Quick Samosa Baskets

Holiday season always makes me cook new, yet quick goodies. So when I decided to make something quick nothing else came in my mind other than these Samosa Baskets. They are easy to make and loved by all every time I make it. Also this appetizer is very light on your tummy, so you have enough room for the main course J The best part about this recipe is, it is no onion-no garlic recipe so you can make it on any day.

Ingredients:

For Filling:

1. Boiled potatoes: 4-5 (Medium, roughly mashed by hand) 
2. Green Peas: 1 Cup 
3. Green Chilies: 2-3 finely chopped 
4. Cumin: 3-4 Tbsp. 
5. Grated Ginger: 3-4 Tbsp. (roughly 2-3 inches) 
6. Garam Masala: 1 Tsp. 
7. Red Chili Powder: 1 Tbsp. 
8. Chat Masala: 1 Tbsp. 
9. Amchur Powder (Dry Mango Powder): 1 ½ Tbsp. 
10. Anardana Powder: 1 Tbsp. (Optional)   
11. Cilantro: ½ cup (finely chopped)
12. Salt: To Taste
13. Vegetable Oil: 3-4 Tbsp. 
14. Date and Tamarind chutney: ¼ Cup
15. Shev: ½ Cup (optional)

For basket:

1. Ready-made Fillo Shells: 24 * See attached picture and notes.

Method:

1. Take a bowl and roughly mash the potatoes by hand. Don’t mash is by masher, we need uneven pieces of potatoes. 
2. Put Chat masala, amchur powder, anardana powder (optional) and salt to taste to the potatoes. 
3. Now take oil in a wok or kadhai and put lots of cumin seeds. Let it splutter. 
4. Start putting other ingredients like green chilies, grated ginger and green peas. Let it cook properly. 
5. Add red chili powder and garam masala. Let the spices cook and let the raw smell go from it. 
6. Now add potato mixture to it and stir nicely. Everything should be well incorporated in each other. 
7. At this time you may want to add a little more oil and/ or 2-3 Tbsp. of oil if you feel the mixture is too dry. 
8. Add half the quantity of cilantro and stir well.
9. Put a lid for couple of minutes and let the mixture cook. 
10. Once the filling is done, take it out in a bowl and let it cool down completely. 
11. Now take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper or silver foil. 
12. Pre heat the oven on 350 Degree Fahrenheit. 
13. Put the pre-made fillo cups on the baking sheet. 
14. Bake them for 10 minutes or as per instructions on the packet. 
15. Take them out of oven and now start assembling the cups with samosa filling. 
16. Fill each cup with 1-2 Tbsp. of samosa filling. 
17. Put it in the oven again for 10-12 minutes at 350F or till the filling it hot again. 
18. Take it out and put it on serving tray. Garnish it with cilantro.
19. Give date-tamarind chutney and shev on the side. 
20. The yummilicious appetizer is ready. 

Notes:

1. During holiday season you get fillo cups easily in any local grocery store. I bought mine from Giant. 
   
2. If you don’t find fillo shells or cups in your local grocery store, then just buy puff pastry sheets. Thaw it completely and cut it in squares. 
3. Put it in muffin pans and bake it according to the instructions on the packet. This way you will get the cups/ baskets ready.   
4. You may want to make chole and serve it as chole chat along with some bitten yogurt.
5. Please do not reheat in the microwave, the baskets will become soggy. If you need to reheat then do it in the over at 250F for 10-12 minutes.  

I’m sure all your family members and friends will love and appreciate your creativity. Happy Holidays and Happy Cooking all of you :) 

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Beetroot, Lentils, Potato Cutlets

Beetroot, Lentils, Potato Cutlets

Beetroot, also known simply as the beet, has been gaining in popularity as a new super food due to recent studies claiming that beets and beetroot juice can improve athletic performance, lower blood pressure and increase blood flow.  It contains potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamins A, B6 and C, folic acid, carbohydrates, protein, antioxidants and soluble fiber. Since I was asked to increase Hemoglobin in my blood, I had to come up with some healthy yet tasty and interesting recipes. All of a sudden someone posted a healthy beetroot recipe on net and I remembered that my mom used to make similar kind of cutlets when we were young. Also in Pune there is a popular joint called “Vaishali” and their cutlets are to die for, and of course they are my favorite too.

Now just didn't want to make beetroot cutlets, so tried adding mixed sprouted lentils to it to make it healthier. Lentils are generally abundant sources of protein. Around 30% of the calories provided by lentils for example come from its protein content. In certain regions of the world, beans and other types of legumes are used as a cheap substitute for meat. So here we go. Let’s enjoy these cutlets.

Ingredients:

Mixed sprouted and boiled lentils

Beetroots: 2 (medium sized boiled)
Mixed-sprouted lentils or legumes: ¾ cup
Potatoes: 2 (medium sized boiled)
Ginger-Garlic paste: 1 Tbsp
Cumin powder: 1 Tbsp
Garam masala powder: 1 Tbsp.
Onion: ½ cup (finely chopped) or Onion powder 1 Tbsp.
Paprika: ½ Tsp
Salt: To taste
Bread crumbs: About 1 Cup or as needed to bind the cutlets
Roasted suzi: About ½ Cup to coat the tikkis
Oil: For shallow frying the tikkis  

Procedure:

Pressure cook beetroots, potatoes and mixed-sprouted lentils in separate containers. If you do not have sprouted lentils ready, do not worry. Just take mixed lentils and boil them or pressure cook them. Also if you do not have mixed lentils, just take any lentils which you have on hand (like moong, mataki, chole, chickpeas etc.) I usually use sprouted lentils for its health benefits. Keep boiled beets and potatoes in the freeze for about an hour or so. This will make it easier at the time of binding the tikkis and will not be extra moist.

Now grate boiled beets, potatoes together add lentils, onions, ginger-garlic paste, salt and all the masalas to the mixture. Mix it well and add bread crumbs (for binding) to make tikkis out of it. You may need more or less bread crumbs as per your mixture. Make round, oval or any shaped tikkis according to your preference and keep them aside. Now coat the tikkis in roasted suzi. 

Take a pan or tava and add little oil to it. The tava should not be very hot. Start assembling the tikkis on the tava and shallow fry them till golden-brown from both the sides. It will become little crunchy if you fry them a little longer which obviously tastes better. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup or any chutney of your choice.

Note:

You may add any veggies of your choice. You may also add grated cheese in the mixture. Add all the spices according to your taste buds. Some people prefer not to boil the beet and just grate it but we in our family like it boiled which is easier to make the tikkis.  

Don’t forget to enjoy this yummy snack item. Happy Cooking!!!! 

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