Recipe Wednesday - Samosa Puffs

These are quite like the Indian appetizer "Samosa" but instead of wrapping them in dough and shaping them into a triangle, I did a little something different.  I was looking for something Samosa-like last week when it was my turn to host Bunco.  I made up Spinach Dahl, Biju made up Chicken Curry, I baked these Samosa Puffs and then we did up some Gulab Jamuns.  I couldn't have done the Gulab Jamuns without the help of Manjula - her video was a tremendous help!!  For those who don't know what a Gulab Jamun is, it's basically a fried donut hole soaked in a sugar-syrup - Indian style.  Yum. Yum.  (More on hosting Bunco in an upcoming post!)

On to the Samosa Puffs:

Ingredients:
2-3 Puff Pastry Sheets (depending on the size of muffin tins you use and how many puffs you'd like to make)
3-4 potatoes (I used Idaho, I think)
1Tbs oil
1/2 Tbs mustard seed
1/2 -1 onion, chopped
1/4-1/2 c. Peas (thawed, if using the frozen kind)
1-2 tsp. cumin powder
1-2 tsp. corriander powder
1/2 - 1 tsp. garam masala
Salt
Whatever other spices you care to chuck in!

I tried making these at first in a mini muffin tin, but the puff pastry didn't cook completely, so I ended up going with the full sized muffin tin, and they came out nicely.  My mini muffin "tin" is really silicone and I  baked them on a cookie sheet, so that might've had something to do with it - perhaps I should've baked them longer?  Anyhoo... the process:

Follow the instructions on thawing your puff pastry.  (I found the puff pastry in the frozen section of the store.  It wasn't next to the frozen dinner rolls, as I expected, but was near the frozen Whipped Cream.  Go figure.) 
Boil your potatoes - you can either peel, chop and boil, or do like I did, boil whole, in skin, then peel the skin off afterwards (when you're able to touch them).  Fork mash the potatoes. 
In a skillet, heat the oil.  Once hot, add the mustard seeds.  After the seeds pop, add in the onion and cook until tender.  Add in your spices and cook about a minute.  Add in the peas and let them heat up.  Add in your potatoes and mix well.  Taste.  If you like it, fine, if you need to add a little something, go for it.  This is really an "up to your taste buds" recipe.  (There are more authentic recipes out there on the web if you like.)
Cut your puff pastry into circles (I used a cup, but a round cookie cutter would be great if you have one).  Measure one circle to be sure you have the right size for your muffin tin. 

Spray the muffin tin with a little oil spray and lay the puff circles inside.  Fill the circles w/ potato mixture.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or so.  (Check your puff pastry box, it may indicate a different heat setting.)  Just be sure to check on them while they bake - look for the edges of the puff to get golden brown.  If you find you've got leftover filling, grab some naan, bread, tortilla, or even just a fork and dig in! 

I wish I had a picture to share with you.  Silly me, I got a pic of the gulab jamuns frying, but I forgot to get a shot of the yummy Samosa Puffs.  (Okay, you twisted my arm...here's the pic of the jamuns.)


Please do try these Samosa Puffs - they're delish!!  And if you have the chance, try the gulab jamuns - they're really easy and are soooo tastey!