As far as I am concerned, no other cuisine prepares potatoes better than the Indian, and samosas rank near the top of my list of favorite eats. My good friend and colleague Vyshali recently clued me into her trick to take the hard work out of samosas. Now we can enjoy them any night of the week! Good timing for this too... Daniela recently had a samosa pastelillo and was in love. I should have known... potatoes wrapped in crispy dough... What's not to love?
Vyshali's original direction suggested frying the samosas. But, unfortunately, whenever someone says "fry" I always hear "bake". Ooops. ;-) These did great in the oven. And Daniela promptly claimed the leftovers for her lunchbox.
Samosas
8 flour tortillas, cut in half (semi-circles)
2 cups frozen hash brown potato cubes, thawed
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon All-Purpose flour
1-2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1- Preheat oven to 400.
2- Place the potatoes, spices, stock, salt and pepper in a sauce pan, and cook on low until heated through and stock has evaporated.
3- Whisk the flour and enough water to make a moderately thick slurry. It should be the look and consistency of Elmer's glue.
4- Warm the tortilla semicircles in the microwave (about 20 seconds on high).
5- Shape each tortilla piece into a cone. Brush some of the flour "glue" along the loose edge and press it against the body of the cone to secure the shape. Hold the edge in place for a few seconds and place the cone to dry in a wire rack while the rest of the tortilla cones are shaped.
6- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of potato filling into each cone and pack well into the cone. Pinch top edges of the cone together and secure with more flour "glue". The filled cones should now look like triangular pillows.
7- Place the filled tortillas on a baking sheet and brush the oil.
8- Bake for about 10-12 minutes, until the tops start to brown. Turn each tortilla over and bake and additional 5 minutes or until golden brown.
