A Western take on Samosas

I had the final supper club for this year in Cape Town on Sunday. It was wonderful...epic...I drank as though it was the last supper club of all time...and regretted that in the morning. Once again it was the most eclectic mix of wonderful food lovers - it is my impression that people who share a love for the good things in life: food, wine, conversation, music (I could go on but i will save you the list and my reputation) are bound to get along because they have a common goal - 'to suck the marrow out of life' (Thank you Robyn Williams and 'The Dead Poet's Society')

The menu I'd set out for myself was rather epic but thankfully most things I could prepare in advance. A big hit on the day were the 'Western-take' on samosas with curios combinations in terms of fillings - they went down a treat and whilst they are a little effort-driven, you are able to make the fillings a day or so before and keep them in the fridge. They make for an interesting starter or canape and can save you a lot of money as vegetarian ingredients tend to be cheaper. I do encourage that you stretch your imagination and come up with mishmashes of your own - delicious.

Western-style samosas with coriander dipping sauce

TO MAKE THE FILLINGS:

Ricotta, artichoke and fennel

250 ricotta

1 can/jar artichokes (in brine/oil, drained and broken up)

1 tbsp fennel seeds

2 tbsp olive oil for frying

Fry the fennel seeds in the olive oil for a minute or two to release the flavours, then remove from the heat.

Mix together with the drained artichokes and ricotta.

Potato, mustard seed and mint:

2 large/3 medium potatoes (chopped into small cubes)

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tbsp curry powder

½ tsp salt

4 tbsp yogurt

4 tbsp water

1 handful mint leaves (chopped)

Put a non-stick pan on the heat, add oil and fry mustard seeds until they begin to pop – then add the masala, curry powder and salt and stir through.

Add the potatoes, water and yogurt and cover.

Let it simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes to stop the mixture sticking to the bottom. (If too much of the liquid evaporates, add a little more.)

Remove from the heat and allow to cool before mixing through the mint.

Beetroot, cumin and feta

4 baby/small beetroots (leaves removed and scrubbed)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp cumin seeds

125g Danish feta

Preheat oven to 220*C

Cut the beetroot into small chunks

In an ovenproof frying pan heat the oil over a medium heat and add the cumin seeds, fry for 30 seconds and add beetroot and fry for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the balsamic vinegar and stir through. Remove from the stove and roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool for ½ an hour.

Mix together with feta

TO MAKE THE SAMOSAS:

1 roll phyllo pastry

Egg wash

Oil for frying

Dipping sauce:

2 cups yogurt

2 packets coriander (the size of those from woollies/pick ‘n pay)

2 cloves garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

pinch of salt

To make the samoosas:

• Preheat oven to 190*C
• Using store-bought phyllo, Cut the roll into strips – 5cm thick and the length of the box in which it came (about 40cm – does that make sense?)

• Put a teaspoon of the mixture in the bottom corner of the first strip and fold the point over in a triangle shape to meet the other side – continue folding up the strip until you get to the end where you should brush the last piece with some egg wash to stick and seal and place on a greased baking tray.

 

• Repeat until the mixture is finished.

• You can either fry or bake the samoosas – to fry:
• Put a heavy based pan on med heat and fill with 1cm of oil. Fry the samoosas in batches until browned and put in the oven for 10 minutes to ensure they all heated through.

• To bake:
• Coat the tops with a little more egg wash and bake in the oven for 15 minutes – until browned and heated through.
• To make the dipping sauce; bung everything into a food processor and blend until smooth.
• Spoon a little dipping sauce onto each plate, place a neat pile of samoosas on top of that and garnish with chopped coriander.