Vegetable Samosas with Mint Raita

Samosa’s are an Indian pastry that is filled with an assortment of meats and vegetables. This recipe is vegetarian. They are usually prepared with dough, but I’ve adapted this recipe from Cooking Light, in which we substitute phyllo dough. Makes them lighter and flakier. If you prefer – you could use a pre-made pie pastry like I did for my empanadas. You can find that recipe HERE. And, if you’re in search of gluten free foods, you could make or purchase a gluten free pie dough and use that in which to stuff the samosa filling. I served these with Chicken Burger Patties with an Indian Flair.  Click HERE for the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 medium baking potatoes; peeled and chopped into small chunks. Maybe about ½ to ¾ inch.

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small chunks

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

2 ½ tablespoons minced peeled ginger (I used the kind from a jar for simplicity)

1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic (again, for simplicity – this time I used it from a jar)

¾ teaspoons red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon turmeric

1 ½ cups peas, use frozen and just thaw them first

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

16 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed (18 x 14 inch sheets)

Cooking spray

Raita Ingredients:

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I like to use the Greek yogurt because it is thicker)

1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped

Juice of one lime

½ of a cucumber, grated

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the potato and carrot in boiling water for about 8 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain.

Heat olive oil in a large non-stick pan. Add cumin seeds. Stir for a few seconds and add the onion. Sauté until the onion is translucent. Add ginger, garlic and red pepper; sauté for about 2 minutes. Add the cumin and next 5 ingredients. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the potato, carrots, peas, cilantro and lemon juice. Stir until well combined and turn heat off. Let cool slightly.

Depending upon the size of your food processor, place ¼ to ½ of the mixture into it and pulse until coarsely chopped. Put the chopped mixture into a bowl and repeat with the remaining mixture until all has been processed and coarsely chopped.

Preheat oven to 350.

Place 1 sheet of the phyllo dough on a large cutting board. (cover the rest of the phyllo with a clean dish towel so it doesn’t dry out.) Spray the sheet with cooking spray. Fold in half so you have an 18 x 7 sheet. Fold the bottom corner over to form a triangle to mark where to place the filling. Unfold. Place about 3 tablespoons, or 3 heaping teaspoons of the filling by the line you’ve made. Fold over the bottom corner to make a triangle. Fold back and forth over itself to make a triangle until you get to the last fold. Tuck edges under; lightly spray both sides with cooking spray, place seam side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Or, if you have a silpat – you can use that.

Repeat process above until all of the filling has been used. Should make about 14 – 16 samosas. This will use 2 baking sheets.

Place one baking sheet on the bottom rack and the other on the second from the top. Bake for 13 minutes. Switch positions of the sheets in your oven and bake for an additional 12 minutes, or until they are lightly browned.

To prepare the Raita, combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Serve the samosa’s with the raita.

I won’t fib, this recipe is a bit labor intensive… but it’s not difficult to make. Just time consuming. But, I think the labor involved is SO worth it. The fragrant flavor of these will make you forget the time it took you to make them.

Click here for printable recipe.