Well, that's a long title for a dish that is near and dear to my heart. Mountain Man and I happen to LOVE Indian food. We could eat it every day and not tire of its exotic flavors, aromatic spices and warming properties, especially as the cool weather sets in. This healthier version of samosas does not disappoint! When we go out to eat Indian food, I am leery to order samosas anymore because they're draped in flour and deep fried, usually loaded with oil. Rice paper handles that problem and, lucky me, I stumbled upon these brown rice spring roll wrappers over at VitaCost!
I won't lie, this recipe is a bit time-intensive. But don't let that deter you! It's worth every minute of prep time. Make it on a day when you can relax and take your time with it. I looked at some other recipes of this sort online and many bloggers said that the rice papers crisp up in the oven. Sadly, mine did not. Maybe because I used less oil than most. Really. you don't need much—I used a coconut spray oil and just a touch, then smeared it around with my fingers. The papers are so thin that they readily absorb the tiniest amount of oil. Nonetheless, they were still super yum and totally "blog-worthy!" Heck, you could use any kind of wrapper you like for this recipe, even a collard wrap would be yummy.
Have you ever made your own chutney? It's pretty easy. I made a tamarind chutney long ago and it took forever. I don't know what I did wrong but this recipe is a cinch, so I wanted to share it as well. You could opt for a sweet mango chutney to accompany these and it would also be fantastic. I served them with some Tomato Rasam soup and it was a luscious, satisfying lunch on a cold, rainy day.
Ingredients:
- 6 brown rice papers
- 3 cups diced potatoes
- 1 cup diced onion
- ½ cup sweet peas (frozen and thawed is fine)
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp mango powder (or lemon juice)
- a few twists freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ tsp sea salt or to taste (optional)
- 3 TBS tamarind paste concentrate (find in Asian markets or online here)
- 3/4 cup pitted medjool dates or date paste
- 1½ cups water
- 1 TBS tamari
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp turmeric
Directions:
- Steam the diced potatoes until tender.
- water sauté the onion with the spices until the onions are tender.
- Add the cooked potatoes and mash them a bit with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon. Leave about ½ of them unmashed.
- Add the peas and cilantro and stir well to combine.
- Set up a comfortable work station where you will assemble the samosas. Have the filling ready to go. Have a dish towel laid out to work on and a pizza cutter to cut the papers in half.
- Soak the rice papers, one at a time, in a pie dish filled with warm water for about 30-45 seconds.
- Using your pizza cutter, cut the paper in half. Lay each half out on your towel, making sure they're smooth, with no creases or overlapping.
- Fill the two halves each time while the next paper is soaking. Place about ¼ cup of filling in the center of each half-circle and then bring each corner over, forming a triangle (fold from the straight side to the curved side). The papers will get sticky as they dry, which is good, because it will help form a seal. If they're too dry to work with, just add a bit more water with your fingers.
- Place the samosas on a parchment-lined or non-stick baking tray.
- Use just a bit of oil to evenly coat each one. Like I said above, less is more.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes in a preheated 375° F oven, flipping once at the 10 minute mark, until golden brown on both sides.
- To make the chutney, simply blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth. If you don't have a high-powered blender, you can use any blender. Simply soak the dates in the water for a few hours first.
I hope everyone on the east coast remained safe and dry from the storms.
We had a TON of rain here in the Smokies…
Makes one dozen samosas. Namaste!
Healthy trails,
