Going International..........Samosas baby! lol

Aloha Beauties!


Today I attempted (with success fortunately, lol) to re-create one of my favorite foods that I use to eat, while living in South Africa. I lived in South Africa for about 4 months back in 2003, which by the way, is where I met my husband. (He isn't South African he is actually Angolan, but was living in South Africa at the time)

While I was living there I use to go to this little East Indian Pastry place not that far from where I lived in Pretoria. I would always get these things called "Samosas". These little meaty gems were like the best thing ever when I was there. I had never had them before and I loved the East Indian spices. I actually love lots of different international foods. I like to think of my taste buds as international explorers, they are always up to taste a great new food exploration. Among their favorite pallets to "visit" are Cuban, Mediterranean, and East Indian flavors.

So anyway I have noticed these Samosas all over in the frozen grocery sections lately, but not so much with East Indian flavors but more along the lines of things like spinach and cheese. I guess they are becoming more and more popular as appetizers here in the States.

Well I decided that I wanted to include a recipe in my cookbook for the Samosas similar to what I had in South Africa. Of course I didn't have a recipe and as I do best I decided to wing it once again off of memory and what I know to be some of the usual spices used in East Indian cooking. The ones I had in South Africa were beef, but I am always trying to find ways to make things I love in a healthier format, so I decided to try and use ground chicken instead as chicken is usually a much leaner meat than beef.

I am not sure what is used in typical Samosas for the pastry dough however I remember it being similar to the consistency of Fillo dough. For my spices, I chose curry powder, turmeric for added color, some chili powder for a little heat, garlic pepper because I just LOVE that stuff, lol, and cumin because it just sounded like it should go there for a little bit of a smoky background flavor I guess. (Hey remember I am winging it here, lol)

I also used some fresh garlic, (because we put garlic in everything in my household, we are serious garlic lovers) onion, and some fresh parsley and lemon juice.

So I did my thing and got everything all meshed together and then I assembled my little deliciously meaty triangles and I proceeded to deep fry them. I found that they actually cooked very quickly once assembled. This was my first time working with Fillo dough and I did find it a bit tricky at first but once I got the hang of it, it was a breeze.

In the end they came out great! I loved all the East Indian flavors, however next time I will try and see if I can accomplish the same success if I bake them. As I said I do prefer to try and find ways to make my dishes as healthy as possible if I can and I would prefer to have the Samosas baked. I am sure I can accomplish that as I have already created a great recipe for home-made egg rolls that I bake instead of deep frying, and they are SO good. I like them even better then the fried egg rolls; I will definitely have to share that recipe with you guys soon.

So I have posted a pic of the finish product. I served the Samosas over salad and sprinkled it with feta and cilantro and a squeeze of lemon.

If you want this recipe, you'll have to wait for the book. ;-) lol I have to save SOME things for the book you know. However I'm a nice person so if you REALLY want the recipe because you are planning a get together or something email me at cookitlikemama@yahoo.com or you can become a fan on Facebook and send me a note.

Till later luvs, bon appetite!