I did a group dance for this year Diwali function, we were 10 of them. After the dance performance we all decided to meet up for a girls night with potluck and to spend some time with each other chit-chatting. The theme they decided was "Street Food". As I busy that day, I could not tell my option early....as everyone decided on one dish and I felt I was left with nothing....finally I decided to make veg and non-veg puffs. After telling them, I thought puffs are not a perfect street food....hmmm....so then I decided to make samosas, but didn't wanna spend lot of time making the crust, so I remember seeing in one of the cooking show that they use pie crust for deep frying with filling....mostly in the southern cooking. So I too decided to try the baked version, as I always try not to deep fry and look for some healthy alternative. It came out so well and perfectly shaped and taste was far better than a samosa crust.
Ingredients:
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Crust/Dough:
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1 Pillsbury 9" Pie Crust pkt - Thawed (You can use any brand)
Cooking Oil Spray or White wash for brushing over the top of the samosas before baking.
Veg Filling:
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3 medium Potatoes boiled and mashed
1 Onion chopped
1 cup Mixed Vegetable pkt (I used frozen with carrot, beans, corn and lima beans)
1/2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander seeds
2-3 Green Chilies chopped
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp Chili powder
1/4 tsp Garam Masala powder
1/2 tsp Amchur powder
Salt to taste
1/2 cup Cilantro chopped
1 tsp Oil
Non-Veg Filling:
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(All ingredients same as veg-filling) and
1/2 lb Ground Chicken
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
Salt as needed
1/2 tsp Red Chili powder
2-3 Green Chilies chopped
1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder
Method:
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Veg - Filling:
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1. In a pan, add oil, when it's hot enought, add cumin and fennel seeds, then add ginger-garlic paste and saute it until the raw smell from the ginger-garlic paste is gone.
2. Now add the ,turmeric power, green chilies and onions and saute it until translucent.
3. Add all the masalas and vegetables and saute it until the vegetables cook for about 4-5 mins.
4. Now simmer the flame and add the mashed potatoes and salt and mix well so that all the vegetables and masala is incorporated with the potatoes.
5. Now off the flame and add cilantro and mix again and allow it to come to room temperature.
Non-Veg Filling:
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1. In the same pan as veg filling, remove the veg filling to a bowl, add 1/2 tsp oil and when it's hot add ginger-garlic paste and saute it until the raw smell is gone.
2. Now add all the masala and saute it for a min, then add the ground chicken and break it with a wooden spoon so that it does not have lumps.
3. Now cover and cook on medium heat for about 10 mins stirring occasionally.
4. Now open and cook for another 2 mins in high flame, so that it will absorb the extra moisture from the chicken.
5. Now off the flame and add part of the veg filling and mix well, if you want you can also add more masala and chopped cilantro according to your taste.
6. All this filling also to come to room temperature.
Making Samosas: (same recipe for both Veg and Non-Veg)
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1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Meanwhile spread some flour on a rolling surface/counter unfold the pie crust and roll it out to almost a square shape.
3. Now divide the rolled dough into 9 equal parts. (Divide two lines on two sides of the square with a knife to reach the end of the other side) (sorry for not providing a pciture - didn't have much time - cut like shown below)
4. Then take a bowl of water, take each square, brush little water to the sides of the pie crust, then add one tbsp of filling (Veg or Non-Veg), fold all the corners together and pinch to stick then press down the sides to close.
5. I got to make tow shapes, one mentioned above and the other was...as my corners of the rolled dough did not get the exact square shape, it looked more like a triangle, so I brushed all the sides same with water, then press down the straight sides to make a cone, add the filling and then evenly pinched the other side to the remaining side to form exactly a samosa shape. You can also do all the samosas in the exact samosa shape by cutting big square pieces and cutting it diagonally to form triangles and then follow the same procedure as I mentioned in the beginning of the step 5.
6. Now line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the samosas leaving an inch space, then spray with cooking oil or egg wash and bake it for about 10-12 mins or according to the package instructions mentioned on the pie crust box.
7. Allow them to cool for a min or 2 and serve with your choice of sauce or chutney or just eat it plain.
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