Chicken Samosas with Mint Chutney

Ashlyn, these were a HUGE hit. Everyone raved about them and will continue to. Thanks so much for making them. P.S. totally going to ask for these again....

http://www.aartipaarti.com/2009/11/04/aarti-paarti-ep-30-baked-samosas/

Baked Samosas

Makes eight or nine samosas.

Note: If you do not want to make your own dough, use Puff Pastry sheets available in in the frozen section of your local supermarket. One box contains two sheets and all you need is one sheet for this recipe cut into nine squares.

For pastry: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour (you can use 1 cup all-purpose flour if you prefer)
1/4 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil
Big pinch salt 1/2 tsp. ajwain seeds (optional)

For filling:1 big russet potato, boiled until soft
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, poached and shredded
1 mango, finely diced Zest of 1 lime, plus juice of half of it
5 tbsp chipotle sauce 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds Big handful cilantro, minced
Salt and pepper

1) To make pastry: In large bowl, combine flours, buttermilk, oil, salt and ajwain seeds. Bring ingredients together into a dough. Knead for 5 minutes until it has softened a bit. Allow to rest, at room temperature, for 15 minutes. You can put this in the fridge too, but make sure you let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes or so, in order for it to soften.

OR 1) Set aside one sheet of the Puff Pastry to thaw for about 30 minutes.

2) Make filling: Combine all ingredients with your hands until it’s well mixed up. Taste for seasoning. Set aside.

3) Preheat oven to 425 degrees f.

4) Roll the dough into a short cylinder. Slice into two. Slice each half into two, so you have 4 bits. Roll each bit into a ball. Flatten ball into a disc, then, on floured surface, roll into a 1/8″ thick, 7″ wide circle. Cut into two semi-circles.

OR 4) Open the puff pastry sheet and cut into nine squares.

5) Place a tablespoon or so of filling in the center of one of the semi-circles. Have a small bowl of water handy. Dip your finger in the water and run it along the edges of the semi-circle. Arrange semi-circle so the flat side is facing away from you. Grab the left corner and fold it over dough in a triangular motion, so that this corner lands on the bottom right side of the filling. Do the same with the other corner. Squeeze bottom shut, and fold over, sealing with water. If you like, seal using a fork. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat, until you have 8 big samosas ready for baking!

OR 5) Simply spoon enough to fill the middle of the square. Dip your fingers into the bowl of water and run it along the edges of the square. Pinch two opposite corners together and fold the sides in to seal the samosa, it should look somewhat of a triangle now.

6) Bake for 15 minutes at 425, then turn the baking tray around and bake 12 more minutes.

7) Serve hot, with the chutney… and bask in gratitude for the great ideas we all come up with, for our sensitive taste buds and for the blessing of good friends!

"Fresh and Fancy-Free" Mint Chutney
Mint-cilantro-lime saucy-thing with mustard-seed infused oil

You’ll need this stuff:

1 cup mint leaves 1/2 cup cilantro leaves and soft stems
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped Juice of 1/2 lime (more, if you like it limey!)
Enough water to make a sauce, about 1/4 cup Salt and pepper

Tadka:
1 tbsp vegetable oil/olive oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds

1) In a food processor, whiz together mint, cilantro, ginger, lime juice and water until it all comes together as a sauce. There’ll probably still be little bits of leaf in there, but I like how those taste, so no worries. Pour chutney into a bowl.

2) In a small pan, over medium heat, warm oil until it shimmers. Add mustard seeds — they should sizzle. Immediately cover with lid, until they stop spluttering. Make sure they don’t burn! If they do, start over. No big deal. I do it all the time! Immediately add the seeds and oil to the chutney. It will sizzle so stand back. Once you’ve poured all the oil in, you can even spoon a little chutney into the pan (cue sizzling again!) so that you pick up all that lovely oil. Serve! Get fresh!