Baked Samosa

Samosa is one of the most popular snack of north India. It is a triangular shaped crisp and flaky pastry filled with spicy and tangy potato filling. The list of choices available for the filling is endless. It can be served at small get togethers like high tea or kitty parties alongwith a hot cup of tea or coffee. These are generally deep-fried but today i made them baked brushing a very little amount of oil on these and they came out very crisp and flaky.
Shaping these samosas becomes a fun activity for my 8-year old daughter who is always keen to know what i am making and will always accompany me in the kitchen.
So, try these healthy yet delicious samosas and am sure you will not miss the deep fried ones.

Ingredients:
For the pastry cover (dough)

• all-purpose flour (maida)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• clarified butter or ghee
• water as required

For the filling:

• 6-7 potatoes (boiled and peeled)
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1-2 green chillies
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp mango powder
• 1 tsp rock salt
• salt to taste
• coriander leaves chopped
• 10-12 raisins
• 10-12 cashew nuts
• 1 tbsp oil
• oil for deep frying

METHOD:

1. Firstly, mix the ingredients of the covering and make a hard dough. Cover and let it rest for 30 min. 
2. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add green peas and green chillies and cook for few min. add roughly mashed potatoes, raisins and cashewnuts and all the spices. Mix well. 
3. Divide the dough into lemon sized balls and roll out a thin roti. Cut the roti in two halves. now take one semicircle and make a cone, place a tablespoon of filling in the centre and apply little water to seal the open edges carefully and give the shape of a samosa.
4. Lightly brush all the samosas with very little oil and bake for 30-35 min. in a preheated oven at 200 degree celcius.
5. Serve hot with the coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

Note:

• Do not over knead the dough of samosas else they will not be flaky and crisp.
• You may deep-fry these samosas instead of baking.

Dahi Vada/ Dahi Bhalla

Dahi vada or dahi bhalla is a famous north-indian snack which is made generally during the time of festivals. These are fried or non-fried lentil fritters which are dipped in creamy yoghurt alongwith few condiments. These can be made in a variety of ways, either with udad dal or moong dal or a combination of both in variable quantity.

INGREDIENTS:

For vadas:

• 3/4 cup udad dal (soaked for 4-5 hrs)
• 1/4 cup moong dal (soaked for 4-5 hrs)
• 1 tbsp ginger+green chilli paste
• a pinch of baking soda
• oil for deep frying

For spiced yoghurt:

• 3cup yoghurt
• 1.5 tbsp sugar (powdered)
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chaat masala
• a pinch of red chilli powder
• saunth chutney as required
• coriander chutney as required
• few coriander leaves for garnish
• a pinch of hing (asafoetida)
• salt to taste
• water as required

METHOD:

1. Drain the soaking water completely and transfer the soaked dal into a grinder of a food processor.
2. Add rest of the ingredients for Vada except for baking soda. Add up to ¾ cup of water (slowly add more if needed). Grind it into a thick smooth paste. Transfer the lentil paste into a medium sized mixing bowl. 
3. Add baking soda and now using your hand or a whisk, whisk the paste vigorously rotating your hand in a circular motion in one direction. This helps making the paste light.
4. Heat oil in a deep fryer. Drop a dollop of Urad Dal paste (about the size of a small lemon) on your palm. Shape it into a circle. 
5. Carefully slide the vada into the deep fryer. Fry until its golden brown in color. 
6. Before serving let the fried vada soak in water for 3-5 minutes. Then lift it in one hand and give it a light squeeze with the other squeezing excess absorbed water out. Place them on a serving dish.
7. For spiced yogurt (or dahi) – Mix all the ingredients together in a big mixing bowl. 
8. Pour as much spiced yogurt as you like over the vadas. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

NOTE:

• Add as little water for grinding as possible, enough for the bladed to run smoothly.

Mawa Gujiya /Khoya Gujiya

HAPPY HOLI TO ALL THE FOODIES!!

Gujiya is a famous holi snack of north India. I always prefer homemade gujiyas rather than buying sugar syrup dripping, high in saturated fats ones. These can be made both sweet or savoury and the list of stuffing is endless, experiment and you will come up with so many options. Every home has its own recipe of making gujiya, I always liked gujiya made by my mom so today I am sharing her mawa gujiya recipe stuffed with khoya, shredded coconut and dry fruits.

Preparation time: 20 min.
Cooking time 1 hr.
Type: Snack

Ingredients:

For the cover:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
• 3 tbsp oil/ghee (melted)
• 1 cup water

For the filling:

• 250 gm khoya or mava
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1 cup dry coconut (shredded)
• 1 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp chironji
• 1 tbsp melon seeds
• 1 cup castor sugar

Method:

For the filling:

1. In a pan, heat khoya till light golden in colour.
2. Add cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, shredded coconut, raisins, chironji melon seeds and castor sugar.

For the cover:

1. Sieve all-purpose flour in a bowl.
2. Mix melted clarified butter or ghee using fingers until the mixture resembles bread crumbs and binds to a certain extent.
3. Now add some water and knead lightly to form a stiff dough.
4. Cover and leave the dough for 30 min. atleast.

Preparing and assembling the gujiya:

1. Divide the dough into equal-sized portions and make them into balls. 
2. Roll the balls into circles about 4 inch diameter.
3. Place the rolled puri on the gujiya mould, fill with a spoonful of the stuffing in the centre. Dip your finger into water and apply all around the edges. Now close the mould ensuring the filling does not spill out of the edges. Press lightly and remove the extra dough to give it the shape of the mould.
4. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the gujiyas on medium flame till crisp and golden in colour.

Note:

• During the entire process of making gujiya, keep the dough and prepared gujiyas covered with a muslin cloth to prevent them from drying out.