10 Oct 2014

Easy Vegetable Samosas (vegetarian and heathly)

It's Friday!
Tomorrow, I'll have a lie in and breakfast in bed. And just for that, it's worth working hard all week. 
To celebrate the weekend, I've prepared a delicious, super fast and easy recipe for you. 
Happy weekend everyone!



Easy Vegetable Samosas
(vegetarian and light)

The more I try and cook Indian food, the more I improvise with spices. 
I'll almost always start  with garam masala, turmeric and chili powder, and for the rest I'll just completely improvise on the spot. In a way, I have no idea what I'm doing, so I might as well enjoy the thrill of free-styling.
As a result, every single curry tastes different and I love that.

Ingredients, for 2 people (approx 6 small to medium samosas)
1/2 medium can of chickpeas
1/2 small cauliflower
1/2 tomato
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp garlic paste, or 1/2 garlic clove, crushed
spices: a few mustard seeds 1/4tsp garam masala, 1/4tsp turmeric, 1/8 tsp of chili powder, a pinch of cumin powder
salt and pepper
3 or 4 curry leaves
2 or 3 sheets of filo pastry
flat leaf parsley, finely cut
a bit of melted butter, to brush over the samosas

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 180deg C. 

1/ Blanch (cook) the cauliflower in salted boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, cut in small pieces (to the size of a chickpea) and set aside. 

2/ In a heavy based pan, heat a big teaspoon of coconut oil. Add the spices and stir for 2 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, curry leaves, and cook gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring regularly.

3/ Add the drained cauliflower, tomato and chickpeas + 1 tbsp of the chickpea juice, mix well, and gently cook for 3 to 4 additional minutes. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste, turn off the heat, leave to cool for a few minutes. 

4/ Cut the filo pastry sheets in 5 to 6 cm wide strips, and fill and fold the samosas following this simple video (thank you Divya Pramil). If the pastry sheet break in the middle of the process, don't panic. Finish folding the best you can and just fold another one on top of it to secure the samosas.


 

5/ Brush the samosas lightly all over with butter, spread on a baking sheet/parchment or baking mat, and cook for 10 to 15 min or until the samosas are golden. Serve with a salad, a curry, a Greek yogurt dip, or whatever you fill like!


My filling for the samosas

 

3 Oct 2014

Chocolate Recipes: my Best of!

I used to think that to get the most delicious dish, using the best recipe mattered more than using the best ingredients. 
I was wrong.
When I actually did the test, I was stunned to see how an ingredient as simple as flour in bread and butter in a biscuit can make all the difference in the end dish.

I still want to buy value for money ingredients, but there are now a few items I don't compromise on anymore: butter (I don't ever use margarine), olive oil, jam, etc and of course chocolate. 
Chocolate is, of all ingredients, one that must be of good quality, or whatever you bake (or cook) with it will just taste average, at best.

 My favourite brands so far are Nestlé dessert (which I import from France), Meunier (available at least at Sainsbury's), and for top quality: Valrhona.

Speaking of chocolate, here is a selection of my favourite recipes so far: 


My "Best Of" Chocolate Recipes
(click on the title to view the recipe)