing the edges to seal.

4. Heat a deep-fat fryer, or fill a deep pan one third full of oil and heat to 350 F. or until a cube of bread browns in 15 seconds. Deep-fry the samosas in batches for 1 minute, or until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with mango chutney, sweet chili sauce or natural yogurt.

Makes 32 samosas