Sep. 17, 2007 - Samosas
When I was in Ethiopia, Josiah and I accompanied a medical missionary to work at her rural health clinics twice a week. We left early in the morning, and were always too rushed for breakfast, so when she went to pick up her order of samosas ("Essamboosas" as they call them in that area) to feed a group of malnourished kids, she always got a few more to feed those of us riding along in her car. For something so greasy, those samosas were my favorite breakfast of all time. They were fresh from the frying oil, piping hot, and wrapped in a fresh bun they were so delicious! The lentil filling seems to be unique to that area. Samosas are eaten all through south Asia and the Middle East, but in my quest to recreate the ones we had, I have never found a recipe for lentil samosas. I was told that it was Somali refugees who brought the samosa to Ethiopia, so maybe the lentils are a specialty of theirs.
These are actually really easy to make. All you need is some pastry dough, lentils and frying oil. This is how I put together these samosas.
1. Sort and rinse about 2 c. brown lentils (the Swad brand found at Indian groceries are the best for this--other types get mushy). Cover with about 2 inches of salty water, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until just tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Chop 1 small onion and 1-2 cloves of garlic, and saute in 1 Tbls oil. Mix into lentils. Add further salt if necessary (lentils soak up salt so it takes quite a bit to make them taste salty)
3. Make pastry dough (your favorite pie pastry recipe will do). Roll dough into 2-inch balls, and roll each one out into a circle. Alternatively, roll a large quantity of dough out and use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles. The dough should be fairly thin, but not so much that it will fall apart.
4. Take a circle of dough and form it into a cone shape, sealing the seams and bottom corner by dampening the dough if need be. Fill the cone with 2-3 Tbls of the lentil mixture, and then fold over the top, sealing the seams well. You should end up with a triangle, as in the picture
5. Drop each samosa into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain well and enjoy.
You can use a variety of other things to fill these with, like curried ground beef or lamb, herbed potatos, or other types of lentils. You can find recipes for more fillings at allrecipes.com.
Comments
Sep. 18, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by babean
What a fun recipe! If it's pastry...fried...it's definitely yummy in my book! hehe And lentils are one legume that everyone in my family enjoy. I think I'm going to have to try these! I always have these ingredients on hand too! =0) Have a wonderful week!
Sep. 18, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by SweetLittleErin
Yummy!! I'm going to have to try those! Thanks for sharing! I love your recipes and tips!
Sep. 18, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Lizzie
yum...you'll have to teach me how to make those the next time I'm out that way. That way you can hit me up with some (evil but tasty) fat/calories as pay back for the truffles. ;)
Sep. 22, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Jessica Morris
I love samosas!! My mum makes some really yummy ones - I haven't yet made them for us!
