30 days of iftars: #2

My first try at samosas/samboosas. Declared a success by all!

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll and a big ole Ramadhan mubarak! A told me that in Tunisia they call it "Sidi Ramadhan" or Mr. Ramadhan. Cute, eh?

So tonigh's iftar features something I've often thought of making but never have: samosas! I think most Arabs call them samboosas but they are the same thing: tasty, pastry-covered, deep-fried morsels of complete yumminess!

Now I know a lot of people get super excited when you say you are making something very cultural and then deviate from the recipe. I have some advice for them:

Get.Over.It.

:-D Just kidding, I too appreciate authentic recipes but as a busy _________ (fill in the blank!) sometimes I do like shortcuts. In this case I decided to use the spring roll wrappers.

Now hear me out, I had another, more pressing, reason for using the spring roll wrappers. A is sensitive to wheat (we just found this out) and also watching his carbs. Turns out the wrappers I got weren't actually rice flour ones :-( but they are still lower in carbs.

I was fully prepared to make the homemade dough. I found a great tutorial here that made the dough-making look so easy. Next time, insha'Allah....

First I made my fillings. Turns out I didn't have fenugreek or fennel seeds but I did have cumin and black mustard. I also added kalonji or black onion seed. I tasted one and decided it was be good. Alright here is the recipe:

2 potatoes, peeled, finely diced, and boiled
1/2 onion, finely diced
oil or butter
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp kalonji or black onion seed
1tsp black mustard seed
1tsp salt
2 dried red chilis
1tsp turmeric

Heat oil in pan; just enough to coat the bottom. Saute onion til tender; add cumin, kalonji, mustard seeds, salt and dried red chilis. Fry for a couple of minutes then add drained boiled potatoes. Fry for a few minutes, add turmeric, mix well. Put into bowl to cool and mash with a fork.

Finished potato filling

I also made a meat mixture so A could eat.

1/2 onion, finely diced
shredded carrot 1/4 cup
1 cup frozen spinach
oil
1tsp cumin
1tsp salt
2 dried red chilis
2tsp paprika
1lb ground beef

Saute onion in oil; add spices (except paprika) and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the frozen spinach and fry til it thaws and water evaporates.

Put the beef in and cook til browned, chopping up all the larged pieces with your spatula. I also threw in half a cinnamon stick. :-)

I like to cook mine for a nice little while on a lower heat so all the flavors meld. Add the paprika and shredded carrots for color (A isn't as much of a fan of Indian spices so I substituted paprika for the turmeric.)

Place in bowl to cool.

Next I cut my spring roll sheets into 3rd and, placing a spoonful of the mixture at the end, began folding them up, diagonally. You should be making neat little triangular packages. Remember to keep your pastry sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel and also the finished samosas awaiting the fryer.

Fry in medium hot oil, turning after one minutes. 2-3 min total should be sufficient. :-) I didn't take any pics of making the actual samosas; it was too time-consuming and as I wasn't experienced with it, I had to really work at it. :-) The end result was purty good though. :-)

The menu:

dates, sliced open, stuffed with small curl butter
sunflower seeds
bananas
water/milk

Mushroom soup with left over meat samosa filling added
salad with avocado and boiled egg.

Cheesecake for dessert.


The mushroom soup got a make over too. I didn't have enough left to serve the entire family so I made another roux of butter and flour, added equal parts chicken broth and half-and-half, then put the remainder of the beef/spinach mixture in. It gave the soup a lovely color and it's even more hearty now. Plus there is enough for us all, yay! :-)

Heat through til bubbly but not boiling and enjoy "spiced up" leftovers. :-) Ma salaama!